Coming of Age in The Flowers Sometimes growing up is not all it is cracked up to be. In the short story titled, “The Flowers” by Alice Walker, the underlying theme is coming of age. Coming of age is usually defined as the transition from childhood to adulthood. This transition could be smooth or it could be difficult and challenging. “The Flowers” could be described as the latter suggestion, because the main character is exposed to racial injustice. In “The Flowers”, the main character is a ten year old girl named Myop. The story briefly describes her carefree life as a sharecropper’s daughter. The climax of the story is when Myop gets lost in the woods and finds the rotting remains of a black man. Walker’s story, “The Flowers”, comes to terms with racial discrimination and how it shapes childhoods, using context, setting, and characterization. Coming of age is the universal theme of this short story. There are many instances in the text that led up to the overall theme, but the most important quote is located at the end of the story. “He had been a tall man…His head laid beside him…Myop saw that he head large white teeth, all of them cracked or broken…Myop laid down her flowers. And the summer was over” (par. 8). After discovering this horrifying truth, the brutal murders of blacks…show more content… During the beginning of the story Myop seems innocent and oblivious to her life as a sharecropper’s daughter. Her naïve nature makes her unaware of the events that led up to her loss of innocence. “Her heel became lodged in the broken ridge between brow and nose, and she reached down quickly, unafraid, to free herself. It was only when she saw his naked grin that she gave a little yelp of surprise” (par. 6). It is not until her foot becomes stuck in the head of the man, she becomes aware that something is not right; however, when she recognizes the noose she becomes fully aware of her