Granny Weatherall’s Extended Discussion

[tony]

Granny's attitude and treatments towards the people around her are likely due to trauma from her past experiences. In the text, it talks about how granny was left by her husband so as a defense mechanism she instead pushes people away before they can go try to go away themselves leaving her alone again. There may be other traumatic events from granny but the one I mentioned serves to fuel the acts she thinks she needs to put on to be accepted. Ironically as she ages this act becomes more clear and begins to fall apart. Even her kids at one point talk about how childish she is, ironically as she ages she seems to de-age mentally. In the end of the story granny seems to give up her act and just accept her fate. In her last moments she believes god abandoned her even though her entire life she claimed to be a "good christian".

[tony]

Aug 21, 2021 13:45:38 GMT -8 Luigi Lozano said:

The Jilting of Granny Weatherall obtains strong patterns of literary elements that coincides with the real life comparisons of ordinary people and Granny's physical health. Towards the beginning of the short story, Granny perceived herself to show no empathy for anyone other than herself based on her failing condition. In her age, Weatherall's body has deteriorated extensively to the point where her peak condition no longer resides with her. Attributes that are not equal to the social normality is considered imperfect and frowned upon, even in our real world. People's traits feel judged by other people constantly throughout their life, that several reactions may take place. Depression and even frustration could result from the feelings of being inferior to other people's attributes, as Weatherall portrayed. For instance, in the beginning, Weatherall was frustrated with other people viewing her as frail and weaker than she used to be, which conflicted with her perception of being an unloving grandmother. Then, Weatherall faces a crisis where she obtains elements of a depressive disorder. She starts pondering death after realizing her life was not complete (in her standings). She states she had more to live for, and also wondered if her life and her decisions was what she actually is contempt with. The diction especially was relatable to the audience as we ourselves are influenced by other people, and view ourselves to be less fortunate than others around us. This idea that Granny Weatherall creates of herself, as a person who lost the ability of youth, is systematic and very complex in its understanding, for frustration can only exist through an alternative source. By this understanding, Granny Weatherall is misunderstood, and faces symptoms of depression and a natural response to human judgement that caused her behavior to act in this manner.

I agree with you Luigi granny is just misunderstood and due to what she faced in the past life she instead puts on an act to try to fit in. I agree when you said "Towards the beginning of the short story, Granny perceived herself to show no empathy for anyone other than herself based on her failing condition. In her age, Weatherall's body has deteriorated extensively to the point where her peak condition no longer resides with her. Attributes that are not equal to the social normality is considered imperfect and frowned upon, even in our real world. People's traits feel judged by other people constantly throughout their life, that several reactions may take place. Depression and even frustration could result from the feelings of being inferior" These actions likely led a lasting affect on granny that made up most of her character later in life.

[Grace Tran]

As Granny Weatherall is on her deathbed, she keeps a strong mentality, but it declines throughout the story. It is established that Granny is a very strong and strong headed figure. During her talk with her doctor, she has a very snappy tone towards him: "Don't tell me what I'm going to be. I'm on my feet now...". As the people around her, like the doctor and Cornelia, treat her as some frail and old lady (which she might be ironically), Granny's attitude and behavior shapes her strong characteristics. Although Granny portrayed herself to be a strong human being, we can also see the denial she is in at the beginning as a way of her coping mechanisms: "Granny wished the old days were back again...and everything to be done over". This denial portrayed by Granny appears numerous times throughout the story, and symbolizes her deteriorating health as she just wants “it” to be over. Continuing from that, the story transitions into Granny's past and convinces us that she is indeed a very strong woman: "She had fenced in a hundred acres at once, digging the post holes herself and clamping the wires with just a negro boy to help. That changed a woman". Knowing what Granny did (fencing acres) in her past, we know that it was abnormal for a woman to do that at the time; therefore, we know she has had a strong and tenacious life. Following Granny’s flashback to her strong and young self, she notes about doing things around the house: “She would start tomorrow and do them”. “Tomorrow” is a word we see frequently throughout the text; when mentioned, it insinuates Granny’s health deteriorating further since she puts off doing things she normally would. This shows the great change with Granny and her health, as she loses touch with her old self, and soon passes.

