Granny Weatherall’s Extended Discussion

[Edward Gonzalez]

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 do agree with the ideas that you presented from the story and your analysis of the text. She appears to continue that stubborn attitude up until the end of the story, where one of the lines that she said was, "I'm not going, Cornelia.." (Porter, 88). While it could be an instance of her poor health taking over, it can also be an indicator she is still not accepting the fact she is ill. There were other example that I found that work with this, such as her refusal of wanting to see Doctor Harry again. As you stated in your analysis, it is also a representation of how some of Granny Weatherall's original personality and/or characteristics are still the same.

[joshuapark]

I noticed that Granny Weatherall's mental health was deteriorating rapidly. During the beginning of the text, Granny Weatherall was listing chores or actions that she thought she could do herself yet Granny Weatherall was bedridden due to her illness. Her stubborn personality and determination to do everything around the house was shown during her interactions with Cornelia as Cornelia often did the work and took care of Granny Weatherall. Through closer reading, I believe that Granny Weatherall developed this stubborn attitude to do everything around the house after her fiancé hadn't shown up for the wedding. At first, Granny Weatherall had been open to other people's input on not letting her pride take over her mind as she was rejected during her wedding, but as Granny Weatherall began to do everything around the house due to the absence of a husband, I believe she gained a stubborn mentality. However, because of her stubbornness, Granny Weatherall thought she was well enough to perform tasks around the house, often forgetting that she was on her death bed. When the time came for Granny Weatherall to pass away, her physical body had died but her mentality was still attempting to process that she had died, thinking that she was so unprepared for death after having numerous things undone, yet throughout the whole story, Granny Weatherall kept mentioning how she was preparing to die. 

[joshuapark]

Aug 19, 2021 19:22:15 GMT -8 Thomas Lee said:

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.

Going off of what Thomas said, I also believe that the color blue symbolizes sadness or mourning. Throughout the story we could visualize Granny Weatherall's company mourning for her as she was on her deathbed, not fully aware that she was going to die, yet we also view Granny Weatherall's regrets as she reminisces of times with her ex-husband who had rejected her on her wedding and the things Granny Weatherall still wanted to do. Although Granny Weatherall wasn't fully comprehending that she was dying, I believe that Granny Weatherall mourned over the things she couldn't do for her children as the color blue represents her sadness.

[Darren Lee]

Aug 22, 2021 16:32:20 GMT -8 Bowen Wang said:

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.

I completely agree with you Bowen. Throughout the story, we can see that she is trying to put on a "mask" of being happy and independent. However, we can see that as the story progresses we are very wrong. She is in shock and is scared of death. She doesn't want to accept the fact that she is going to die with regrets. Many things in the past also triggered her "mask" of being ok and such examples are her husband and her health. When she talks to the doctor, she tries to dismiss her illness by saying that he should be in "knee breaches" and that he is just a kid. She is trying to dismiss her illness by taking control of the situation. Also when she overhears her daughter, she says she wants to "spank" her; She does this because she once again wants to control the fact that she is dying and avoiding it. On the outside, she is confident and strong, on the inside, she is scared and shriveled. 

[Justin Titan Hsieh]

There was a quote that showed the growth of Granny that her health was slowly coming to an end as the quote “ but a whirl of dark smoke rose and covered it, crept up and over into the bright field where everything was planted so carefully in orderly rows.” She worked hard for a while now and that as time progresses within the 60 years she starts to become scared and tries to fight ,that it can't be her time as she still has things to do hence the plants were planted so carefully in orderly rows showing her hard work throughout the years. And as the bright light which shows the accomplishments she achieved as it was engulfed by a dark smoke representing the inevitable.

[Justin Titan Hsieh]

Aug 22, 2021 16:38:53 GMT -8 Bowen Wang said:

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 and Bowen Wang I so sincerely agree with you that Granny's stubbornness was illustrated when she talked about how she must fill the role of her dead husband in order to fulfill both parent figures in the family., following with five stages of grief, both are shown clearly throughout the story.  

