In Marigolds what is the meaning or significance of this passage: "We children, of course, we were only vaguely aware of the extent of our poverty. Having no radios, few newspapers, and no magazines, we were somewhat unaware of the world, outside our community."

Understanding the setting of a story is important because the setting shapes the mood and tone. By knowing the setting, the reader can vividly picture where the story is taking place. The story "Marigolds" introduces the setting in the first few paragraphs when the narrator says she grew up during the Great Depression. The mood and tone of this story is gloomy and melancholy. While describing the setting of her childhood, the narrator describes that her most vivid memory of her childhood was dust.
"When I think of the hometown of my youth, all that I seem to remember is dust—the brown, crumbly dust of late summer—arid, sterile dust that gets into the eyes and makes them water, gets into the throat and between the toes of bare brown feet."
The narrator continues describing her childhood by stating, "we children, of course, were only vaguely aware of the extent of our poverty. Having no radios, few newspapers, and no magazines, we were somewhat unaware of the world outside our community." Because the narrator was a child during the Great Depression, she was rarely able to experience things and places outside of her community. By stating "...vaguely aware of the extent of our poverty," the narrator explains how she and the children in her community were unaware of their poverty because they had known no other way of living other than in poverty. They had no other lifestyle to compare to their own. Without access to media, the children had little knowledge about places and events beyond their community.
The narrator continues to describe their impoverished setting by comparing it to living in a cage. This imagery allows the reader to visualize the narrator's limitations and the depravity caused by the Great Depression. Due to her lack of experience, the narrator is naive to the severity of her living situation.