Short stories – Cont’d
AS WE continue to ‘talk’ about Olive Senior’s wonderful story, we need to think about the narrator. It is through her at-first unspoilt and innocent eyes that the narrative is told. She it is who shows us, the readers, that there are at least two separate realities in the country.You know that many children are curious but have limited experience of life. They learn by asking questions and by observing what takes place around them. Each visit that the child narrator of our story pays to a grandmother, yields more information.
When she goes to Grandma Del’s house, she notices the photographs that are prominently displayed. She also sees those that are not, so she becomes aware that one that she expects to be there – a wedding picture of her grandmother and her husband – is missing. The reaction of her grandmother to her question tells us that it is a touchy subject. The granddaughter still had no clue as to the truth of the situation because her experience is of children being born to married couples. The writer also uses the incident to prepare us for Eulalie’s later disclosures.
What we hear about is through the regular chat sessions that the child has with her mother. The questions she asks and the ‘confidences’/gossip that she shares, inform us and move the story forward. You must have noticed that her mother does not reply, but later developments let us know that she is cooperating with her daughter.
When she tells her mother that Grandma makes church dresses and a hat for her, we find out that her parents do not attend church. This is made even clearer when she tells her that Grandma sends her to Sunday school and wants to know if her mother had gone to Sunday school. That she often repeats comments that her grandmothers say which could create conflict, is evidence of her innocence. This is evident in instances such as the following:
‘She says she cannot imagine how a girl-child (that’s me) can leave home with nothing but blue jeans and T-shirts and shorts and not a single dress.’ (Grandma Del)
‘Other than that, your Grandmother Del is a country bumpkin of the deepest waters, and don’t quote her goddam sayings to me.’ (Grandma Elaine)
As she grows older and begins to lose her innocence, she begins to make judgements and they are not in favour of the simple, rustic way of living. She becomes conscious of and attracted to Towser’s type of lifestyle. It is not that she did not find the way Towser dresses and looks admirable before, but she was not then drawn to them. She did not like the change(s) in Melody after she attended charm school for the first time but later, as she gets older, she alters her attitude. She is certainly not going to miss Melody’s party so that she can get to Grandma Del’s house early the next day!
Do you blame her for modifying her position towards Pearlie? Why do you think she does so? She spends her time indoors when she goes to Grandma Del. What reasons does she have for doing so?
I would like you to find and list incidents in this story that make you laugh; in other words, humorous goings-on. Afterwards, see how many of them are caused by the granddaughter’s naivete.
One of the questions that arises about the family in this story is, ‘what about love?’ It appears that, among the adults, we have gossiping, colour and class distinctions, lack of responsibility and selfishness. Among the teens, we find poverty and abuse, irresponsibility and lack of self-control. It does not appear as if Grandma Towser loves or is in love with any of the three men with whom she is involved in the course of the tale. Their material possessions and appearance attract her to them. Does she love her granddaughter? It is hard to tell, for she cannot find time to spend with her and does not even clean up her expression to accommodate the child. We see and hear of no interaction between the child’s parents. In fact, she says towards the end of the narrative that her father doesn’t have time for anyone anymore and questions whether there is ever a time nowadays when he is at home. However, we have to take into account that persons of the grandmothers’ generation did not always show their affection with hugs and kisses, but rather with the things they do for their children and grandchildren. Grandma Del demonstrates her feeling towards her grandchild by making dresses and a hat for her. In her own way, Grandma Towser shows she cares by suggesting that her grandchild should attend charm school. What do you think?
The young child we meet at the start of the story is certainly different in outlook by the time the story ends. Next time, we intend to ‘chat about’ this. Don’t hesitate to start up your study group. Walk good and God bless!