Aim: How does a writer create effects through the connotations of words and images?
Do Now: WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION
Describe an event in your life that at first seemed like fun, yet after the incident concluded you were ashamed or disappointed with yourself. Why do you believe you felt that way?
In the Do Now, we were asked to share a time where we went into it thinking it would be fun or funny but ended up regretting or ashamed of it. This Do Now is for us to realize that we all have been in this situation and no judgement was needed. The first person to share was Jessica. In her case, she went to a friends house. They both thought it would be fun and adventurous to just go to the mall by themselves. They were both 12 at the time which made this pretty dangerous. She got caught and felt really ashamed because her parents just wanted her to be safe. The second person to go was Leslie. Her situation was that she wanted to go hang out with new people to make new friends. Meeting new people is pretty scary and she had bad social anxiety. She would feel the need to leave because she didn’t feel the need to be there anymore. She regrets that she didn’t actually enjoy the experience like the other people. My response to this prompt was about the time I was babysitting my cousins. I was probably 8 or 9 and my grandma had to go buy groceries and pick up some food for lunch. She felt that I could take care of the kids since my mom was also home in the other part of the house. She also had seen that I’m really good with my cousins since I grew up taking care of them anyways. I feel really proud at the moment and decided it would be okay if they had a bit of fun and freedom. They ended up messing up the bed and bathroom because they were playing too hard. I was really ashamed of myself because I knew I was able to do a better job. Ms. Peterson’s response to this prompt was the report card day. Her aunt was over at her mom’s house and they were looking over the report card. Ms. Peterson had got her hands onto a big jar of flour. She had knocked it down and made a whole mess. Her mom had told her to get out of the kitchen so that they could clean up in the effective way. She had then gone into the living room and saw an attractive bottle of hot pink nail polish. At the time she thought it was a good idea to put the nail polish on the black lacquer piano. After many years, she realized that what she had done was not fun or good to do.
Kahoot
NOTE: You MUST use your first and last name to ensure proper team points are awarded.
This Kahoot is to assess our knowledge on the story “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier. This story was assigned to us as homework. We were told to read and annotate the story. This whole assignment was to assess how much of the story we actually comprehended. Comprehension is the act of understanding something fully. We only got 10 seconds per question which meant that we had to have read and understood most of the story to get a good understanding. This means that we couldn’t have gone back in the story to look for the answer. Overall, I think I did fine but was a little challenging.
A Link to a Comprehension video: This video is to help understand what comprehension is.
Team Collaboration
Directions: Please answer the following questions COLLABORATIVELY with your TEAM, based on your annotations from the story. Additionally, rephrase ALL questions as part of your answers, and make sure to fully develop ALL responses by answering ALL components of each question.
These questions were all about “Marigolds” We were supposed to restate the question and fully develop our answers. We were sent into breakout rooms for 30 minutes to get 6 questions done. The amount of time given was perfectly enough to finish if the whole group was talking and working at a fast pace. My group had a hard time finishing on time because we were discussing the first and second question for a little too long.
In Paragraph 22, why are the marigolds so important to Miss Lottie, and why do the children hate them?
a. What stands out about the imagery in paragraphs 22 and 27?
The person that answered this question was Daniel P. He stated that the marigolds were so important to Miss Lottie because they show the contrast between the dirty old house to the beautiful marigold yard. They show the beauty in life and represent the passion that Miss Lottie left. The children hate the marigolds because they don’t fit in with the rest of the house. The children would rather have everything uniform and pretty much the same. What stands out about the imagery in paragraphs 22 and 27 is that there is much more imagery in these paragraphs then the rest. In paragraph 27 it shows more metaphors than the imagery in paragraph 22. The example was given by Christopher. He said that an example of imagery would be “Beyond the dusty brown yard, in front of the sorry gray house, rose suddenly and shockingly a dazzling strip of bright blossoms, clumped together in enormous mounds, warm and passionate and sun-golden.”
