Examples of Independent Reading Answers

These answers are directly from the teacher edition for Marigolds "Analyze the Text" on page 226. 

Students are encouraged to use these as examples for future homework assignments from the textbook, as they represent exemplary answers.


VERY IMPORTANT:  MUST CITE TEXT EVIDENCE  (evidence is marked in red)

Notice that most, if not all, of the answers contain evidence from the text in the form of quotations, line number citations, or paraphrasing facts and details from the text.

QUESTION 1  

INFER

In lines 8-9, Collier writes that an abstract painting "does not present things as they are, but rather as they feel."  What can you infer about the narrator's childhood experience based on her description of her home town?

ANSWER

The shanty-town is full of dusty dirt roads, bare yards, and poor people living in ramshackle homes.  The crushing poverty of the setting permeates Lizabeth's adolescence, filling her with half-understood rage.


QUESTION 2

SYNTHESIS

What part do the "chaotic emotions of adolescence" (lines 17-18) play in motivating Lizabeth to taunt Miss Lottie?

ANSWER

The conflicts and emotions associated with Lizabeth's age play a significant role in motivating her actions.  She is old enough to feel the pain and rage of her circumstances but not old enough to control her reactions to these emotions.


QUESTION 3

INFER

Reread lines 162 - 185.  What might explain the children's reactions to the marigolds?

ANSWER

The colorful beauty of the flowers does not make sense to the children, who are too young to articulate their feelings of anger and humiliation about their impoverished lives.  They feel that they must destroy the intrusion of beauty on their otherwise ugly world.


QUESTION 4

ANALYZE

Review lines 257-293.  How does the conversation between Lizabeth's parents motivate Lizabeth's later actions?

ANSWER
The role reversal represented by her father's crying and her mother's strength fills Lizabeth with fear and bewilderment.  This incident unleashes Lizabeth's smoldering fear and rage and compels her to commit the story's climactic, destructive act.


QUESTION 5

COMPARE

How does the narrator's understanding of Miss Lottie at the end of the story compare to her feelings about the woman at the beginning of the story?

ANSWER

In the beginning, the narrator sees Miss Lottie as a crazy old woman obsessed with flowers.  At the end, Lizabeth feels compassion for Miss Lottie and understands that she tried to create beauty in the midst of ugliness.


QUESTION 6

DRAW CONCLUSIONS

What is the story's theme?  Note at least three clues that help you recognize the message the author is sharing.

ANSWER

With the loss of youth's innocence comes compassion for others and a deeper understanding of life.  The description of Miss Lottie in lines 354 - 356, the details in lines 370 - 375, and the last sentence of the passage all support this theme.


QUESTION 7 

ANALYZE

What do the marigolds symbolize in this story?  Explain how they contribute to the development of the story's theme.

ANSWER

In the beginning of the story, the marigolds represent to the children something that does not make sense in their dusty, colorless world.  At the end, the marigolds symbolize the possibility of beauty in a bleak existence.


QUESTION 8

DRAW CONCLUSIONS

What conclusions can you draw about the narrator's present life from the last paragraph in the story?  Drawing on your understanding of the story's symbolism, paraphrase the last line.


ANSWER

The narrator describes her present life as barren.  I, too, have tried to create something of beauty to combat the emptiness of my life.