Characterization of Myop

Outer characterization

The short story “The Flowers” by Alice Walker focuses on Myop, the main character. Her outer characterization reveals that she is 10 years old and African American (p. 107, ll. 8-10). Myop lives in a “sharecropper cabin” (p. 107, ll. 11-12), in a rural landscape. The mention of the sharecropper system suggests that Myop’s family offers part of their crop as rent for living on the farmland. 

The story does not offer details about Myop’s family and only briefly mentions her mother (p. 107, ll. 18-20).

Myop’s name has a symbolic meaning

The girl's name can be associated with the word “myopia”, or nearsightedness, which means that you see close objects clearly while distant objects become blurry. Myop sees only the things she is currently concerned with, such as individual chickens and the flowers she is looking for. Even when she steps on the dead man, she does not initially seem afraid. It is only when she sees the noose that she seems to realize the general significance of the man’s death. This is not jus...

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