Transitioning into Adulthood: an Overview of Eugenia Collier’s Marigolds

Sometimes the most complicated things can only be fixed with time. An example of this is how complicated the transition from childhood to adulthood is. The short story, ”Marigolds,” by Eugenia W. Collier reveals this transition and its complications that teens have to go through. She uses flashbacks to express the character's’ insecurities and unsatisfying things, as we grow up we begin to separate from our family little by little until one have no contact with their family, and how one realizes that they do not live in a fantasy world where everything is perfect as they mature.

Collier effectively uses flashbacks in her short story to express insecurities of one as they begin to mature and how they aren’t easily satisfied. An example of this is when the antagonist has a flashback about the marigolds and she explains that when the thought of the marigolds come across her mind, a strange nostalgia comes with it and remains(214). She does this to show how once one begins to mature they look back at what they did and regret their actions. Lorde uses this in her poem and shows how the character regrets having what they have and how he wishes she wasn't who she is. What Collier is trying to say is that when we are young and still not mature we do not see the danger and maliciousness in the actions we do and when we look back at them when we mature we recognize that we we did was wrong. Also, Collier shows how the antagonist wasn’t that satisfied with what she had and how she lived(215). This shows the reader that once one begins to mature they begin to judge more and aren’t satisfied with themselves and what they have around them. Lorde also does this in her poem to inform the reader of teenagers insecurities and thoughts once they begin to mature. The flashbacks in Collier's short story express many things such as the characters’ insecurities, and how hard it is for them to be satisfied.

Collier explains that as one matures we begin to separate from the family little by little. Lizabet explains that everyday the same routine occurs, her dad goes looking for work, her mom goes to work, she didn’t see her siblings because they were gone(215). This phrase says that Lizabeth is rarely with her family. Pat Mora does the same thing in her poem, “Teenagers,” when she says, “One day they disappear into their roms. Doors and lips shut, and we become strangers in our own home.” Mora explains how her family wasn't close and was always doing their own thing. When she says that they become strangers to their own home means they don’t really communicate throughout their home similar to the life of Lizabeth. Also, Lizabeth says that her closest family was her brother(215). This also shows how one separates from one’s family as one matures. Collier is emphasizes to the reader that Lizabeth isn't close to her family and when she says that her brother is her closest family that means that her parents are rarely there to support her which makes the reader not just feel bad for Lizabeth but also it may make the reader feel grateful for having a family with them at all times. This phrase reminds me of the Mora’s poem when she states, “I pace the hall,hear whispers, a code I knew but can’t remember mouthed by mouths I taught to speak.” Mora i saying that she is so disconnected from her family that they metaphorically don’t understand each other when they try to communicate so there is no point into communicating. As we can read, Collier expresses how far apart we become from family as we mature which is a complication for both the family and the teenager.

Collier short story references how as we grow into adulthood we realize that there is more responsibilities and problems in the world than it seemed before. Lizabet says that poverty was the cage they were trapped in(214). What Collier is saying is that Lizabeth began to realize the problems in life. She was beginning to get a taste of responsibility and she was living in poverty which made her realize that she didn’t live in a perfect world which was what she saw before adulthood. Audre Lorde’s poem. “Hanging Fire,” shows a small girl needing her mom's love and beginning to realize how ugly she is. What Lorde is doing is telling the reader that once one matures they begin to realize all the bad things in life such as getting acne and growing up to be an adult. Lizabeth says she realized she had lost her innocence when she destroyed the marigolds(224). Collier is shoing how Lizabeth knew she was maturing and that from that moment she would have many more things she would have to make a choice about. When she destroyed the marigolds she says she felt like the life had been sckedout of her which meant she had matured and those marigolds meant something different to her from when she was a child. This phrase can be related to Lorde’s work when she say that she hopes to die before graduation and that nobody would stop to think about her by her side. Lorde is trying to say that she needed had grown up but didn't want to grow up and how she wasn't ready to mature. When she said she wanted to die before graduation she was trying to say either that she had seen and done some things she regretted or as stated before, she wasn’t ready for maturity and to realize she didn’t live a perfect world.

In conclusion some complications can only be fixed with time. An example of these type of complications is the transition from childhood to adulthood. And as I stated before, “Marigolds”, by Eugenia W. Collier is great example of the complications of the transition from childhood to adulthood. Becoming an adult is one of many things that don't seem hard but really will be and still are.