Alice Walker short stories
“Petunias” and “The Flowers”
name__________________________
I.
II.
Read Alice Walker’s short stories “Petunias” and “The Flowers”.
Answer the following questions in complete sentences
1. Who is the narrator?
2. What information about Mama do you learn from direct statements? (three examples)
3. What can you infer about Mama’s personality and life? (two examples)
4. What is the setting of the story?
5. What is ironic about the name of the town Mama and her son live in?
6. What can you infer about the son’s experiences in Vietnam?
7. In your journal, write a paragraph explaining what you think was written on the last
page of Mama’s diary. (at least one paragraph)
IV. “The Flowers”
1. What happened to the man?
2. What is ironic about the discovery of the pink rose?
3. When and where do you think the story is set? Why?
4. What do you think Myop’s life is like? Why?
5. At what point in the story does the mood change? How?
6. Walker does not describe Myop’s feelings as she discovers the body, but she does
describe her actions. What do Myop’s actions tell the reader about her feelings as she
examines the body?
7.In your journal, become the man whose bones Myop finds and tell your story.(at least
one paragraph)