'the Flowers' by Alice Walker

THE FLOWERS Justify why ‘The Flowers’ by Alice Walker, is a good related text for the Area of Study Discovery. A good related text for the Area of Study Discovery is one where the concept of discovery is explored in and through the text, expressed in many, various ways. These may be conceptual or literal. ‘The Flowers’ by Alice Walker, is a related text for this Area of Study. The text serves to explore the process of discovery specifically, to the point of acknowledgement and how its effects vary for each individual as a result of their context and experience. It represents discovery through connotations, attitude and tonal shift and heavy metaphors. This allows the text to effectively explore the nature of discovery and as such, is a good related text for the Area of Study Discovery. Exposure to reality and its confronting nature is different for each individual, as the effects vary based on personal experience and context. Myop is characterized as a carefree, innocent pure child, and is presented at the beginning exploring her environment. This exploration, ‘Today she made her own path, bouncing this way and that way…’ inferences and foreshadows discovery. The inextricable link between exploration and discovery assist in the subtle inference of the idea of discovery to the audience. Initially, when Myop accidentally steps on the dead man’s skull, she is unfazed and continues about her day. Due to her limited experience and knowledge, innocence and purity, Myop is unaffected ‘she reached down quickly, unafraid to free herself’. As such, Myop’s different experience and context shaped the way the discovery affected her and explores this greatly. A complex process wherein the cause is undefined, discovery is the acknowledgment of what was once unknown or hidden. At the beginning of the text, an aura of innocence, youth and peacefulness is created through descriptive language, ‘ silver ferns and wildflowers grew’ and imagery, ‘light and good from the warm sun’. This initial setting is a metaphor for Myop’s worldview, limited as it is. The inference of ‘snakes’, where in Christianity, is linked to sin and evil, serves as a marking point for a change in attitude and tone. The style of writing becomes serious and darker, ‘gloomy in the little cove’ and ‘cracked or broken, long fingers…’ This heavy change correlates with Myop’s worldview as she begins to discover something about her environment. The symbolization of ‘laid down her flowers’ as the acknowledgement of the person’s death again marks another tonal shift. The next line ‘and the summer was over’ is a seasonal metaphor wherein the aftermath and effects of discovery is left ambiguous. This effectively keeps the purpose of the text to exploring the process of discovery. The complex process of discovery is presented as this slow, gradual build up to the point

MIGUEL RAMIREZ

THE FLOWERS of realization and was conveyed successfully through heavy symbolism, meaningful metaphors and attitudinal and tonal shifts. In conclusion, ‘The Flowers’ by Alice Walker is a good related text for the Area of Study Discovery as it effectively explores discovery within. It represents the process of discovery up to the point of realization as a gradual build up, and uses shift, metaphors and symbolism to do this efficiently. Similarly, the text also explores how a discovery can have varying effects for each individual as a result of their context, and uses inferences and foreshadowing to depict this successfully. As the text manages to explore the Area of Study Discovery, it can be concluded that it is a good related text.

MIGUEL RAMIREZ