7th Grade Symbolism Analysis

Author's Note: This analysis is not written in essay form, because it wasn't assigned to be written in that way. So, I basically am doing bullet points for each piece of symbolism I came across, while reading Marigolds by Eugenia Collier. Since I read and discussed this short story in a small group, I  found it was interesting that symbolism can have a basic idea (that relates to everyone's thought process) and a lot of the time a symbolic analysis consists of many ideas.

Dust:  Dust can hide things. Elizabeth only remembers her horrible childhood ways, and the rest is dust. The dust mentioned in the beginning of the story symbolizes, the regret and hiding of the past because we can't choose what dust covers, it can cover horrible things (destroying marigolds) or happy things (catching locusts, with you're brother)

Marigolds: These flowers represent cruelty, jealousy, creativity, and passion. In this story the marigolds symbolize all of these things, and more. The children's poverty has created jealousy of the beautiful flowers, tended to by Mrs. Lottie. These flowers are her passion. But the kids cruelty has destroyed the passion. The marigolds at first symbolize a small, good hope. That marigold, representing hope, was soon doubted and destroyed.

Hunting Locust: This was a fun and common thing kids would do in the 1900's. But this activity represents more than just a game. Hunting for locust represents hunting for fun/inspiration because, like mentioned in the story, the locust were camouflaged making it harder and harder for the kids to have fun. This can also symbolize the Great Depression because there was a way to handle it but the answer was camouflaged as well.

Rickety Fences and Bushes: The rickety fences and prickly that ripped the kids clothes represent the poverty they deal with because even though it made cuts, rips, and scrapes the continued on.

Rocking Chair: A rocking chair was what Mrs. Lottie's son sat in for most of the day. He chose not to help here in common day chores, but only helped her when the kids would harass her. The rocking chair he sat in symbolizes the making of choices (teetering fro right and wrong). Or it can symbolize one's laziness, or how much they enjoy dreaming.

Oak Tree: The oak tree was a place where the children would hide after they had done something wrong. At first I thought this symbolized shame and regret due the the shade. But then I found that oak trees represent strength and courage: two things the children did not have. After going through the multiple theories I decided that the oak tree has multiple meanings, that everyone should be open for interpretation.  

Old Eerie House: This old, eerie, crumbling house belongs to Mrs. Lottie. The house symbolizes the way the outside looks are often different on the inside, and vice-versa. Mrs. Lottie house was ugly on the outside, but none of the kids cared enough to look inside, in other words deeper. So this house symbolizes an important lesson, and the children's judgements.

Rocks: Rocks are tough, and often thought of as strong. When the children threw the stones and destroyed the marigolds, the rock's "powers" were used for evil, yet the father of Elizabeth is her rock. And he felt as if he disappointed her. Therefore a rock can be