Setting
Where and when does the story take place?
A Maryland shantytown during the Great Depression.
Who is the protagonist and the narrator of our story?
Lizabeth
What is a theme?
A central message or lesson about life.
Why did the children throw stones at the marigolds?
To use clues from the text, the flowers' beauty felt like an insult to their own drab, impoverished lives and lack of greenery.
Name the three parts of APE.
Answer
Prove
Explain
What are the three main components that define a story's setting?
Setting is defined by Time, Place, and Culture.
Who is the elderly woman who grows the marigolds, and how does young Lizabeth initially view her?
Miss Lottie
What do "marigolds" represent in the story?
They symbolize beauty, hope, and resilience; the contrast suggests that beauty can be painful or confusing amidst extreme struggle.
Why do the marigolds seem out of place in a 'shantytown'?
Their bright beauty clashes with the extremely poor, gray, and dilapidated makeshift housing of the town.
Using APE, why are the marigolds important to Miss Lottie?
They represent her only hope and beauty; Lizabeth's transition is shown when she feels 'cleansing' compassion for Miss Lottie.
Name three details that show the community is poor?
dust, ramshackle houses, and a lack of greenery
Why does Lizabeth feel a sense of 'divided' self, especially after hearing her father cry? (Make an inference.)
She is caught between childhood innocence and adult responsibility; seeing her father's vulnerability shatters her sense of security.
What does the story suggest about identity and belonging?
Belonging can difficult when you are young and trapped by poverty.
What can we infer about Lizabeth and Miss Lottie right after the destruction of the flowers?
Lizabeth feels a conflict of shame masked by bravado, while Miss Lottie’s reaction reveals utter defeat and a lost connection to joy.
n three APE sentences, explain how poverty and 'internal division' affect Lizabeth.
Example: Poverty makes Lizabeth feel hopeless, as the 'shanty town' kills dreams. This internal division leads to her breakdown and the destruction of the flowers.
How does the physical environment, specifically the 'dust,' affect Lizabeth’s childhood?
The dry, impoverished, and dusty environment symbolizes a lack of hope and creates a sense of entrapment that limits her joy.
How does Lizabeth's perception of Miss Lottie change after she destroys the marigolds?
She shifts from seeing her as a 'witch' to seeing her as a broken human being, marking her loss of innocence and gain of empathy.
How does the story develop the idea of compassion?
Compassion is born when one recognizes another's pain; empathy.
Why does the narrator refer to her hometown as a 'memory' of dust, and why does she destroy the flowers?
Dust was the most pervasive trait of her childhood; she destroys the flowers because her father's grief makes their beauty feel like an insult.
Apply APE: why does Lizabeth destroy the flowers?
Lizabeth destroys the flowers because they represent a beauty that insulted her own misery.
Explain the contrast between Miss Lottie’s flowers and the community during the Great Depression.
The flowers are vibrant and organized, whereas the era and community are characterized as dusty, broken, gray, and chaotic.
Explain how Lizabeth’s experience represents the move from childhood toward adulthood.
Her transition is marked by the replacement of simple, cruel 'fun' with the complex, painful weight of empathy and responsibility.
Explain the meaning of the line: 'I too have planted marigolds.'
The final line means the narrator now tries to create beauty despite past regrets.
What does Lizabeth infer about Miss Lottie at the end, and why is her brother Joey less affected?
She realizes Miss Lottie is just a broken woman; Joey is less affected because he is younger and retains a simpler childhood perspective.
In three APE sentences, analyze the impact of the Great Depression on family dynamics and Lizabeth's growth.
Example: The Depression reversed roles, making Lizabeth see her father's vulnerability. By the end, she gains maturity, stating, 'In that moment I lost my innocence.'