[Grace Tran]

Aug 22, 2021 0:53:01 GMT -8 Madison Zhuang said:

Throughout the story, Granny Weatherall alternates between her current situation, lying in her deathbed, and reflecting on her past. It is clear that Granny Weatherall is a strong-headed woman who thrives on independency. The contrast that is developed between these scenes show how Granny's deteriorating mental health is affecting her character. When she reflects on the past, she describes how productive she was around the house, exemplifying her determination. When the story shifts back to the present, Granny's attitude has changed as a result of her illness taking a toll on her, as she always thinks "That's tomorrows business" (Porter 82). Despite not being able to attend to herself, she is still insistent on not requiring the help of others. Cornelia, her daughter, and Doctor Harry often fall prey to Granny Weatherall's stubbornness. They take care of Granny by treating her as a helpless child, speaking in condescending tones and often reminding one another of how old Granny is. Though their actions of wanting to help are not malicious, from Granny's point of view, it is as if they think she is incapable and child-like. Being treated like this is an insult to Granny because she seems to pride herself on being someone who is not reliant on the help of others. Ultimately, Granny Weatherall's deteriorating health is reflected in her shift in attitude, yet simultaneously, her health has not completely erased who she was in the past.

To support what Mads said, I do agree that Granny reflecting on her past was a big part in showing her deteriorating health. The contrast between Granny's past and how she is now really shows the emphasis on the breakdown of Granny Weatherall, which I think is a very useful literary technique. The flashbacks of Granny's strength was shown when she acred thousands of plot holes, or when she was left at her own wedding by her groom. From these flashbacks, we get more of a sense of Granny's strength; furthermore, when compared to her now, like you said, it shows Granny's attitude and health change. 

[Ashley Ma]

There was a heavy presence of literary techniques such as repetition of certain diction and phrases that were monumental to the characterization of Granny Weatherall. Specifically, the repetition of certain childlike diction directed towards her verses the repetition of her age from herself emphasizes that at first, there was a lot of fight left in her. She repeatedly contradicted others' childlike treatment of her with the mention of her age, and how that should come with respect and distance. Rather than emphasizing and repeating her age to show how old she was, Granny Weatherall contradicted childlike diction with her age in hopes of gaining respect and a show of wisdom and strength. This is significant, as in the AP videos, they talk about how diction really affects how one can build a character and feel the character's emotions. Granny Weatherall's line of conscience continuously become blurred and grows to become very contrasting, showing her growing conflicted sense of self: becoming weaker at the end. Thus, these literary techniques of diction and repetition characterized Weatherall throughout the piece: changing when she changed and grew weaker, eventually leading to her "light" going out. 

[Ashley Ma]

Aug 22, 2021 14:33:56 GMT -8 Grace Tran said:

As Granny Weatherall is on her deathbed, she keeps a strong mentality, but it declines throughout the story. It is established that Granny is a very strong and strong headed figure. During her talk with her doctor, she has a very snappy tone towards him: "Don't tell me what I'm going to be. I'm on my feet now...". As the people around her, like the doctor and Cornelia, treat her as some frail and old lady (which she might be ironically), Granny's attitude and behavior shapes her strong characteristics. Although Granny portrayed herself to be a strong human being, we can also see the denial she is in at the beginning as a way of her coping mechanisms: "Granny wished the old days were back again...and everything to be done over". This denial portrayed by Granny appears numerous times throughout the story, and symbolizes her deteriorating health as she just wants “it” to be over. Continuing from that, the story transitions into Granny's past and convinces us that she is indeed a very strong woman: "She had fenced in a hundred acres at once, digging the post holes herself and clamping the wires with just a negro boy to help. That changed a woman". Knowing what Granny did (fencing acres) in her past, we know that it was abnormal for a woman to do that at the time; therefore, we know she has had a strong and tenacious life. Following Granny’s flashback to her strong and young self, she notes about doing things around the house: “She would start tomorrow and do them”. “Tomorrow” is a word we see frequently throughout the text; when mentioned, it insinuates Granny’s health deteriorating further since she puts off doing things she normally would. This shows the great change with Granny and her health, as she loses touch with her old self, and soon passes.

Grace makes a really good point of how Granny Weatherall always tries to insinuate her strength and past to overcome her denial of her impending death. Throughout the last half of the text, we see Granny Weatherall flipping between stories of her past and plans for the future. These conflicting flashbacks and talk of "tomorrow" adds onto to this idea of how Granny Weatherall is in great denial of her own death. I think in death, Weatherall still persists in great strength and fashion, as although she gets weaker and weaker, she doesn't let up until the very end. This shows how everyone will eventually come to the end of their life, but what counts is how they arrive at it. 

