SIRA—SHORT INDEPENDENT READING ASSIGNMENT

 “The Flowers”

by Alice Walker

In your heading, be sure to include the story name and the assignment # you complete.

(Punches will be given when the assignment is turned in and graded.)

"The Flowers" ASSIGNMENT #1 (worth 2 IR punches--Make sure you EDIT your work!)

Look up the following words in bold and answer the questions that go with them.

1.  Using context clues from the first three paragraphs of the story, explain what the setting of the story is and what words in the story give you that idea.

2.  Look up sharecropper.  Myop's family is a family of sharecroppers.  What does this tell you about the time they are living in?  What other things does this tell you about what Myop's family is like.  Explain why.

3.  Picture Myop in your head.  Then describe Myop.  What age is she and what does she look like?  Use clues from the story to explain why you think she looks like she does.  (Write 3 or more sentences.)

4.  Describe the mood (the emotional atmosphere the story creates for you) of the first four paragraphs of the story.  Explain why you think that is the mood of those paragraphs using clues from the story.

5.  Describe the mood starting with the fifth paragraph of the story (to the end).  Explain why you think that is the mood of those paragraphs using clues from the story.

6.  Look up the word noose.  What is it made of?  What is it used for?  List several things it's used for.

7.  Considering the time period and what you know of Myop and her family, what do you think happened to the the man Myop finds disintegrating in the woods?  Explain why you think that is what happened.

8.  Look up myopia.  What does it mean?  What connection(s) does this word have with Myop in the story (other than the first four letters match!)?  Explain these connections.

"The Flowers" ASSIGNMENT #2  (worth 1 IR punch--Make sure you EDIT your work!)

1.  If you haven't already done this (in assignment #1), look up myopia.  What does it mean?

2.  An epiphany is a sudden realization or understanding about something.  For instance, when you watch cartoons and you see the character have a light bulb go on over its head, usually that mean the character has suddenly thought of something.  Epiphanies are kind of like that.  Myop has an epiphany in this story which is why she lays down her flowers at the end of the story.  What is it that Myop suddenly understands about her world?  Explain your answer based on information from the story.

3.  The last line of the story is figurative, not literal.  What deeper meaning do you think that line has in this story?  Explain why you think so based on information from the story.