Flower Garden Short Story Analysis

The short story Flower Garden by Shirley Jackson was a provocative tale of racism and the effects that it has on other people’s friendships. Flower Garden’s protagonist is a woman by the name of Helen Winning. Helen married into a wealthy family, and lives a happy life. One day, Helen meets Mrs. MacLane, a woman who moved into town with her son. For weeks Helen and Mrs. MacLane are close friends, until Mrs. MacLane decides that she can’t maintain her beautiful, new flower garden alone, and hires Mr. Jones (an African-American). Slowly, Mrs. MacLane and all of her new friends from town start to grow apart, and more people start talking about Mrs. MacLane behind her back. In the end of the book, the alienated Mrs. MacLane’s flower garden gets destroyed by a falling branch, leaving her to contemplate moving back into the city.

               

                I found this story interesting, and I believe that there are many levels of symbolism throughout the plot line. I believe that the flower garden symbolized the friendship between Mrs. MacLane and the townsfolk. In the beginning of the tale, Mrs. Maclane is popular, and the flower garden is colorful and gorgeous, but, soon after Mr. Jones starts associating with Mrs. MacLane, the flowers in the garden start to wilt and die. When things are at their worst, a large branch crushes the garden, also coinciding with Mrs. MacLane’s choice to move back to the city from which she came. I think that the main theme that Shirley Jackson wants readers to think about is tolerance. I could infer that the setting of the book is somewhere in the south, where some people’s views on African-Americans are cruel and askew, and that Mrs. MacLane moved from some big city in the north, where there is more tolerance for minorities. Mrs. MacLane didn’t understand why the townsfolk were shunning her because she has a more inclusive sense of equality, and on the other side of the same coin, the townsfolk didn’t understand why a popular woman such as their new neighbor would be seen with such “poor company.”

Query

Query

Ben H.

According to Dictionary.com, simplicity is the property, condition, or quality of being simple or un-combined. In other words, simplicity is the act of leading a lifestyle without overwhelming stress or demands brought upon you by the complexities of life. There are 8 main types of simplicity; there’s uncluttered simplicity, ecological simplicity, family simplicity, compassionate simplicity, soulful simplicity, business simplicity, civic simplicity, and frugal simplicity. Although uncluttered simplicity and frugal simplicity are the two branches of this mighty tree that are the most often referenced, the type of simplicity that I plan to talk about is compassionate simplicity.

                Compassionate simplicity is in short, the act of bonding with the community around you, and is synonymous with values such as cooperation and fairness. I believe that the world around us can benefit deeply if compassionate simplicity was a principle that was stapled into the beliefs of the general public. If I were to list three benefits of this form of kindness off the top of my head, I’d note that people would probably be more charitable, often looking out for others, and less socially harmful. Mahatma Gandhi, visionary and leader once said, “Live simply so that others can simply live.” The meaning of this quote is that if we live in kindness and compassionate simplicity, others live easier and better lives as well, and thusly, you aren’t just doing yourself a favor, but you’re also contributing to the wellness of a portion of the community! Here is a short video demonstrating the quality of compassionate simplicity.

http://www.values.com/inspirational-stories-tv-spots/92-Generosity

                In conclusion, the world is a less confusing, and altogether warmer place if you decided to adjust your beliefs accordingly to the spice of simplicity. Whether on a small basis, such as focusing on needs instead of wants, or taking a fuller step and looking into more difficult options, such as really looking at your life, and deciding what’s important to you. This week’s query is, “How can I be nicer to people on a day to day basis?”