"Marigold" Question

• Why does Lizabeth destroy Miss Lottie's flowers?
• How does the climax of the story begin a rite of passage from childhood to the beginning of womanhood?
• Why does Miss Lottie never plant marigolds again, despite Lizebeth's remorse?

Answers

1) She destroys Ms. Lottie's flowers because she is to young to see the beauty and meaning behind them. She also has a temper tantrum because she has kept her feelings inside of her bottled up. After seeing her big strong father cry she was confused and angry and took her anger out on Ms. Lottie's beautiful flowers.

2) In the beginning she was a child because she would do childish things with her friends and brothers. She would throw rocks at Ms. Lottie's flowers and she thought Ms. Lottie's flowers were to beautiful for Ms. Lottie's broken down home and retard son. Later on, after she has done her last childish act she realizes what she has done and that it was wrong and childish.

3) Ms. Lottie never plants marigolds again because she was sad and mad at what Lizabeth did and it broke her heart. The flowers were the reason that she kept living her life and it showed her life threw the flowers. All her strength was in her flowers and when the flowers were gone she had no reason to go on.