Marigolds

At the end of the story, the narrator states, "This was the beginning of compassion, and one cannot have both compassion and innocence." By this she means that it is impossible to be aware of the suffering someone is going through, while at the same time judging them only by what they are on the outside. Lizabeth is a black girl who is almost 15 years old. She lives with both of her parents and her 11…

…longer ignorantly accepts things for what they are at first glance. Once she has pity on Miss Lottie, she is no longer innocent. She is compassionate now, for she is aware of what Miss Lottie is going through, and wishes she could help her, as she has never done before. Because Lizabeth interprets compassion and innocence to be opposite emotions, she is saying that it is not possible to feel both at the same time.