 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 In “To Da-duh in Memoriam” what “borders” does the narrator cross when she visits her
grandmother?

 The narrator crosses a geographical border first: she travels from Brooklyn to Barbados to visit
Da-duh, her grandmother. During the visit, the narrator also crosses several other "borders."
She...

 1 educator answer

 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 Why, once her grandmother is defeated, does the narrator feel "triumphant yet strangely
saddened"?

 The narrator felt 'triumphant, yet strangely saddened' after winning the argument because she
had hurt her grandmother and made her sad. According to the story, the narrator's
grandmother had taken...

 1 educator answer

 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 What is the essence of the negative signals Da-duh signaled at the beginning of the story?

 The second we are introduced to Da-duh by the granddaughter, we learn that Da-duh is in
charge and the matriarch of the family. Da-duh’s daughter and granddaughters approach her
apprehensively...

 1 educator answer

 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 How does Marshall portray Da-Duh as a dying character before she actually dies?

 Marshall establishes a series of opposites in the story to show the difference between the past
and present, the old and the new, and the young and the old. Through the granddaughter,
Marshall is...

 1 educator answer

 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 What happened in the middle of "To Da-duh in Memoriam"?

 In the rising action or middle of the short story, Da-duh and her granddaughter are bantering
back and forth about their home environments and whose is best. Da-duh wants to convince
her...

 1 educator answer
 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 Examine Da-duh's role as an "ancestor " figure.

 Da-duh represents the ancestor figure, a popular character found in African American literature,
because she is a symbol of the past, of wisdom, and of a culture’s heritage. As the matriarch of...

 1 educator answer

 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 Explain the conflict between the narrator and her grandmother in "To Da-duh in Memoriam."

 The main conflict between Da-duh and her granddaughter is generational. Da-duh represents
tradition and life as it used to be in Barbados. The granddaughter, however, lives in the modern
city of...

 2 educator answers

 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 What is Da-Duh's first reaction to the child?

 When Da-duh first meets her young granddaughter in the shed where Da-duh's family got off
the boat from New York City, Da-duh is taken back by what she sees. She scrutinizes her
granddaughter as...

 1 educator answer

 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 What do you think motivates Da-duh and the narrator to try to triumph over each other?

 Da-duh sees the fierceness in her granddaughter’s eyes when they first meet in the shed at the
boat landing. Da-duh is immediately challenged to teach her granddaughter a lesson and takes
her...

 1 educator answer

 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 Why is Da-duh so frightened of the narrator's stories of New York?

 Da-duh seems to be concerned and frightened by the stories about New York for a couple of
reasons. First of all, even though she tries to convince the narrator that there is no place like...

 1 educator answer

 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 What is the setting for "To Da-duh in Memoriam"?

 “To Da-duh in Memoriam” takes place on the island of Barbados in 1937. The young narrator,
Da-duh’s granddaughter, has traveled to Barbados from Brooklyn, New York to visit her
grandmother...

 2 educator answers

 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 In "To Da-duh in Memorium," what is the grandmother's initial reaction to the narrator?

 The grandmother's initial reaction to the narrator is less than positive. While Da-Duh
pronounces the narrator's high-cheek-boned sister 'pretty,' she appears to shrink back from the
narrator after...

 2 educator answers

 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 Why does the narrator promise to send Da-duh a postcard of the Empire State Building?

 It appears that the narrator promises to send Da-duh a postcard of the Empire State Building
because she wants to prove that her assertion is right, namely that the Empire State Building is
even...

 1 educator answer

 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 I would like to know what "borders" the narrator crosses when she visits her grandmother, in
the story "To Da-duh, in Memoriam" by Paule Marshall.

 The narrator crosses an obvious border of going from the United States to Barbados in the
Caribbean, but she also crosses the "borders" that divide one culture from another and that
separate one...

 1 educator answer

 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 When Da-duh takes the narrator "out into the ground," what question does the old woman
repeatedly ask in "To Da-duh in Memorium"?

 Da-duh asks her if she has anything as nice where she comes from. When the narrator goes to
visit her grandmother, Da-duh, the old woman gives her a tour through the grounds of her
Barbados....

 2 educator answers

 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 Do you think that either Da-duh or the child won their "battle of wills" in "To Da-duh, in
Memoriam"?
 There is a sense in which both the narrator and her grandmother are losers in their "battle of
wills," although overtly the child is the winner in this competition. When she tells her
grandmother...

 1 educator answer

 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 In "To Da-duh, in Memoriam," describe one moment in the story when the relationship between
the granddaughter and grandmother changes.

 I think throughout this excellent story that narrates the battle that occurs between Da-duh and
her granddaughter, the most important moment and the climax of the story comes when Da-
duh shows the...

 2 educator answers

 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 In "To Da-duh in Memoriam," what is the narrator's reaction on her first encounter with her
grandmother?

 We are presented with an incredibly vivid description of the narrator's grandmother when she
first meets her. The narrator tells us how she is overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of
Barbados,...

 1 educator answer

 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 In "To Da-duh, in Memoriam," in what ways does the author present the clash of two different
worlds?

 The clash of two different worlds is evident through the subtle struggle between the
grandmother and her grandchild, the narrator. Almost from their first conversation together,
both seek to show...

 1 educator answer

 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 In "To Da-duh in Memoriam," what question does the grandmother repeatedly ask the young
girl?

 There is no question that is specifically quoted as being asked by the grandmother repeatedly,
however, as the story progresses it is made clear that she consistently spends time with her...

 2 educator answers

 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 What literary technique is used in "To Da-duh in Memoriam"?

 Well, of course any work of literature is going to employ a vast arsenal of literary techniques as
part of its presentation, and this great short story is no exception. However, if you wanted to...

 1 educator answer

 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 What is the tone in "Da-duh in Memoriam"?

 The narratorial tone in "Da-duh in Memoriam" is personal and somewhat distant at the
beginning of the story but changes to less personal, more factual and is at a greater distance at
the end of the...

 1 educator answer

 To Da-duh in Memoriam

 What is the mood of To Da-Duh in Memoriam?

 The mood, also called atmosphere, has a focus that is within the setting and is constructed from
the literary devices (elements and techniques) of setting, objects, descriptive details, images,...

 1 educator answer