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Post by Ms. Miller, MAED & MA on Aug 19, 2021 10:36:16 GMT -8
Directions: This serves as an extension of your Socratic Seminar from your class period. Please register first, so your name appears each time you post. This discussion includes all three periods. In no less than 150 words, share any new insight that helps us uncover additional layers of the text. Read as many responses as you can and in no less than 75 words, respond to 1-2 of your classmates’ by extending their commentary. Happy Collaboration.
Prompt: How do the patterns of literary elements and techniques of Granny Weatherall’s deteriorating health and attitude influence or define her as a character? Explain.
To reply to a classmate, please click “quote” from the original post. Your reply will be placed directly below the original.
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Post by eriiic on Aug 19, 2021 15:08:39 GMT -8
We can see that Weatherall first shows a brash/lone wolf personality due to her self-made lifestyle, like when she replies to the Doc that "he wasn't even born yet" when she triumphed worse conditions. However, when remembering her time is short, she almost immediately transforms to like a social groupie, desperate for company during her final moments. It's like she was so comfortable living a life of strength that she didn't really consider how to manage or accept when she becomes her weakest.
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Srinidhi Muralidhar
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Post by Srinidhi Muralidhar on Aug 19, 2021 16:18:36 GMT -8
Building off of eriiic's initial comment, we could also look at Granny's changing character in a different way. From another perspective, we can observe Granny Weatherall's recollection of two different parts of her life, one in which she was full of vigor and had to rely on herself, and another in which she had to be taken care of. From this view, it could also be argued that Granny Weatherall was so immersed in her youth and how she used to take on the world, that she was unable to cope with the reality that she could no longer do anything but accept her fate. This is enforced by the speed of the story, as things moved faster and faster as the story progressed. At first, every emotion of Granny's was focused on: "Her bones felt loose, and floated around in her skin, and Doctor Harry floated like a balloon around the foot of the bed" (Porter). This is one of many details that focus on every instance of Granny's encounters with the doctors and nurses. Later, things became very quick and sudden: " Light flashed on her closed eyelids, and a deep roaring shook her... 'I'm not going, Cornelia. I'm taken by surprise. I can't go'" (Porter). There is a significant shift in sentence formation that defines her character as it emphasizes her deteriorating health and her startled mind as well.
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Srinidhi Muralidhar
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Post by Srinidhi Muralidhar on Aug 19, 2021 16:26:32 GMT -8
Replying to eriiic. Granny's shift in interest from being very closed off and thingyy, to longing to see her loved ones is truly important and noteworthy. This is representative of the symptoms that one experiences when they feel like they will die. Granny is naturally trying to unite herself with her family to remember her life and the important stages of that life. Even though Granny was aware that death could come searching for her anytime, like any human, she decided to respond with surprise. In How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas Foster speaks about how characters are not human because they are figments of writer imagination, and that their experiences impact us a lot more due to how human they seem. This is true for Granny as well because we all can understand her emotions and can sympathize with her state in the story.
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Post by Thomas Lee on Aug 19, 2021 17:36:44 GMT -8
Going in more detail in which eriiic had quickly mentioned earlier on Granny's view of herself as being strong having lived a life of strength through her youthful adulthood. However, this is no longer the case as she has aged and is no longer in that state that can live a life of strength which Granny continues to deny. Granny has shown through the text a variety of feelings which seemingly contradict shown as she is in deep denial about her character as an individual. For example, regarding her character Granny tells herself that she got over her previous marriage with George but keeps bringing up her previous marriage which implies she had never gotten over it. She also does not admit to the harsh attitude towards her children which may have distanced herself even further from reality to create her own world separate from that of the rest of the world as we constantly see how the world perceives Granny: an old woman who has become nearly handicap from her denial towards self-evident facts. This is implied through the consistent use of old and words pertaining to time, such as yesterday which not only implies the aging Granny but also the constant looking back to the past and the diluted perception of herself as a young woman.