My response: In paragraphs 22 and 27, the marigolds are so important to Miss Lottie because that was basically the only thing she had. Her house was all torn down and dirty but her marigold yard was beautiful. The children hate them because it doesn’t really match her environment. It didn’t really fit in because with the old house, the beautiful flowers aren’t predicted. In paragraph 22, they use imagery like “crumbling decay” and “dazzling strip of bright blossoms”. These quotes give you a description of how both the house and the yard looked like together. It also gives a vision of how they shouldn’t be together.
Describe the internal conflict occurring for the narrator, Lizabeth. Find “textual evidence” to support your statement.
The person who answered this question was Adelia. She said the internal conflict occurring for the narrator was her wanting to maintain her childhood innocence but at the same time maturing enough to realize that her actions were harmful. It states “suddenly I was ashamed and I did not like to be ashamed. The child in me sulked and said it was all in fun, but the woman in me flinched at the thought of the malicious attack that I had led.” This shows that she is clinging onto her innocence like childhood even though she feels bad for what she’s done. This shows her mindset as an adult. Ms. Peterson liked how this question was answered and 30 points were awarded to Adelia’s team. She said that this answer was very well said.
My Response: The internal conflict occurring for the narrator, Lizabeth, is her loss of innocence. She was already going through a lot of stress from her family. Her family was poor and had financial issues. Her one solution was to go to Miss Lotties. She got angry so she stomped in the marigold field and destroyed them. After realizing the damage she has done, she loses her innocence. A quote from the text is “the great need for my mother who was never there, the hopelessness of our poverty and degradation, the bewilderment of being neither child nor woman and yet both at once, the fear unleashed by my father’s tears. And these feelings combined in one great impulse toward destruction.” This quote shows her anger.
Lizabeth overhears her parents’ conversation. How does it make her feel? What is the consequence of her hearing this conversation?
The person who answered this question was Alexander. He said overhearing her parents conversation made her feel scared, alone, and afraid. In paragraph 42 stated “The world had lost its boundary lines. My mother, who was small and soft, was now the strength of the family; my father, who was the rock on which the family had been built, was sobbing like the tiniest child. Everything was suddenly out of tune, like a broken accordion. Where did I fit into this crazy picture? I do not now remember my thoughts, only a feeling of great bewilderment and fear” The consequence of hearing the conversation is that she felt all of her emotions building up and needing a place to let go of them. She felt hopeless, afraid, and scared and that’s why she took all her anger off on the marigolds. Ms. Peterson really liked this response and He got 30 points awarded to his team. She also stated that young kids have a hard time deciding what is right and what is wrong. Young kids sometimes have a hard time making rational choices because they end up in emotional and stressful situations.
My response: After Lizabeth overhears her parents’ conversation, she feels extremely stressed and helpless. Her parents were going through stress and didn’t mean to let the kids overhear. The consequence was that she was overwhelmed and didn’t know what to do. What she chose to do was to go to Miss Lottie’s marigolds. She got too angry and destroyed them by running over them.
What can you infer from the text as to Lizabeth’s reasons for her final act of destruction?
The person who answered this question was Gabrielle. She said that she was overwhelmed by what she had heard from her parents. She saw a new perspective and started to mature but she was still holding on to her childhood and being able to be naive. This is because she saw how being a child was less stressful on her. She went back to Miss Lottie’s marigold yard because it helped her feel like a child again. Ms. Peterson also liked this response and she got 30 Points awarded to her team.
My response: I can infer that she was extremely overwhelmed and stressed. This is because right after she destroys the flowers, she realizes that what she had done was wrong. She had grown up and realized she needs compassion.
Paragraphs 57 & 60 are especially rich in Juxtaposition.
Juxtaposition: (pronounced juhk-stuh-puh--zish--uh-n) is the placement of two or more things side by side, often in order to bring out their differences. Imagine a man walking a well-groomed dog on a pink leash on one hand and a rough Rottweiler on a spiked collar on the other hand. The juxtaposition could be shocking, humorous, or just plain strange. Regardless, this literary term calls attention to two distinctly different things by placing them right beside one another, or juxtaposing them.
