Red Flowers
The red
geraniums cultivated by Mayella Ewell are a recurrent motif of hers. Mayella
lives in squalor, in a dilapidated farmstead, a place describes as looking like
“the playhouse of an insane child”. Nevertheless, "against the fence, in a
line, were six chipped-enamel slop jars holding brilliant red geraniums, cared
for as tenderly as if they belonged to Miss Maudie Atkinson.” The red geraniums
could represent Mayella’s struggle to find some beauty in her woeful life. Harper
Lee also could be using the geraniums as a symbol of civility and decorum. Mayella
cultivates the flowers as she yearns for a more genteel lifestyle.
Therefore, the red geraniums could be symbolic of the idea that Atticus has always tried impress upon his children-that good exists in everyone. Throughout the text, Atticus repeatedly asserts the idea that no matter how corrupted a person, the propensity for goodness is still ever-present.
Therefore, the red geraniums could be symbolic of the idea that Atticus has always tried impress upon his children-that good exists in everyone. Throughout the text, Atticus repeatedly asserts the idea that no matter how corrupted a person, the propensity for goodness is still ever-present.