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Post by Srinidhi on Aug 19, 2021 17:49:38 GMT -8
We can see that Weatherall first shows a brash/lone wolf personality due to her self-made lifestyle, like when she replies to the Doc that "he wasn't even born yet" when she triumphed worse conditions. However, when remembering her time is short, she almost immediately transforms to like a social groupie, desperate for company during her final moments. It's like she was so comfortable living a life of strength that she didn't really consider how to manage or accept when she becomes her weakest. Replying to eriiic. Granny's shift in interest from being very closed off and thingyy, to longing to see her loved ones is truly important and noteworthy. This is representative of the symptoms that one experiences when they feel like they will die. Granny is naturally trying to unite herself with her family to remember her life and the important stages of that life. Even though Granny was aware that death could come searching for her anytime, like any human, she decided to respond with surprise. In How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas Foster speaks about how characters are not human because they are figments of writer imagination, and that their experiences impact us a lot more due to how human they seem. This is true for Granny as well because we all can understand her emotions and can sympathize with her state in the story. |
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Post by Safi Saleem on Aug 19, 2021 17:58:42 GMT -8
It is evident that Granny would die later on when she states, "she found death in her mind and it felt clammy and unfamiliar. She had spent so much time preparing for death there was no need for bringing it up again." This quote shows that she was comfortable with the topic of death, but most importantly it was foreshadowing that she would, later on, die in the story. This also reveals about her personality that she has a very tough mental and that probably something in her past prepared her for this moment.
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Srinidhi Muralidhar
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Post by Srinidhi Muralidhar on Aug 19, 2021 17:59:29 GMT -8
Going in more detail in which eriiic had quickly mentioned earlier on Granny's view of herself as being strong having lived a life of strength through her youthful adulthood. However, this is no longer the case as she has aged and is no longer in that state that can live a life of strength which Granny continues to deny. Granny has shown through the text a variety of feelings which seemingly contradict shown as she is in deep denial about her character as an individual. For example, regarding her character Granny tells herself that she got over her previous marriage with George but keeps bringing up her previous marriage which implies she had never gotten over it. She also does not admit to the harsh attitude towards her children which may have distanced herself even further from reality to create her own world separate from that of the rest of the world as we constantly see how the world perceives Granny: an old woman who has become nearly handicap from her denial towards self-evident facts. This is implied through the consistent use of old and words pertaining to time, such as yesterday which not only implies the aging Granny but also the constant looking back to the past and the diluted perception of herself as a young woman. Thomas brings up a good point. Granny has many layers in character because of her outward distancing from her kids and her inner regrets and wishes to be able to make peace with George, who traumatizes her to a point where she cannot cope. There is quite a lot of trouble that Granny goes through when she tries to cope with the events of her life. Her denial can be seen as the way to vent out these regrets. On the outside she tries to distance herself, but on the inside, her longing to be connected is even higher, which is contributing to a very harmful attitude. |
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Post by Thomas Lee on Aug 19, 2021 18:55:11 GMT -8
We can see that Weatherall first shows a brash/lone wolf personality due to her self-made lifestyle, like when she replies to the Doc that "he wasn't even born yet" when she triumphed worse conditions. However, when remembering her time is short, she almost immediately transforms to like a social groupie, desperate for company during her final moments. It's like she was so comfortable living a life of strength that she didn't really consider how to manage or accept when she becomes her weakest. [unedited first response below] Going in more detail in which eriiic had quickly mentioned earlier on Granny's view of herself as being strong having lived a life of strength through her youthful adulthood. However, this is no longer the case as she has aged and is no longer in that state that can live a life of strength which Granny continues to deny. Granny has shown through the text a variety of feelings which seemingly contradict shown as she is in deep denial about her character as an individual. For example, regarding her character Granny tells herself that she got over her previous marriage with George but keeps bringing up her previous marriage which implies she had never gotten over it. She also does not admit to the harsh attitude towards her children which may have distanced herself even further from reality to create her own world separate from that of the rest of the world as we constantly see how the world perceives Granny: an old woman who has become nearly handicap from her denial towards self-evident facts. This is implied through the consistent use of old and words pertaining to time, such as yesterday which not only implies the aging Granny but also the constant looking back to the past and the diluted perception of herself as a young woman. |
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Post by Thomas Lee on Aug 19, 2021 19:09:17 GMT -8
It is evident that Granny would die later on when she states, "she found death in her mind and it felt clammy and unfamiliar. She had spent so much time preparing for death there was no need for bringing it up again." This quote shows that she was comfortable with the topic of death, but most importantly it was foreshadowing that she would, later on, die in the story. This also reveals about her personality that she has a very tough mental and that probably something in her past prepared her for this moment. This is a very interesting point brought on by Safi since the quote he presents does show a foreshadowing of death as stated but also brings up the inner conflicts of Granny. Granny is portrayed as a strong character who feels pride in her strength all the while it is presumed she is preparing for death as stated. If this were the case she would have some fear of death having thought of it to that extent but rather she feels "no need for bringing it up again" showing despite death being around the corner, she still clings to her innate traits of being strong. |
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Post by Thomas Lee on Aug 19, 2021 19:22:15 GMT -8
Towards the end of the short story it is interesting to see that the author chose to use the color blue for Cornelia's lampshades, making the light blue. This light stays with Granny until the end where she blew out the light. The blue light may symbolize Granny's strength since we see that she continues to have strength in the text or at least attempts at representing herself to be strong. But at the end of her life there is not much strength but rather hopelessness as the text states "for the second time there was no sign" emphasizing the point that it had not happened the first time, therefore making the lack of sign more impactful. Therefore, when Granny chose to blow out the light it may have also been her letting herself rest from her strong person outward attitude, even if it is a second before she dies.
