"Marigolds" takes place in a rural African-Amercian community during the 1930s. While reading the story you can see how the setting influences the narrator's experiences and the conflicts she faces. The last two sentences develop the idea that the narrator is learning the importance of understanding what makes a person unique: " For one does not have to be ignorant and poor to find that one’s life is barren as the dusty yards of one’s town. And I too have planted marigolds". You have to accept things as they are, without thought or question.