This document discusses the different types of characters in the story "Marigolds", including major/minor characters, protagonists/antagonists, and dynamic/static characters. It analyzes the main characters of Lizabeth, the protagonist, and Miss Lottie, the antagonist. Lizabeth is a dynamic, round character who matures over the course of the story. Miss Lottie is a static character who values beauty. It also discusses how subordinate characters like Lizabeth's family and the other kids provide context and influence the main characters.

1. “Marigolds”
Major and Minor Characters
By
Vivian Takla and Raquel Lindo

2. Types of Characters
• Main and subordinate
• Protagonist and antagonist
• Round vs. flat
• Dynamic vs. Static

3. Lizabeth
• Lizabeth is the protagonist of the story
• MAJOR/MAIN character
• Has many sides and complex, like a real person (round personality)
• Dynamic character- at the beginning she was still child-like and throughout
the story she becomes mature

4. Characterization of Lizabeth
• Private thoughts and feelings- she is going through an internal conflict
which results in mixed emotions
• Actions- she destroys Miss Lottie’s marigolds in confusion and rage
“The child in me sulked and
said it was fun, but the woman
in me flinched at the thought of
the malicious attack I had
led”(416).

5. Miss Lottie
• Miss Lottie is the antagonist of the story
• MAJOR character
• Static character- she valued the marigolds, which brought beauty and hope
into the ugliness of poverty

6. “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, although it was
Characterization of Miss Lottie
now bent and drawn.” (414)
• Appearance- She was compared to a witch, but by the end, Lizabeth saw her
as a broken old lady
• Actions- When the kids were making fun of her, she almost hit Lizabeth
with her cane
• Other character reactions- the kids fear her which makes her seem scary
• Speech- when Miss Lottie yells at the kids it reveals how she was upset and
annoyed with them

7. Subordinate Characters
• MINOR characters
• They teach us more about the main
characters
• They can also influence the main
characters
In the story the subordinate
characters are:
• Lizabeth’s family
• The other kids

8. Influence of Subordinate Characters
Lizabeth’s family influence:
• The poverty conflict Lizabeth’s
parents discuss influences our
understanding by clarifying why
Lizabeth has mixed emotions and
confusion, leading to her
destruction on the marigolds.
The kids influence:
• When Lizabeth and the other kids
were throwing rocks at the
marigolds, Lizabeth becomes
ashamed because she realizes that it
is wrong