# data[].attributes.body
How is "The Flowers" a dark, coming-of-age story? What does Myop's walk teach you, the reader?

# data[].attributes.body
"The Flowers" is a dark coming of age story because it tells the story of a young black girl experiencing some type of racial prejudice for the first time. In the beginning of the story, the tone is hopeful and careless and lets the reader put their guard down. Walker distracts us with phrases such as, "she felt light", "warm sun", and "silently rose and slid away" that create a calm, serene environment. However, after Myop trails far from her home she gets an unsettling feeling right before discovering the mangled body of a victim to racist lynching attack. Her walk teaches the reader that though all may seem well in your life, there could be something sinister happening right under your nose. Many people are caught up in trying to see the beauty in life and though that may be important, it is also necessary to feel uncomfortable to see all types of lives. The victim himself is a representation of all the victims of wanton violence due to racist feelings. When Myop lays down her flowers, she pays respect to the victims and cuts her time of rest and relaxation short which tells the reader that sometimes we must feel the hurt others are feeling despite not wanting to and honor their struggles.

# data[].attributes.body
This dark coming-of-age story reveals the scary but true reality of lynching during the 19th and 20th centuries. The story demonstrates how traumatizing events can affect ignorant people, especially children, and force them to grow up and learn about the real world. Myop's walk teaches me that when she was naive and ignorant she felt "light and good" (line 8) about life but once she encountered the noose and tall man in the woods she was quickly informed about the terrors of the horrible world outside the farm she lived on.

# data[].attributes.body
Explain the significance of Myop's gesture at the short story's conclusion.

# data[].attributes.body
"The Flowers" is a dark, coming of age story since it is talking about how Myop witnessed a dead man on the ground. The man on the ground was like the dark part, it represented the dark side of the world. I think that is what made her understand how the world around her worked, the reality, like racism, and loss of innocence. The theme is her showing us how racist the world has become, the injustices between people just like how the man was left on the floor, and the harshness of the world.

# data[].attributes.body
How does the atmosphere at the end of the story contribute to Myop's characterization? In other words, how is the final setting symbolic of Myop?

# data[].attributes.body
Myop lays down the flowers she had picked after she discovered a noose and dead body. The beginning of the book has a more playful, lighthearted tone that highlighted her innocence. I think her laying down the flower and saying, "summer was over" symbolizes her sadness towards the situation. It might also symbolize the end of a her innocence as she becomes increasing aware of the reality regarding the discrimination African Americans are facing.

# data[].attributes.body
How and where does the setting of the story shift? Explain the contrast between the two environments in detail and what the contrast parallels?

# data[].attributes.body
The setting shifts from bright and warm to cold and afraid when Myop wants to turn back. She recognizes this change which shows that she wants to retain her innocence, but she is forced to leave it behind when she discovers the body. The setting never returns to normal after discovering the body which solidifies the effect of this event on Myop's life. The quote "And the summer was over" directly alludes to the death of her innocence and childhood due to this discovery.

# data[].attributes.body
This story shows us how inviting and beautiful the beginnings of our lives are. We play outside and have so much fun when we are young. As the years go on though we almost loss our sense of imagination and the world becomes darker and unfamiliar. We see how the world is rotten under all the beauty. By laying her flowers down she is accepting that she is no longer able to be blinded by the beauty. She only sees the dark and rotten parts of the world now. African Americans are constantly being discriminated against and the noose even represents some of the deaths that happen. Myop is no longer able to hide from this reality and she is overcome with sadness when she sees the darkness that lays underneath the beautiful layer.

# data[].attributes.body
How does the setting in the beginning of the story contribute to Myop's characterization? In other words, how is the original setting symbolic of Myop?

# data[].attributes.body
The setting in the beginning of the story helps characterize Myop as an innocent and bubbly girl. Walker depicts her interactions with the setting which reflect the simple joys and playfulness of childhood when "Myop watched the tiny white bubbles disrupt the thin black scale of soil and the water that silently rose and slid away down the stream." The use of verbs to describe the setting create a more active yet innocent impression of Myop since it depicts her interest in the simplest of things--both attributes of youth.

# data[].attributes.body
There had been a lot of discrimination against African Americans in the south, but since Myop was young, she was more oblivious to the fact, going off and collecting her flowers like any child would. When she sees the man, that's when her childhood ends and "summer was over", as she will not come to understand and experience the effects of oppression and injustice.  Myop laid her roses down after seeing the noose on the ground by the man realizing what he did, and the dark and gloomy air show how Myop now sees the world for what it is. The idea of summer as a child is all bright and happy, but now summer is over, as she understands that summer is not freedom, but the opposite.

# data[].attributes.body
The final setting of the story is one that evokes a feeling of disquiet and hopelessness. This setting helps contribute to Myop's own characterization, as, at the beginning of the story, she was innocent and cheerful, but as the setting changed to something much darker, so did her demeanor. In the very last scene, she sets down her flowers and the text ominously claims that summer is over, symbolizing an end to innocence within Myop and the way that her discovery has forced her to come to face the dark reality that, although things seem peaceful, as an African American in the South, she is never truly safe.

# data[].attributes.body
The atmosphere at the end of the story contradicts the beginning of the story, which contributes to Myop's characterization by symbolizing the change in her outlook on her own life after seeing the man who had been killed. The shift in tone from lighthearted and warm in the beginning to dark and dismal at the end reflects Myop's internal change from this event. When she internalizes the man's death, she processes the gravity of the situation and her perception of the world changes from child-like and blissfully ignorant to more hardened and aware of the devastation that surrounds her in her life.

