How Eugenia Collier Depicts Poverty in Her Short Story, Marigolds - Essay Example

May it be romantic and empathetic; this is the tale of innocence that is endangered to be destructed by the features of reality. The short story Marigolds depicts conditions of the life of one family under the period of the Great Depression when many people experienced the loss of jobs that led them to the unprecedented edge of survival. The parents of Lizabeth have almost no finances to support their daughter’s struggle for maturity because his father has a lack of money that cultivates the feeling of continuous distress.

Lizabeth does not want to live poorly, and her relationships with her family are almost ruined. Her innocence and compassion are almost completely ruined when Lizabeth destructs Marigolds in the garden of their neighbors as the act of rage. Although the theme of justice is not that much reflected in this story as the theme of poverty, the loss is represented in the lost feelings of compassion and comfort. Lizabeth has not reached her maturity, and the destroyed flowers symbolize her struggle against the poverty with which she has been continuously trying to confront.

May it even be the loss of innocence and spiritual purity, Lizabeth has been trying to reach maturity. Practically, her loss is sorrow represented in the lack of compassion she feels to the outer world. However, Lizabeth realizes that the destruction of flowers makes her a person with the lost innocence as she has no compassion for the natural objects. The act of destruction of flowers by the girl is the act of psychological defense from the world of poverty, may it even be the lost comfort and traditional housework settings.

This act of revenge to nature is meaningful for Lizabeth, and this theme contributes to the maturity of the main character of the story. The innocence and maturity are essential for the young girl that wants to live a life of financial stability. May money does not matter that much to her; the loss of home comfort is significant for the main character. This is the theme of the loss of the innocence that may even not be that much highlighted by Eugenia Collier in her story. The destruction of flowers is the symbolic transition from the stage of childhood to the age of maturity that is depicted in the story.

Can it be for the better or, the worse, the girl regrets on her childlike actions committed in the rage. Nowadays, maturity comes to be more associated with the person that reached the age of 18 when the feeling of innocence is almost lost. The main character of the literary work by Eugenia Collier has lost the feeling of innocence even earlier when she realized how the hardness of life can shape the strength of character. The theme of justice is closely correlated with the theme of compassion.

For a young girl, there is even more beyond these sceneries as the destruction of flowers; these are the settings of the lost comfort.             Eugenia Collier has been trying to depict the flow of realities of the transition from the stage of repentance to the stage of true empathy. The young girl loses the innocence in her struggle against the financial crisis, although she has been not yet convinced that her actions are right. Meaningfully, the innocence and care about every detail are essential for this literary work because it highlights the natural struggle for survival that was typical for the American families in the time of the Great Depression.

The determinants of the destroyed flowers are the imagery that reflects the true essence of the growing up while meeting the social standards adapting to the new realities and subside dimensions of the reign of the money.