Blue = ideas
Purple = examples from the text
Red = Interpretation
Reading Response
In the short story Flowers and Freckle Cream two thoughts that I think went through the narrator’s mind are I am beautiful and I am loved. I believe that Elizabeth thought of these two things when she saw the tiger lily.
I think Elizabeth felt beautiful when she saw the tiger lily. Her mother said, “You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.” Elizabeth’s mother did not think her daughter was beautiful, or could ever become beautiful. Elizabeth said to herself when thinking about her cousin Janette Elizabeth, “I couldn’t help comparing myself with her and thinking that my life would be a lot different if I had beautiful skin too – skin that was all one color.” Elizabeth bought and used the freckle cream to try to remove her freckles. It didn’t work. Her grandfather showed her with the tiger lily that she was beautiful, even with her freckles.
The tiger lily made Elizabeth feel loved. This flower, “isn’t at all common in the mountains where we lived then.” “But I know he put it in my room, because my mother told me later.” Elizabeth wanted her grandpa to understand, “why I felt so inadequate.” He said, “there are all kinds of flowers, and they are all beautiful.” She felt loved because grandpa gave her a flower with freckles.
I learned that everything is beautiful in its own way. Elizabeth said, “I’ve never seen a flower with freckles!” Grandpa went out of his way to find the tiger lily, which is a beautiful flower with freckles. Another thing I learned is that little things mean a lot. “I had cried myself to sleep that night.” When Elizabeth awoke she saw the tiger lily her grandpa had left by pillow.
The tiger lily was a symbol of beauty and love for Elizabeth. Her grandpa went out of his way to find this flower. It was a time of need in her life and grandpa knew it. This story shows how everything is beautiful and small things we do for others can have a big impact. This was a very touching story of both beauty and love.