Setting

Physical setting

The events described in the short story “The Flowers” by Alice Walker take place somewhere in the US. This idea is reinforced by the mention of the sharecropping system (p. 107, ll. 11-12), which started in the US after the abolition of slavery.  The events take place at the end of summer and at the beginning of autumn, the change of seasons becoming symbolic of the end of childhood innocence.

The short story presents a rural setting, where Myop lives with her family. At the beginning, she describes the crops: “The harvesting of the corn and cotton, peanuts and squash made each day a golden surprise” (p. 107, ll. 3-5).  Through Myop’s eyes, the landscape seems idyllic (p. 107, ll. 13-17), but her childhood innocence prevents her from seeing the hardships of her family’s life in a racist society.

The story also focuses on the woods behind the house, which become an important element in Myop’s development. The wo...