Analysis of Open Window

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Umarah Kabir Honors English Period 6 10/28/11 Look Again and Take a Closer Glance “Never judge a book by its cover” (Unknown). With one glance at someone, many of us probably can guess someone’s personality, but the truth is not all is what it seems. The authors of various short stories “The Most Dangerous Game”, “The Open Window”, “The Possibility of Evil” and “Marigolds” use suspense, irony, and the element of surprise to spark the reader’s interest, and to keep them lost in the story. Miss Lottie from “Marigolds” is one of the various examples of how people are not always what they seem. “Miss Lottie seemed to be at least a hundred years old. Her big frame still held traces of the tall, powerful woman she must have been in youth” (Collier ). When first reading “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier, the reader is under the impression that Miss Lottie is a wicked old woman who hates children and is bitter all the time. In reality though, she is one person in the mass of people suffering in the Great Depression, who is trying to make life seem not as dreary. She tries to plant hope and beauty in a world consumed in ugliness. “They [marigolds] interfered with the perfect ugliness of the place; they were too beautiful; they said too much that we could not understand; they did not make sense” (Collier ). When Lizabeth, the narrator, destroyed Miss Lottie’s marigolds, it was described as if she was destroying the innocence, hope, and beauty Miss Lottie tried to plant in a monotonous world. It was then Miss Lottie’s astounding innocence was revealed. In addition, it was recognized that looks could be quite deceiving. With big eyes and with an even bigger smile Vera is the definition of innocence or so she looks like it. Vera is a young girl from the story, “The Open Window” by Saki. With her innocent looks, it is only natural to think an innocent aura surrounds
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