Imagine that you are reading a story in class and the teacher asks you the theme. Often, students in the class come up with different answers. This may leave you wondering if there is just one right answer. Since the theme is the moral or subject of the story, most stories can have more than one. For example, in the short story “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier, in this story more than one theme is shown and perceived through the main character Lizabeth. Examples of these themes are poverty, maturity, and the relationship between innocence and compassion. All this is found in modern life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay The setting throughout the story features the theme of poverty, which was common during the Great Depression. During these difficult times, Lizabeth's parents are constantly working to provide for the family, and their absence becomes one of the reasons that motivate Lizabeth's anger. When Lizabeth hears her father crying to her mother about his deep feelings of worthlessness, due to his inability to work and provide for his family, Lizabeth flies into an uncontrollable rage which leads to the destruction of Miss's worries. Lottie. (pages 221-222, Collier)Today, problems like hunger, thirst, and disease are more associated with poverty. Poverty means that people do not have the minimum amount of food and shelter necessary to survive, possibly experiencing lifelong problems. Lack of materials can lead people to do irrational things like stealing or working illegally. These results encourage more problems, like going to jail, which puts their family in even more debt, either from charges or bail loans. The destruction of Miss Lottie's worries leads to the interrelated themes of maturity, innocence, and compassion. In lines 370-375, Lizabeth states that "only through the loss of innocence can one gain compassion." In his case, the loss of innocence will result in maturity. As Lizabeth reflected on the shame she felt while standing in the ruined marigolds, the sudden realization of her lost innocence gave her maturity. Then, when she was older, Lizabeth realized that the reason she was ashamed was because she had destroyed the only beauty that Mrs. Lottie had created in the midst of poverty and ugliness. The moment of loss of innocence gives Lizabeth her maturity and compassion. Nowadays, “people think that the loss of innocence means the loss of virginity, but this is far from true. Innocence involves a blind acceptance of things at face value, an ignorance of the area beneath the surface. » (lines 369-373, Collier) “That was the beginning of compassion, and you can't have both compassion and innocence. » (lines 374-375, Collier) To know compassion means to be aware of the suffering of others and to have sympathy for the events that affect their lives. You may have experienced this when your friend's pet or loved one died and you comforted them and showed sympathy. The loss of innocence in this matter would be the loss of ignorance towards death. Nowadays, maturity is often associated with the age of 18, when one becomes a legal adult. However, maturity is the time when one reaches the most advanced stage in the process of full growth or development. For example, when people say you look mature for your age, they mean?