Eugenia Collier

 Maryland – in an impoverished area during the Depression

 Lizabeth (1 st person narrator – “I”)  She’s not a child anymore, but she isn’t exactly an adult, either  She antagonizes Miss Lottie and the marigolds  Her father is unemployed (her mother provides)  She has a little brother (Joey)  She’s a good person, but she is frustrated

 Joey He’s loud, energetic and immature He’s a minor character – we do not see things through his point of view He is scared of Miss Lottie – he thinks she is a witch

 Miss Lottie She’s old, and lives in a run-down shack She lives with her son John Burke Raises her marigolds She does not antagonize the children By the end, she is a ‘broken’ woman – she is not even angry (“there was nothing left to protect”) Lazy / Sits in a Rocking Chair

 What is a bildungsroman?  A bildungsroman is a type of story dealing with a character who ‘comes of age’... “Making of a Man” story Coming of age story

 The protagonist of a bildungsroman must be a DYNAMIC CHARACTER  The reader is usually aware of the very moment when the transformation from childhood to adulthood occurs A character who experiences a significant change

 That moment is usually presented as an EPIPHANY for the character  An Epiphany is a moment of self- awareness or meta-cognition (thinking about thinking)

 The event or person that causes the epiphany is the CATALYST  Catalyst is originally a scientific word meaning “ A substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction but is not itself permanently changed by the reaction.  This scientific definition is relatively unchanged in the literary sense, except instead of a chemical reaction being altered, a character in a story is altered  Miss Lottie acts as a catalyst when she reacts to the destruction of the marigolds...

 What is the definition of a symbol?  There are two types of symbols:  Contextual:  Universal:  Is there any object that becomes symbolic throughout Collier’s short story?

 Absolutely! The marigolds become symbolic because they:  1. maintain their literal meaning  2. they take on a larger, symbolic meaning  What intangible ideas do the marigolds begin to symbolize?

 Actions and events in a story can also become symbolic  Can you think of any action or event that becomes symbolic in this story?  Yes – The trampling of the flowers becomes a symbolic act of losing one’s innocence and seeing the world through the eyes of an adult

 In Collier’s “Marigolds” Lizabeth has a life changing experience that forces her to grow up.  For homework, write a two paragraph reflection about yourself or someone you know that has changed because of a significant event. Make sure to utilize the terminology of bildungsroman (epiphany, catalyst, etc... )

 The first paragraph should describe the experience. Be specific, using concrete details and proper names.  The second paragraph should reflect on the experience and touch on the following questions: What was learned from this experience? Did you know at the time that it would effect your life? What or who was the catalyst?

 This is a reflective, creative assignment  You can use “I” and you can use the past tense  However, you still need to adhere to the standard rules of writing (avoid contractions, pronouns, etc... )