[Kaelyn Santelices]

In the Jilting of Granny Weatherall, Granny presents herself as simply an older lady living with her kids as they help take care of her. Her daughter Cornelia stays with her to help and take care of her, yet Granny mistakes this act of care for hostility, as all she wants to be is independent. The author enacts this use of character dialogue between the two to describe the feelings of frustration both sides have. Cornelia wants her mother to be okay, yet the constant shoving away has brought her to the brink of anger and frustration. While on the other hand, Granny sees this treatment as belittlement, as if her own daughter is stripping away her rights, her ability to function. Although both characters love each other, the stubbornness from both sides creates a strained relationship. This strained relationship doesn't reveal any hatred between the two, but rather the influence both had on each other and the love that constantly seeps through, despite any differences. Even as Granny expects her death, she continues to bounce back and forth on the image of being gone eternally. As much as she wants to stay strong for her kids, she can't help but feel her body giving up. The author goes on to describe the pain in Granny's chest, yet she remains unbothered as she remembers her father lived until one hundred two. The author uses Granny's conflicting emotions to capture the reader's attention by describing a clashing feeling that all have experienced. Similar to this, any reader can relate with the feeling of waking up two hours early, only to drag out the time and still be late in the end. As much as Granny prepared for death years before, the time came much quicker than she expected. This scared feeling Granny has reveals that she isn't just a bitter old lady, her stubbornness stems from the ability of her wanting to take care of her daughter and not the other way around, as well as prove that she can still be independent.

[Kaelyn Santelices]

Aug 22, 2021 15:52:32 GMT -8 Maya V. said:

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.

Adding on to this statement, from an outside perspective it seems as though Granny hates Cornelia, but in reality, Granny loves her and she just wants what's best for the both of them. I agree, Granny feels the Cornelia is wasting her time because all Granny wants to do is prove that she can function on her own and be independent without having to resort to the help of her daughter. She spent so much time raising Cornelia, she doesn't want her daughter to feel obligated to do the same just because she is older now. Granny is stubborn because she doesn't want anyone to see her as a helpless, old lady.

[andrewcollard]

As Granny was lying down, the pillow pressed on her and released a memory from her heart that she had kept down there and had never conjured up until now. She then jumps to the memory of her being “jilted” where “a whirl of dark smoke rose” covered everything, which sets up a juxtaposition to her white veil. This juxtaposition attributes to the deterioration of Granny’s mind through her focus on the harshness of that event. The failure of the marriage haunts Granny, that “for sixty years she had prayed against remembering him and against losing her soul in the deep pit of hell” (84). The juxtaposition of the white veil and the smoke bring emphasis to the forever altering effects of that day when George left her. This conveys the spiraling down of Granny’s life, as she is consumed with her tragic past, hinting at her mental decline in these last moments. She despises Geroge, seen by the way the dark smoke clouded her mind just as it did that day. The juxtaposition conveys a big part of Granny’s character as it shows her tendency to fully repress bad memories, showing that she is afraid to address the problems in her life.

[Akash Surendran]

I think that the ending to The Jilting of Granny Weatherall taps into the act of communion, mentioned in Chapter 2 of How To Read Literature Like A Professor. As we can clearly see throughout the story, Granny has lots of regret and unfinished business in her life. She has experienced lots of hardship that has transformed her into a strong, dependable person; qualities that she is reluctant to give up. What this implies, especially on page 83 where Granny "wished the old days were back again" is that she wants to do more for her children. She may feel that when they listened to everything she said, things were better, but she secretly also wants them to rely on her again like they used to. How this ties into the ending is that as she is close to death, she notes that she is surrounded by her family. Chapter 2 of HTRLLAP states that in communion, the one thing everything shares is the fact of our death, the one thing that no one can escape. With her death, Granny's family shares communion with her and each other, which is very likely to strengthen their bonds. So, in the end, Granny may have been able to do something for her family unknowingly.

[Sofia Escobar]

Throughout the entirety of Granny Weatherall, Granny is extremely stubborn. She is irritated when infantilized by the doctor and her family, insisting that she is well and goes far enough to refuse medical treatment. In addition, she even denies death near the beginning of the piece. She is very adamant that she will live another day, recalling all the tasks she has to do once she wakes up the next morning. However, the part that speaks most about how she feels regarding death and dying is the end of the story. At the end of the piece she is so intent on being in control of her life that she even is said to have "blown out the candle" at the end. Usually, in many stories, the elderly woman closes her eyes and finds bliss and acceptance in her fate. However, Granny refuses to be a part of this popular trope, she takes the idea of passing on to herself, and vividly imagines herself taking this prominent event, the end of her life, and making it something that she has full control over. Psychologically, this could point to her last action of spite as throughout her life she has braced many hardships, and at times might have felt helpless. As a result, this is Granny's last hurrah before dying. 