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Post by Kyle C. on Aug 19, 2021 19:43:16 GMT -8
One parallel that I did notice was between Granny's jilting and Granny's current situation. Both of them show denial of the situation and eventually show acceptance of the situation. Granny was jilted by George and rationalized the situation for over 60 years, never coming to terms with the pain: "Wounded vanity Ellen, said a sharp voice in the top of her mind. Don't let your wounded vanity get the upper hand of you. Plenty of girls get jilted. You were jilted, weren't you? Then stand up to the pain." After dreaming about Hapsy, a shift in Granny's mentality changes, and she wants to see George again and tell him that she lived a stable life despite the grief she lived with, showing that she has come to terms with the pain. Likewise, Granny knew she was getting old but never really accepted it, showing signs of strength such as postponing actions for tomorrow. However, towards the end of the story, as Granny is near death, she comes to terms with it, asking God for a sign that she is loved. Both parallel situations then merge into one, as the fact that God never acknowledged her request filled her with the same grief she felt when George jilted her.
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Post by Kyle C. on Aug 19, 2021 19:54:36 GMT -8
Towards the end of the short story it is interesting to see that the author chose to use the color blue for Cornelia's lampshades, making the light blue. This light stays with Granny until the end where she blew out the light. The blue light may symbolize Granny's strength since we see that she continues to have strength in the text or at least attempts at representing herself to be strong. But at the end of her life there is not much strength but rather hopelessness as the text states "for the second time there was no sign" emphasizing the point that it had not happened the first time, therefore making the lack of sign more impactful. Therefore, when Granny chose to blow out the light it may have also been her letting herself rest from her strong person outward attitude, even if it is a second before she dies. This is a great interpretation of a blue lampshade, but I feel like blue colored lampshades represent Cornelia's hopes for Granny to realize her situation and make peace with it. Blue, according to color psychology, actually represents calmness, stability, and tranquility; we all know that Granny did not feel that at all. When Granny dies, she blows out the blue light. At the same time, when asking God for a sign, her request wasn't acknowledged and she became panicked. When Granny blows out the light, it might represent her going insane from the grief, as blowing out the blue light means that there is no sense of stability in Granny's mind anymore. |
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Post by olivia nam on Aug 19, 2021 20:32:24 GMT -8
granny weatherall obviously shows signs of independency and pride through her dialogue, especially in the beginning where she mentions she "pays her own bills" as a defensive tactic when greeted by her doctor. she is very aware of her state since she's been preparing for this moment since she was 60, as now she is 80, is has this mindset of "its bound to happen." since she is 80, she still has that elderly mindset where they stick to their old habits and it shapes them as their own personality, so she comes off as stern and stubborn, even a little thingyy. this may be a defense mechanism where she wants to seem strong and as if she doesn't care of whats bound to happen so she doesn't need the pity coming from her family. But, there are parts in the story where she reminices on her past and wishes to go back. although granny weatherall pushes her family away with her stubborness, her family stuck with her till her last moments.
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Post by Hilary Chen on Aug 19, 2021 20:53:30 GMT -8
Chapter 23 of HTRLLAP fits almost perfectly with this short story, not in the way that Granny Weatherall has a specific illness or heart disease, but in the way that the author always has a reason for an "illness". In this case, Granny Weatherall slowly dying drives the entire storyline. The short story begins with Dr. Harry visiting her, which then leads to Granny's children coming to visit. Through her sickness we also get the opportunity to read her inner dialogue, which slowly turns from her being bitter towards all of the other characters to transforming into a kinder woman who accepts her own death.
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