Marigolds: Poverty and Small Ghetto Town Essay Example

only thing she ever saw of her mother was the food she provided the family with. Lizabeth had a “great need for [her] mother who was never there” (Collier P. 129). Missing her mother so much caused her to unleash emotions that made her destroy the flowers.

A girl growing up to become a woman needs a woman to teach her how to become one. Lizabeth barely had a mother to teach her how to grow up to become a woman and was scared about doing it on her own. With having only a father and a brother as family, there was no female figure in her life. She realized she didn’t want to be an annoying child anymore and decided she wanted to grow up and become a woman. This new feeling of growing up confused and scared Lizabeth.

She felt the “bewilderment of being neither child nor woman and yet both at once” (Collier p. 129).She was confused with what it took in order to become a woman and she was scared that she wasn’t ready to do what it took. This stress on Lizabeth was the second reason why she had a mental breakdown. Lizabeth’s hometown was nothing but shacks and small houses with a lot of dust everywhere.

Most people worked hard for the American Dream, but it was more like a miracle than a goal. These people were always hungry, and worked from day to night to try and put food on the table. Lizabeth hated being poor. Being poor meant always being hungry, or having a mother that has to work more hours than she sleeps in order to feed

her family.She felt ashamed that she had to live in such a harsh environment.

“The hopelessness of [their] poverty and degradation” caused Lizabeth to cause demolition of the bright yellow flowers (Collier p. 129). Lizabeth destroyed the only beauty that the community had left. This destruction was caused from holding in emotions until finally one night she burst. These emotions were from the feelings of missing her mother, growing up, and living in poverty. The combination of these emotions is the answer to the question of why Lizabeth destroyed Miss Lottie’s marigolds.