[Sofia Escobar]

Aug 22, 2021 18:36:46 GMT -8 Kaelyn Santelices said:

In the Jilting of Granny Weatherall, Granny presents herself as simply an older lady living with her kids as they help take care of her. Her daughter Cornelia stays with her to help and take care of her, yet Granny mistakes this act of care for hostility, as all she wants to be is independent. The author enacts this use of character dialogue between the two to describe the feelings of frustration both sides have. Cornelia wants her mother to be okay, yet the constant shoving away has brought her to the brink of anger and frustration. While on the other hand, Granny sees this treatment as belittlement, as if her own daughter is stripping away her rights, her ability to function. Although both characters love each other, the stubbornness from both sides creates a strained relationship. This strained relationship doesn't reveal any hatred between the two, but rather the influence both had on each other and the love that constantly seeps through, despite any differences. Even as Granny expects her death, she continues to bounce back and forth on the image of being gone eternally. As much as she wants to stay strong for her kids, she can't help but feel her body giving up. The author goes on to describe the pain in Granny's chest, yet she remains unbothered as she remembers her father lived until one hundred two. The author uses Granny's conflicting emotions to capture the reader's attention by describing a clashing feeling that all have experienced. Similar to this, any reader can relate with the feeling of waking up two hours early, only to drag out the time and still be late in the end. As much as Granny prepared for death years before, the time came much quicker than she expected. This scared feeling Granny has reveals that she isn't just a bitter old lady, her stubbornness stems from the ability of her wanting to take care of her daughter and not the other way around, as well as prove that she can still be independent.



I agree with you! I find it hard to believe that Granny's resentment came from pure ill-will, but comes from a past filled with hardships and trauma. In a way, she has no idea on how to properly give caring attention to her daughter as it is insinuated she was left alone to do many things by herself and was not treated well, despite initially thinking that she was in a loving marriage. Maybe she has a hard time processing love without it being backhanded?

[Elia Wong]

I think the presence of Granny's faith in God and her attempt to supposedly change herself for the better serve to emphasize her true, bitter self, which ultimately caused God to abandon her. Throughout the text, we see Granny behave rudely to Cornelia, Doctor Harry, and even Father Connolly. There are repeated instances of Granny referring to her belief that she was in God's good graces, having went to Holy Communion and "had her secret comfortable understanding with a few favorite saints who cleared a straight road to God for her" (page 86). Granny believes herself to be ready for death, having done what she believes would get her a ticket into heaven. However, her bitter personality persists, and the fact that she was doing all of these things to get on God's good side (apparently) contribute to God not giving her a sign twice. She is mean to Father Connolly, who would have a close relationship to God due to his occupation, and the rosary he gives Granny falls out of her hand, to be placed back by Lydia, like a metaphor representing the feeble attempt to reconnect Granny with God. In the end, I don't think Granny has changed at all, and it is her unkindness towards others that caused God to leave her.

[maryssa]

Throughout the story, the author uses a consistent pattern in foreshadowing the death of Granny Weatherall. The author demonstrates granny’s stubbornness towards accepting her fate through these quotes, ”She meant to wave goodbye, but it was too much trouble.” and “…she found death in her mind and it felt clammy and unfamiliar.” The first quote is an example of how Granny Weatherall is dismissing the real reason for why she didn’t wave goodbye. From Granny’s perspective, her idleness prevented her from waving goodbye, but the readers know that the actual reason sprouts from her deteriorating health. This not only foreshadows the death of Granny Weatherall but exhibits her stubborn and bitter character. In the second quote, the author is very obvious in trying to show the audience that the death of Granny is imminent. From these two quotes, the readers can conclude that Granny Weatherall is a very hard-headed woman that will be forced to face what she has been desperately avoiding at the end of the story.

[Elia Wong]

Aug 19, 2021 20:53:30 GMT -8 Hilary Chen said:

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.

Yes, I partially agree with you. Granny's illness definitely plays a major role in defining her character for the reader. However, I think her illness emphasizes that she's a bitter woman rather than a kind one. She accepts her death, but only because she believed she was in God's good graces. She dies rather than recovers from her illness, and that says a lot in addition to her behavior towards others and her inner thoughts jabbing at the people who are there to help her. As such, I believe her illness, the actions that support the metaphorical implications of her heart disease, and her death by that illness is there to support that she's not a nice person and that might have contributed to God seemingly having abandoned her.