Discussion Topic
Figurative Language in "The Flowers"
Summary:
Alice Walker's "The Flowers" employs various forms of figurative language, including symbolism and metaphors, to convey themes of innocence and awareness. Symbolism is evident in "summer," representing childhood innocence, and Myop's home, indicating financial hardship. The wild pink rose symbolizes beauty amidst hatred. Metaphors such as "a golden surprise" and "naked grin" enhance the narrative, with no direct similes present. These devices illustrate Myop's transformative journey from innocence to a more mature awareness of the world's complexities.
Where does "The Flowers" use figurative language?
Walker uses onomatopoeia early in the story to convey the lighthearted ease with which Myop taps out the beat of a song with her stick:
She was ten, and nothing existed for her but song, the stick clutched in her dark brown hand, and the tat-de-ta-ta-ta of accompaniment.
"Summer" is used symbolically in the story to represent the innocence of childhood. The contrast of the easy tone describing Myop's summer day comes to an abrupt end in the final line:
And the summer was over.
Through this symbolism, the reader learns that this experience is transformative to Myop; she is now a more aware young adult, knowing of the danger and evil in the world after her innocent "summer" of childhood.
Myop's home is also symbolic in the story:
Turning her back on the rusty boards of her family's sharecropper cabin...
This symbolizes the hardship with which Myop has...
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been raised thus far. Though she stands in content at the beginning of the story, hers has been a life of financial hardship and struggle. She lives in extreme poverty.
Of course, the title itself points to another symbol in the story: the pink rose.
Very near where she stepped into the head was a wild pink rose.
Walker chose to use a singular rose here, despite the fact that roses grow on bushes. This adds to the shocking tone of Myop's discovery, and it is important to note that she does not take the rose with her. Myop symbolically realizes that by leaving something of beauty in a scene filled with hatred, she can leave a beautiful mark on her world.
Are there any similes or metaphors in "The Flowers"?
There are quite a few metaphors in Alice Walker's story "The Flowers," but there are no direct similes. Let's look at some examples of metaphors.
For ten-year-old Myop, each day is "a golden surprise." Here is our first metaphor. The days are filled with crisp air and harvest excitement, but there is an irony to this metaphor as well, because Myop will be in for a major surprise by the end of the story.
Myop walks along the spring and notices the "thin black scale of soil" around the edge. This, too, is a metaphor, as the author compares the thin layer of soil to the scales of a fish.
Myop strays over a mile from home that day, and she finds the land "not as pleasant as her usual haunts." The places Myop usually wanders are her "haunts," as if Myop were a little ghost flitting among them.
Myop's surprise comes when she steps on something unexpected and looks down to see a "naked grin." Here, too, is a metaphor. Grins are not normally described as naked, but this grin is on a skull that no longer has flesh on it, and therefore, the metaphor is an appropriate one.