Diction Analysis

Diction is the selection of words in a literary work. Diction conveys action, implies attitudes, develops themes, suggests values, and reveals a character. Diction and contrasting imagery are really important because they are what readers react and connect to. “The Flowers”, a short story by Alice Walker, is a great example of diction at play. This short story uses contrasting imagery and diction to develop and show meaning in the work. The contrasting imagery and diction convey meaning in Alice Walker’s short story, “The Flowers” because they show how the happy and good times shifted towards gloomy and sad moments. Also, the contrasting imagery and diction identify the loss of childhood innocence as a theme and they describe how Myop lost her childhood innocence.
There are many examples of contrasting imagery and diction that convey the short story’s meaning throughout the work. For example, the author uses happy and warm words to start the story. She references that Myop “skipped lightly” and that “the days had never been as beautiful,” She described each day to be “a golden surprise” which “caused little tremors to run up her jaws.” The diction and contrasting imagery in these phrases create a happy and cheerful setting. The diction in these phrases conveys meaning to the short story as a whole because it reveals Myop’s character. The word choice being short and sweet reveals that Myop is a young girl who sees the world as a peaceful and beautiful place to reside in. The word choice implies a welcoming attitude and it develops a theme. The theme developed by the diction and contrasting imagery is childhood innocence. The first paragraph uses happy, exciting, and warm words to display that Myop is just a young child who has yet to see the world. She is an innocent girl who has no reason to see the world as a dark and haunting place to live on.
Alice Walker uses the contrasting imagery and diction to show how Myop sees the world. Myop sees the world of its