Marigolds: the calling card for death

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In Kingsolver’s piece “Why I am A Danger to the Public” Vicki Morales is introduced as a tough woman who is willing to fight for what’s right. She is sharp minded and possesses powerful attributes that correlate beautifully to the amount of strength she carries. For example, the moment Vicki spots Vonda looking at her house, she decides to rip out the marigolds planted in her yard claiming that “if [she] had to get the neighbor kids to help make [her] house the ugliest one, [she] was willing to do it" (Kingsolver 402). Rather than throwing the marigolds on the ground, Vicki throws them out on the sidewalk to “dry up and die” (Kingsolver 402). The marigolds are a metaphor towards Vicki. They are strong flowers with dominant colors and tough roots that are capable of surviving even if they aren’t embedded under the dirt. The marigolds denote Vicki’s tenacity of wanting to protect her house from Vonda’s vile hands, and they crystallize her vigor in being a single mom, raising two kids off of the little money she receives. In the ancient Aztec culture, the marigolds convey a similar meaning; it is just shown in a different way. In Mexico, the marigold is a prized flower that is used to celebrate the Day of the Dead holiday (the Mexican version of Halloween). This day honors the spirits of dead who are visiting the homes of their loved ones. Marigolds are chiefly called the “flower of 400 lives, marigolds represent life’s shortness” (Cano-Murillo) and are incorporated into wreaths and garlands to be put on the graves of those in the afterlife. On top of that, the petals of the marigolds are burned to create a scented path for the spirits to follow so that it can be easier for them to visit the people they had known. The colors of the marigolds also interpret a special meaning too. Back when North America was being discovered, the Spanish (just like any other culture) yearned for gold because it was a primary source of wealth. Looking at the marigold itself, the Mexicans depict that the reddish center signifies the Aztec’s blood spilling over the yellow petals “which represent[s] the gold the Spanish sought and killed for” (Allen). This is why the marigold is an important symbol in celebrating the Day of the Dead because it is cardinally known for being the flower of death. In a way, this further proves how Vicki and the marigold are related. Reflecting back to the scene where she’s throwing the marigolds all over the sidewalk, they’re like a calling card for Vonda. It’s like Vicki saying she’d rather die than let Vonda have her house. In addition to that, marigolds are notorious for being a “hardy plant that adapts easily to a variety of challenging conditions in poor soil, extreme heat, and lack of water” (Pretti) so in this case, Vicki is coloring her strength even more by showing that she’s not scared of what Vonda has up her sleeves.

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Works Cited


Allen, Linda . "Marigolds - The Golden Flowers (article) by Linda E Allen on AuthorsDen." AuthorsDen. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. <http://www.authorsden.com/categories/article_top.asp?catid=81&id=43239>.


Cano-Murillo, Kathy . "Day of the Dead - Dia de los Muertos - El Dia de los Muertos - azcentral.com." Arizona Local News - Phoenix Arizona News - Phoenix Breaking News - azcentral.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. <http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead>


Kingsolver , Barbara . "Why I am a Danger to the Public." The literary west: an anthology of western American literature. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. 396-409. Print.


Pretti , Andrea . "Lesson Plan - Day of the Dead, or "Dia de los Muertos" ."TeacherLINK @ Utah State University. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. <http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/byrnes-celebrations/day.html>.

Women: the true definition of strength

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In the past, women have been known to adhere to the mold over the societal views of sexism. Throughout the past few centuries in Native American culture, the women have had to succumb to the diminishing amount of respect because of the European colonization. In the beginning, the women had been seen as a "strong group who will not quit fighting for their people because they are still the nurturers, counselors, spiritual and medical healers and providers" (Popick). Primarily, the women were cherished for their contributions to the family. They had a vast knowledge of plants that came in handy when their child was sick. They knew some neat tricks on preserving the food. Even their opinions over important topics were never taken for granted. Women were a prestigious group in the Native American tribe, and without their insight, the tribes might not have had a chance in surviving for generations to come.  each tribe had their own way of appreciating their women. In the Iroquois tribe, the women had the "right to nominate and recall civil chiefs, they controlled and managed their families, they had the right to divorce and could determine how many children they would raise" (Buffalohead). The Blackfoot tribe considered the women powerful because of their capability of bringing life into the world. They owned what they made (including tee-pees) and were complimentary to the man and his skills. The past was a great one for Native American women, but with the European colonization, things took a downturn for them. It was made worse for them when the Indian Act was passed in 1876 because it limited their rights as women. With that in mind, it gave men more power and completely diminished the sense of equality the tribes used to have. With schools being made, the women lost yet another aspect of their world: educating their children. This caused a disastrous result because as years passed on, the women who were school bound had lost the sense of being an educator in the family like the past women had been.  However in spite of these bleak losses, the women "still play[ed] an influential yet unrecognized and unappreciated role in the community" (Voyageur). This further proves the amount of strength they had to survive in their harsh, demanding life. As the years folded into decades, the American women were also having to deal with these stupid double standards. Women in the 50's used to be relied on to be the perfect housewife. They did the 3 C's: Cooking, Cleaning, and Child bearing. God forbid if they overwhelmed themselves with a career of their own. It was a rare commodity to see women in the workforce those days. Even in my home state Texas, women continue to fall in the cracks of sexism. Despite these stereotypical judgments, it is the "virulence of Texas sexism that accounts for the strength of Texas women" (Ivins). Overcoming the sexism is what makes women stand their ground around here. The sad fact is how western movies had been portrayed back then, deeming women as helpless little girls that needed a strong man for protection. Hollywood never captured the true legacy of the west. Women "worked as hard as men, they fought as much as men, they suffered as much as men" (Ivins) yet no one would ever believe that due to harsh stereotypes that the women have to endure. Nowadays, in the present, even though most women have disengaged themselves from these stereotypical ways, it's still a continuous fight for equality.

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Works Cited

Buffalohead, P.K.. "Farmers Warriors Traders: A Fresh Look at Ojibway Women." The American Indian: past and present. 3rd ed. New York: Knopf :, 1986. 236-244. Print.

C.J., Voyageur. "Visions of the Heart; Canadian Aboriginal Issues ." Contemporary Aboriginal women in Canada. D.Long & O.P. Dickason ed. Thompson : Nelson, 2000. 81-106. Print.

Ivins, Molly. "Texas Women: True Grit and all the rest." Molly Ivins can't say that, can she?. New York: Random House, 1991. 698-703. Print.

Popick, Jacqui . "Native American Women, Past, Present and Future." Lethbridge Undergraduate Research Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. http://www.lurj.org/article.php/vol1n1