marigolds and primrose

This week for English, out teacher (who has this special, magical taste in literature), made us read "Marigolds".  Now, first, you should know that my teacher (we'll call her Mrs. Steve) really likes tragic stories--"The Scarlett Ibis" (crippled boy is run to death) "The Sniper" (sniper kills his own brother), and "The Cask of Amontillado" (idiot is murdered).  Okay, maybe that last one wasn't that sad, but seriously.
So you might understand why I wasn't expecting "Marigolds" to be that great.
I was wrong.
The story was a little sad, but good, too.  It's about a girl named Lizabeth, and how she destroys a bunch of marigolds that Miss Lottie planted.  On the outside, it's simple.  But it's got a lot that goes on, and the very last sentence it "And I have planted marigolds, too".  Quite frankly, that was the bet last sentence ever.  It other stories, like "The Sniper" and "The Scarlet Ibis", it just ends depressingly.  Like, oh my, the guy I shot was my brother!  and Noo!  I just ran my brother, who was crippled for years and just learned how to walk a few summers ago, to death!  So, yeah.  But this one is different.
Because Lizabeth plants marigolds.
In our culture, people think writers are only great if they kill off characters.  It's like, what made the "Hunger Games" was the fact that everyone likeable dies.  AND THERE'S SUPPOSED TO BE BEAUTY IN THAT?!  It drives me crazy!  Or, like, so long as something depressing happens, it's a good book.  SERIOUSY???
So what makes Marigolds different?  It's obviously that last sentence.  I never realized before that how a single sentence can bring out the beautiful in all the bad.  Because Lizabeth plants marigolds, she rebuilds what she destroyed.  She makes up for it.  She repairs it.
That was why it was different--why it was better.  Because it didn't end completely sadly.  I'd like to think that maybe Miss Lottie saw the marigolds when Lizabeth planted them, because that would be the perfect ending.  But, still, it was good enough.  Just the right mixture of a little tragic and a little good.
I can't help but think that maybe if Katniss had panted marigolds, things would have gone better for her, too.  Or maybe she should have panted roses.  Primroses.