Marigolds By Eugenia Collier Analysis

In the short story “Marigolds” by Eugenia W. Collier, Lizabeth's tumultuous transition into adulthood leads to her realization that she cannot be an innocent adult. After Lizabeth instructs the neighborhood children to “expertly aim stone[s in order to] cut the head[s] off ” of Ms. Lottie’s marigolds, Lizabeth is then “ashamed, [because] . . . the child in [her] . . . said it [is] all . . . fun, but the woman in [her] flinche[s] at the thought of the malicious attack that [she] ha[s] led” (Collier 86). Lizabeth’s conflicting emotions of regret and pleasure confuse her because she does not know whether to think like an adult or child. She becomes straddled between the two worlds of adulthood and childhood, her emotions turbulent, and her thoughts …show more content…
When Mrs. Price puts the red sweater on Rachel’s desk, Rachel “move[s] the . . . sweater to the corner of [her] desk with [a] ruler,” so the sweater is “hanging all over the edge like a waterfall” (Cisneros 36). Rachel’s action of pushing away the red sweater, a symbol of her transition into adolescence, conveys a resistance to the unwanted change. Her perception of the sweater as a waterfall suggests that like the coursing water, emotions during a transition cannot be contained and the shift itself is inevitable. After Mrs. Price asserts the sweater is Rachel’s, Rachel reaches her emotional breaking point; she “[cries] in front of everybody,” and “put[s her] head down on the desk[,] . . . [her] face all hot and spit coming out of [her] mouth[,] because [she] can’t stop the little animal noises coming out of [her]” (Cisneros 36). Rachel’s refusal to accept her transition aggravates her emotions, which lead her to act immaturely in class. She throws a tantrum, spitting and making animal noises, which display Rachel’s firm grasp on childhood. Rachel’s actions associated with the red sweater display her unsettling thoughts of the transition into adulthood and her yearning to remain as a