Examine the diction and imagery and show your understanding of juxtaposition by identifying two images or words set up for comparison.
A video to help with juxtaposition
Juxtaposition is used when two things are next to each other to show contrast. An example was given during class. The example was 9/11. It was a bright and sunny day outside. It wasn’t too cold or hot. It was just a normal school/work day for most people. The first building had got hit and the situation just kept getting worse. Even in the clouds of smoke, it was still a bright sunny day with a bright blue sky.
The person who answered this question was Kelly. In paragraph 60, it states “The witch was no longer a witch but only a broken old woman who had dared to create beauty in the midst of ugliness and sterility. “ This image is juxtaposed with the old witch that the children saw her as. Ms. Peterson liked this response and Kelly got 30 points for her team.
My response: An example of juxtaposition in paragraph 57 is “I leaped furiously into the mounds of marigolds and pulled madly, trampling and pulling and destroying the perfect yellow blooms.” This is juxtaposition because she had words like furiously, madly, and destroying but also “perfect yellow blooms” in the same sentence. These words are a unique choice because they don't make sense with each other.
Consider the last sentence of the story...
“And I too have planted marigolds.”
...and make inferences about whether the narrator is speaking literally, figuratively, or both.
The person who answered this was me. I said the last sentence “And I too have planted marigolds” infers that the narrator is speaking literally and figuratively. This is because she wants her story to live on with her. She wants that story to stay with her because it means a lot to her. I also think she literally planted marigold flowers because she also wants the beautiful in her life just like Miss Lottie. For Miss Lottie the flowers were the beautiful thing in her old and torn down house. I feel that Lizabeth also wanted that too.
A Link to video that goes over what “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier was about
INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITY
Brainstorm here! Try to describe the narrator’s voice.
Think of ways to explain how the writer’s diction and imagery create this voice.
You might also mention other literary elements, such as juxtaposition, that contribute to the narrator’s voice or point of view.
This was a great conclusion to the lesson. It wrapped up everything and was taught today. This was about the narrator’s in “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier. We were expected to write about the narrator’s voice and how she got it to sound the way it did. We were supposed to use the writer’s diction, imagery, and juxtaposition to help us.
My response: The narrator’s voice was very complex. She had long and complex sentences. The whole story had a lot of imagery. Most imagery comes from the marigolds and Miss Lottie’s house. The diction used in this story was pretty complex. Most sentences in this story had meaning behind it. The juxtaposition used in this story gave the story even more complexity. A lot of juxtaposition was used especially when they were talking about the marigolds.
Reflection: Today I learned about juxtaposition and why it's used. It’s used to show contrast and give that specific sentence more attention. I think it’s definitely a good literary device. Juxtaposition often seems strange or weird because they put two completely different things into one sentence. You then are forced to comprehend them together which puts emphasis on the sentence. I also learned that if you were to break down a story and look for the literary devices, you would see a lot of different things besides just the reading comprehension. The first time I read it, I just understood the main idea and theme. As I went back to annotate I saw some literary devices that were used. By the end of this lesson, I was fully able to understand the whole story. I also learned the theme of the story. I was able to take the theme given and apply it to my own life. Learning to find the beauty in life is extremely important. In everyone’s life, they will have ups and downs and they will have to know how to deal with it. Knowing that you will get through it and it’s okay will help with your mental health. Even if you’re not really in a tough situation, you should be able to find the beauty in every situation. The other theme of losing innocence and finding compassion in you is also important. The stage of losing innocence and going into adulthood is really hard. All you wanna do is go back to your childhood and not have many responsibilities. But this is part of life. Finding yourself and who you really are is extremely important. The last thing I learned from today is responsibility. Even though our annotations weren’t checked or graded, we were expected to have it done. I personally had it done because I knew it was important to do the homework. During the kahoot quiz, I realized this isn’t possible without reading and annotating. Responsibility is really important to learn young because it really does help. Even if I feel unmotivated, I always feel the need to get all my schoolwork done with all my effort.
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