Have you noticed that some characters are connected to specific flowers? Give an example that includes a character, the character's flower, and what the flower might symbolize or convey about the character. Use book passages with page numbers to support your ideas.
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Is the camellion flower related more towards Mrs. Dubose, Jem, or both?
Camellia* :)
In the story, there are multiple examples of connections between flowers and people. One example is Miss Maudie and her garden. Her most prized possesion was her azaleas. "Miss Maudie hated her house: time spent indoors was time wasted" (Lee 42). Azaleas are showy flowers that vary in color. These flowers have a connection to Miss Maudie because she did not discriminate against people of other races; she liked people of all colors. She was also very proper and well kept, similar to the showy quality of the azaleas.
Miss Maudie is like her azaleas that she cares so much about. "Jem and I had always enjoyed the free run of Miss Maudie's yard if we kept out of her azaleas, but our contact with her was not clearly defined" (42). "Miss Maudie hated her house: time spent indoors was time wasted" (42). She loved the outdoors and had a bright personality, connecting her with the azaleas. Azaleas are very bright and bring warmth to the garden with their inviting colors.
Miss Maudie would always be in her yard tending to her azaleas (p. 42). An azalea is a flower that symbolizes temperance, passion and womanhood. Miss Maudie does her best to look and act like a proper woman. She has passion about being outdoors, instead of inside the house wasting time (p. 42).
On page 42 one finds out Miss Mauide is known for her azaleas. These flowers are very elegant, and colorful. Miss Maudie is very polite to people which seems to go along with the calmness of the flowers. She is always trying to make herself look nice, like the flowers, and to sacrifice time to keep them in good life. She does this same thing with her life. When her house had burnt down she told the children that she had always wanted more room for her garden, this means she trys to look at the brighter side of life.
I think that Aunt Alexandra might symbolize a rose in the sense that she is a very firm and "proper" individual who believes that she should always look, behave, and be percieved as being an ideal "lady" like a rose is normally considered to be an ideal flower. But at the same time Alexandra like a rose, has a thorny underside that if you are not careful around can cause harm.
Miss Maudie loves flowers and nature. "She loved everything that grew in God's earth, even the weeds"(33). She grows azaleas. Miss Maudie is a caring person that is concerned about others. She has the same concern with her flowers. She pays very close attention to her flowers and takes very good care of them. Miss Maudie is a very well kept, neat person. Her azaleas are as well.
One example of a character from the story is "related" to a flower is when Mrs. Dubose sends jem a camellia. It shows that she and the flower have passed away.
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(o.o)
(")(")* Bunny
An example of a character relating to a flower is when Mrs. Dubose sends Jem the camellia, it shows that as the flower has passed on in life so has she.
The flower associated with Mrs.Dubose is the camellia. This flower might convey that deep down inside of her she really is a good and pure person despite her racism. The camellia is a white flower. When I think of the color white, I think of purity. On page Atticus addressed Scout and said, "I think it was her way of telling you - everything's all right now, Jem, everything's all right." This shows me that underneath all of her evil ways, she had a good heart.
Miss Maudie is a huge fan of the Azalea flower. It is a five pedal pink flower that grow in shrubs and they all bloom at once. She loves these flowers and says "Footwashers believe anything that's a pleasure in sin. Did you know some of 'em came out of the woods one Saturday and passed by this place and told me and my flowers were going to hell?"
Dill Said " Your flowers, too?"
"Yes ma'am. They'd burn right with me," Miss Maudie replied (Lee 35).
Miss maudie's most prized flower was her azaleas. The one night when it started snowing, she was covering up her azaleas so they didn't freeze.
Page 93*
Charles Baker “Dill” Harris to me resembles a bramhakamal. A bramhakamal only blooms once a year at night and this reminds me of how Dill only comes during the summer. Scout cant wait for Dill to come just like we cant wait for the bramhakamal to bloom. Scout said, "With him, life was routine; without him, life was unbearable." (116).
Mrs. Dubose has camellia bushs. On page 86 Jem cuts the top off of every bush she owned until the ground was covered with green buds and leaves. Jem went every saturday to fix the flowers and make them grow back. Once Mrs. Dubose passed away she gave Atticus a flower to give to Jem. This showed that she cared for Jem a lot because these flowers were very important to her.
To Kill A Mockingbird has connections between the characters and flowers. The flower that is associated with Miss Maudie is an azalea, which is a summer flower that can blossom in various colors. This flower might represent Miss Maudie's views on racism. She is a woman that does not care what color of skin a person has (Lee 33)
Miss Maudie Atkinson is related to the azaleas.(Chapter 5, page 33) The flower symbolizes Miss Maudie by saying she's bold and determining. When her house burns down she doesn't get depressed about it but simply says that she will have a smaller house built to make more room for her azaleas(60).
Miss Maudie is very into gardening and plants altogether. Her favorite flower is an azelea, which she talks about on page 33. The azalea flower only lives for a few weeks after it blooms, which relates to the coming of age theme in the book because they bloom and die so quickly. This flower is appropriate for Miss Maudie becasue she treats the children like adult and teaches them how to be grown up.
Like Kelsey said there are multiple examples of connections between flowers and people, and one example is Dill and his friendship between Sout and Jem. Dill represents Pear blossom flowers because these flowers relate to a long lasting friendship. In Chapter 12, page 98 Scout Says " With Dill life was routine, without him, life was unbearable. I stayed miserabloe for two days."
Mayella's flowers are what seperate her from her family. In there yard were "the remains of a Model- T Ford (on blocks), a discarded dentist's chair, an ancient icebox, plus lesser items: old shoes, worn-out table radios, picture frames, and fruit jars, under which scrawny orange chickens pecked hopefully" (Lee 170). In one corner of the yard however surprised Maycomb. "Against a fence, in a line, were six chipped-enamel slop jars holding brillant red geraniums, cared for as tenderly as if they belonged to Miss Maudie Atkinson" (Lee 171). This shows that Mayella doesnt want to be like her family it shows that she is a different kind of Ewell.
Miss Maudie loves flowers and her garden. She spends a lot of time working on them. She works in her garden and with her flowers until her hands crack and bleed. This shows that she is willing to work hard to achieve the greater good in things. The people of Maycomb county say that she has the most beautiful garden and flowers around. Even when she is offered help from Jem and Scout, she doesn't accept it. She is a great women and a good person in general.
I believe that Lee included the part about Mrs. Dubose sending Jem the flower after her death to symbolize that Jem had not only repaid his debt to Mrs. Dubose but also began his "evolution" from a boy to young man by both taking responsibility for his actions and realizing that it is his duty as a citizen of humanity to help those in need, much in the same way Atticus is helping Tom Robinson despite the fact that his case is a lost cause. That flower also symbolizes the impact that Jem had on Mrs. Dubose and the grattitude that she felt toward him. This piece of the story very clearly ties into the bildungsroman theme found within the entire book.
Mrs. Dubose is closely realted to the Camellia flowers she is so fond of in that, throughout the whole part about her Atticus is always telling Jem and Scout that she is really a very nice woman she is just troubled. Her flowers relate to her in that they are pure. She sends Jem the bud off of one of her flowers, and Atticus conveys the message that it's okay now.
Miss Maudie and her flowers are very close. She loves her azaleas and she considers them one of her most prized possessions.
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