NAME:CORE:
Marigolds by Eugenia Collier
Vocabulary
Directions: Within your small groups, discuss the following vocabulary terms as you come across them during the text. Take notes in your READING notebooks on the meanings of these words, in your own words. These notes will help you to finish your homework, on the following page.
Poignant: The narrator is describing her feelings about the events at the end of the summer. Why might Collier describe her feelings about the time as poignant? What does her use of that word suggest about the events she is describing?
Ostensible: The narrator is explaining why the group stops when they are close to Miss Lottie’s house. Why do the children need an ostensible reason to stop before continuing to Miss Lottie’s house?
Retribution: The narrator is describing the children’s practice of goading Miss Lottie’s son into a violent reaction. Do the children deserve retribution for their actions?
Stoicism: The narrator is describing Miss Lottie’s face. Why is Miss Lottie’s face showing “stern stoicism?”
Perverse: The narrator describes the children’s hatred of Miss Lottie’s flowers as perverse. Explain why the narrator’s use of perverse is appropriate.
Bravado: The narrator is taking the lead to show the younger children what they should do. Why might Lizabeth make a “gesture of phony bravado?”
Impotent: The children laugh at Miss Lottie as they storm her marigold garden. Why might Miss Lottie’s rage be considered impotent?
Exuberance: The narrator is describing Joey’s behavior during dinner. Why do you think Joey is exuberant so long after the incident at Miss Lottie’s?
Degradation: The author is describing Lizabeth’s feelings about her family’s poverty. Why does Lizabeth have a sense of degradation about living in poverty?
Squalor: The author is describing the way Miss Lottie live. Why might the marigolds have been so important to a woman who lived in squalor?
NAME:CORE:
Marigolds by Eugenia Collier
Vocabulary
Directions: Answer the following questions using complete sentences. If there is more than one question, answer both.
- Is it perverse to seek retribution for stolen property? Why?
- Why might homeowners who feel impotent show bravado at an approaching wildfire?
- Is suppressing a cry of pain showing exuberance or stoicism? Why?
- Why might someone tell a poignant story about living in squalor?
- What might be the ostensible reason for telling about degradation?
- Using at least THREE of the vocabulary terms from above, inTHREEto FIVE sentences, answer the following question: What is the story’s theme? Remember, a theme is a message about life or human nature that a writer shares with the reader.