Marigolds

“Marigolds” is a Coming of Age story set in an impoverished Black community during the Great Depression and primarily features a 14-year-old protagonist, Lizabeth, as she reaches womanhood. The narrator, an older Lizabeth, reflects on a summer day that culminates in the end of her innocence and the beginning of adulthood and compassion. The narrator asserts, “In that humiliating moment I looked beyond myself and into the depths of another person. This was the beginning of compassion, and one cannot have both compassion and innocence” (13). For compassion to exist, innocence must be lost, and this loss is framed as a necessity so that a child can become an adult who connects with other human beings, as well as their suffering and joy. In the climax of the story, Lizabeth destroys the only beauty and joy that Miss Lottie has—her marigolds—and this ultimately destroys the last vestige of hope that the elderly woman had. When Lizabeth realizes the true extent of what she has done, the humiliation and contrition pull away her last bits of childhood and allow her to have true compassion for another human being.