Sister Flowers
“Sister Flowers” by Maya Angelou
What role did grammar play?
Mrs. Flowers was a very important role model in the life of the young girl, Marguerite. She was a person whom she looked up to and admired. Mrs. Flowers is a beautiful and well educated black woman of their town, Stamps, Arkansas. She dressed very well and spoke proper English as well. Marguerite was often times embarrassed by her “momma” (which is her grandmother) because of the way she spoke to Mrs. Flowers, or as her grandmother called her, Sister Flowers. Marguerite felt that her grandmother was showing her ignorance to Mrs. Flowers when they had conversation. To me, Marguerite felt that Mrs. Flowers looked down upon Marguerites grandmother because of her improper English and broken sentences. The way that her grandmother spoke, she often left out words, or verbs as Marguerite mentioned, which often times did not make sense when speaking. Marguerite also thought it was improper to call Mrs. Flowers, Sister Flowers, because she was not a member of their family or a member of the church. Toward the end of the short story, Mrs. Flowers invited Marguerite to her house. When Marguerite comes to her house, Mrs. Flowers teaches her the first “my lessons in living.” Mrs. Flowers teaches Marguerite that she “must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and even more intelligent than college professors.” I think that Mrs. Flowers teaching young Marguerite her life lessons that she felt more comfortable about the way her grandmother spoke and looked at her grandmother in a different light than before. There is a line in the beginning of the story that says, “It didn’t occur to me for many years that they were as alike as sisters, separated only by formal education.” Reading the story and thinking about it, it seems to me if Mrs. Flowers recognized that Marguerite looked up to her and might have felt that she
What role did grammar play?
Mrs. Flowers was a very important role model in the life of the young girl, Marguerite. She was a person whom she looked up to and admired. Mrs. Flowers is a beautiful and well educated black woman of their town, Stamps, Arkansas. She dressed very well and spoke proper English as well. Marguerite was often times embarrassed by her “momma” (which is her grandmother) because of the way she spoke to Mrs. Flowers, or as her grandmother called her, Sister Flowers. Marguerite felt that her grandmother was showing her ignorance to Mrs. Flowers when they had conversation. To me, Marguerite felt that Mrs. Flowers looked down upon Marguerites grandmother because of her improper English and broken sentences. The way that her grandmother spoke, she often left out words, or verbs as Marguerite mentioned, which often times did not make sense when speaking. Marguerite also thought it was improper to call Mrs. Flowers, Sister Flowers, because she was not a member of their family or a member of the church. Toward the end of the short story, Mrs. Flowers invited Marguerite to her house. When Marguerite comes to her house, Mrs. Flowers teaches her the first “my lessons in living.” Mrs. Flowers teaches Marguerite that she “must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and even more intelligent than college professors.” I think that Mrs. Flowers teaching young Marguerite her life lessons that she felt more comfortable about the way her grandmother spoke and looked at her grandmother in a different light than before. There is a line in the beginning of the story that says, “It didn’t occur to me for many years that they were as alike as sisters, separated only by formal education.” Reading the story and thinking about it, it seems to me if Mrs. Flowers recognized that Marguerite looked up to her and might have felt that she