# data[].attributes.body
The ending atmosphere of the story stemmed into a darker tone, straying from the youthful and joyous perspective shown in the previous paragraphs. The switch in perspectives at the end of the story that focuses on the remains of a dead body, of which was lynched, follows the mentality of Myop who realized the gravity of what she was seeing. Her youthful demeanor completely changed as her mindset shifted to reverence of the situation at hand. The atmospheric shift represented Myop's innocence draining away in that one moment, showing how her young spunk in the summer was nullified with the uncovering of such a scene. The heaviness of the paragraph in its gory details completely counteracts the beginning of the story, representing the shift Myop will now face from innocent fun to dark realization.

# data[].attributes.body
In the beginning of the story, the setting is light-hearted, inviting, and childish which symbolizes Myop's inocence and young age. Myop was feeling "light and good in the warm sun" which emphasizes the harsh contrast seen at the end of the story, where neither the setting nor Myop contain this original innocence.

# data[].attributes.body
The setting in the beginning of the story symbolizes Myop's youth and innocence. It is described as warm and light, and she is the most comfortable in this environment. Her actions show that she is carefree when she "worked out the beat of a song on the fence" and felt "each day [as] a golden surprise that caused excited little tremors to run up her jaws." This setting creates a sense of fearless youth that Myop embodies as a young child.

# data[].attributes.body
As the story ends Myop innocently picks a wild pink rose from the head of a deceased man, and her action revealed a noose. The man she picked the flower from had been in a lynching. Therefore, Myop is exposed to the discrimination African American people faced at the time, so she lays down her flowers in reverence to the poor man.

# data[].attributes.body
At the end of the story, Myop lays her flowers down to symbolize the sadness, guilt, and desperation for the end of discrimination against African Americans. She sees a noose in the ground and realizes that her community has been heavily discriminated against and some were killed. We can interpret her laying down her beautifully colored flowers as a symbol of her laying down her support for those who are being discriminated and to show her part in the fight against it. She realizes that "summer is over" and there should be no happiness, warmth, or joy, until there is equality amongst races.

# data[].attributes.body
In the beginning of the story, the setting is described as being very light and nostalgic, representing Myop's naiveness and playfulness. For instance, when the text describes how she felt "light and good in the warm sun. She was ten, and nothing existed for her but her song..." it characterizes Myop as having a childlike innocence and having a carefree nature, detached from any worries or fears in that moment.

# data[].attributes.body
The shift begins towards the middle of the short story, around line 25. Towards the beginning of the story, we feel a sense of innocence, giddiness, and excitement. The setting is playful, familiar, and beautiful. Myop was "bounding this way and that way" and "light and warm", similar to the setting. The summer setting provides a sense of childhood and youth.

After the shift in line 25, the setting begins to feel daunting, unfamiliar, and unsettling. The air was damp, and the silence was heavy. This adds an eerie, abnormal, and almost anxiety-inducing tone to the story. It is no longer playful or familiar, instead it is solemn and alien. Myop is now "afraid" and "surprised". This leads to the reveal of a body and noose. Myop is no longer young with innocence, and that is symbolized as her summer is over.

# data[].attributes.body
The original setting contributes to Myop's characterization because the carefree writing and positive atmosphere correlate with the innocence and youngness of Myop. Myop is worried about nothing else other than the perfect day right in front of her, "It seemed to Myop as she skipped lightly from hen house to pigpen to smokehose that the days had never been as beautiful as these." The setting is happy, warm, and perfect, like nostalgic memories of childhood often are.

# data[].attributes.body
Nearing the end of the story, Myop steps onto the head of a corpse. The setting had shifted before to a daunting, unfamiliar space that seemed dark and frightening. We later find out that the switch was because of what Myop was about to find, the body of a man who was hung. I think that this dark, frightening setting shows how Myop sees the world from a child like perspective. At first it's all rainbows and sunshine, then it changes to a dark and gloomy setting she does not want to be in, so she goes to leave. She also does not seem frightened by her discovery, hence the reason she simply goes to pick up a pretty pink rose instead of running away from the corpse. Once she is able to put the pieces together about what happened to this man, she lays down her findings from her hike through the woods, in a form of reverence. Her childlike innocence yet keen understanding for what she found shows how how she was able to also shift her perspective, just like the setting shifted from lighthearted and bubbly, to frightening and dark.

# data[].attributes.body
The setting of the story shifts in line 17 when Myop begins to explore the woods behind her home. Myop is introduced to us as she skips in her backyard and thinks about nothing but her happy song. Here, the scene is content, playful, and warm. The environment aligns with Myop's youthfulness until she enters the woods. Even though she often visits the woods behind her home and goes far out, this time feels different. The setting seems to be unfamiliar and "not as pleasant." The air is now "damp" instead of "light and warm." These contrasting settings though share similar characterizations of youthful Myop. She is able to quickly recover from her worries and "circle back to the house, back to the peacefulness."

# data[].attributes.body
The setting of the story shifts in lines 24-28. Myop first describes her home as being warm, nostalgic, and beautiful, but when she explored the woods and got farther from her home, the setting began to shift to disturbing and cold. She explained the new setting as gloomy and unpleasant, which in comparison to how she described her home is way different. The setting of Myop's home symbolizes her childhood, and as she goes farther away from her home, she is faced with unfamiliarity and uncertainty in a new setting. This symbolizes her childhood coming to an end.

# data[].attributes.body
At line 26 is when the setting of the story shifts. The main character's anxiety of the unfamiliar area causes the shift from an optimistic to a more distressed style of writing. At the beginning of the short story Myop is very animated as she skips around as "little tremors...run up her jaws". Once she travels further away from her comfort zone is when Myop's excitement starts to diminish and she becomes hyperfocused of her "gloomy" surroundings.