[rebeccaauu]

Aug 22, 2021 0:53:01 GMT -8 Madison Zhuang said:

Throughout the story, Granny Weatherall alternates between her current situation, lying in her deathbed, and reflecting on her past. It is clear that Granny Weatherall is a strong-headed woman who thrives on independency. The contrast that is developed between these scenes show how Granny's deteriorating mental health is affecting her character. When she reflects on the past, she describes how productive she was around the house, exemplifying her determination. When the story shifts back to the present, Granny's attitude has changed as a result of her illness taking a toll on her, as she always thinks "That's tomorrows business" (Porter 82). Despite not being able to attend to herself, she is still insistent on not requiring the help of others. Cornelia, her daughter, and Doctor Harry often fall prey to Granny Weatherall's stubbornness. They take care of Granny by treating her as a helpless child, speaking in condescending tones and often reminding one another of how old Granny is. Though their actions of wanting to help are not malicious, from Granny's point of view, it is as if they think she is incapable and child-like. Being treated like this is an insult to Granny because she seems to pride herself on being someone who is not reliant on the help of others. Ultimately, Granny Weatherall's deteriorating health is reflected in her shift in attitude, yet simultaneously, her health has not completely erased who she was in the past.

I strongly agree with what Madison said! On the topic of reflecting her current self and her past, readers also get an insight to her thoughts at the moment each one occurs to her. Porter conveys what it is like being an eighty-year-old women who's mind tends to wander, causing confusion for both Granny and the readers. The portrayal of Granny's thoughts in the beginning of the story is very straightforward and easy to follow. However, as the story progresses, the flashbacks become more occurrent and the dialogue makes it unclear about who is speaking. This represents Granny's deteriorating health and state of mind.

[Maya V.]

Aug 19, 2021 21:20:22 GMT -8 lilithzapata said:

The theme of denial is recurrent throughout the story. We see Granny Weatherall put on a facade of being a tough older woman but behind that mask is a woman who has experienced a great amount of hardship. She lost her husband John and was jilted at the altar. Perhaps the title itself relates to the idea of death. Jilted at the altar but also jilted by death at times. When she was 60, she describes preparing for death, but she did not die. Now that she is actually dying, there is a sense of fear which is a natural response to death.

Denial is also brought up when Granny is thinking of tomorrow, and how she can push off some of her tasks until tomorrow. It is also brought up when she is talking to the doctor, saying that there is nothing wrong with here, even though it is evident that she is, especially when she doesn't even realize what time it is, or how much time has passed. So I agree, the theme of denial is recurrent throughout the story.

[Maya V.]

Granny talks a lot of Cornelia throughout the story. But her consistent need for Cornelia shows her love for her, and although Granny doesn't have a great way of showing it she also realizes how much Cornelia does for her. I feel Granny talks bad to Cornelia so much because not only does she want some independence, but she feels that Cornelia is wasting her time taking care of Herself (Granny). While Granny also does have bad thoughts about Cornelia, it is shown through her wording, and past thoughts (Cornelia is too good and dutiful), that she realizes what Cornelia does, but maybe doesn't understand why.

[Maya V.]

Aug 22, 2021 9:34:44 GMT -8 Gianna Samayoa said:

As we know, the name of the character is Granny Weatherall. She did in fact weather through it all. She mentions having been left at the alter, digging post holes by herself, getting milk-leg and double pneumonia. Granny constantly talks about the past and all that she overcame and that what she is going through now is nothing. She also mentions hearing thunder and seeing lightning adding to the fact that she overcame the storm.

I agree that Granny's name does have some symbolism to her character. Granny has gone through a lot in her life, it is even apparent that one of her other children (Hapsy) may have died, which adds on to the grievances that Granny has had to face in her life. Along with the other events, of being left at the alter, and the hard work, and illnesses she has persevered through, it makes sense that her last name is Weatherall.  

[Grace Su]

Granny Weatherwall is a complex character, whose complexity comes from her contradictory thoughts, especially when they are related to death. On one hand, while she is prepared for death given her old age, she is scared and anxious when her time of death comes, and she gives excuses to why she is not ready to die yet.This contradiction demonstrates the complexity of Granny's character: that she hates surprises and is an organized person, to the extent where she has her time of death planned out. This is why she is so scared of the "dark fog moving over the valley," since it symbolizes uncertainty and the unknown. However, there is nothing that can stop Granny from dying, which is why she asks God for a sign to tell her that it is her time to go. Granny needs confirmation that it is her time to leave, however when it is not given, Granny is therefore jilted at the altar again, this time by God instead of George. When Granny is struck by this realization, she is then swallowed by the sorrow and grief similar to the situation when she was abandoned at the altar. She says that there could be nothing more cruel than this and that she will never forgive it. However, this time instead of being sad, Granny decides to be strong, and take a deep breath to blow out the light herself, ending her life herself instead of wallowing in self-pity.

[Grace Su]

Aug 22, 2021 15:24:13 GMT -8 Ashley Ma said:

There was a heavy presence of literary techniques such as repetition of certain diction and phrases that were monumental to the characterization of Granny Weatherall. Specifically, the repetition of certain childlike diction directed towards her verses the repetition of her age from herself emphasizes that at first, there was a lot of fight left in her. She repeatedly contradicted others' childlike treatment of her with the mention of her age, and how that should come with respect and distance. Rather than emphasizing and repeating her age to show how old she was, Granny Weatherall contradicted childlike diction with her age in hopes of gaining respect and a show of wisdom and strength. This is significant, as in the AP videos, they talk about how diction really affects how one can build a character and feel the character's emotions. Granny Weatherall's line of conscience continuously become blurred and grows to become very contrasting, showing her growing conflicted sense of self: becoming weaker at the end. Thus, these literary techniques of diction and repetition characterized Weatherall throughout the piece: changing when she changed and grew weaker, eventually leading to her "light" going out. 

I agree that Granny Weatherwall acted rudely to Doctor Harry and her children. Granny acted the way she did because she didn't like the way they were talking back to her. Because she was older than them, she viewed them as "children," hence why throughout the text Granny wishes that Cornelia and her children were younger so that she could be in the dominant position, rather than them treating Granny as vulnerable because of her old age. I also agree how she acted in a way of gaining respect and wisdom by trying to act more dignified than others, however she was trying to seem like the one in control rather than Cornelia and Doctor Harry being in charge, which was probably the reason why she opposed the other's "childlike" treatment of her. 

[Bowen Wang]

At the beginning of the story when Granny first meets with the doctor, she considered him as a little kid and stated the fact that she’s survived more serious sicknesses before he was even born. Granny stated this as a statement to show the doctor and her family that she is not scared of death at all. In the middle of the narrative, she also mentions her husband John and how she didn't need him, and that she was happy being alone. She is also strong-willed and is able to withstand immense pressure. However, as the story progresses, we see that the identity she constructs completely disintegrates. this creates a contrast at the beginning of the story and toward the end of the story when she is longing for attention and even asks God to give her a sign, We can tell that she is not prepared to die and that she is more vulnerable than previously assumed.

[Bowen Wang]

Aug 20, 2021 0:04:00 GMT -8 Darren Ich said:

Granny's stubbornness is shown when she talks about how she has to take the role of her dead husband, fulfilling both parent figures in the family. She kept up this idea in her head for a very long time. Her stubbornness is shown when even as her body is deteriorating she still wants to fulfill the position of being a parent figure even as she knows her body is getting weaker and older. Her stubbornness is also shown when she says "I pay my own bills". This shows her stubbornness because it demonstrates how she wants to do everything herself especially paying for her own things and how her point of view or attitude towards has not changed at all as she believes she that these things are still her responsibility.

Hey Darren Ich, I completely agree with you that Granny's stubbornness was demonstrated when she discusses how she must assume the role of her deceased husband in order to satisfy both parent figures in the family., following with five stages of grief, both are shown clearly throughout the story.

[Edward Gonzalez]

One of the most prevalent examples of literary techniques to develop and change the character of Granny Weatherall is the usage of symbolism, appearing primary at the end of the story as she dies. Near the final passage on page 89, the writer of the story draws attention to the diminishing light that came from a lamp, which eventually died out as Granny Weatherall was lying down in bed beside it. With the room being consumed by the darkness, she would eventually close her eyes and possibly died at the end. During that segment, she makes a call out to God, making it appear that she was scared as the moment of death finally drew near. It also serves as an example of symbolism, representing the old feelings that she would accept death at the moment eventually dying out as the light did, where her closing her eyes would be symbolic in the sense of how she, once again, allowed for death to come after her moment of panic.