Short Story

Analysis

“The Two Grandmothers”

by Olive Senior
Ladies, tell me about your grandparents’ qualities.

What do you like?

What do you dislike?

Do you believe interacting with your

grandparents has impacted your
value system in any way? How so?
A Little About the Writer, Olive Senior

Olive Senior, author of ‘The Two

Grandmothers’, was born in Trelawny, Jamaica.
She attended Montego Bay High School, then
went on to study journalism in Cardiff, Wales.
She then studied at Carlton University in
Ottowa. She currently lives in Canada, but visits
Jamaica regularly.
 Look at the Title
What does it indicate?

“The Two Grandmothers”

It could indicate a point of

conflict in terms of decisions,
It may refer to a preferences, or antagonism.
separation of ideas.
It points to comparisons.
 The Two Grandmothers (Summary)
The story “The Two Grandmothers” demonstrates the effects that others have on
one’s beliefs and values. While the narrator was young, she enjoyed being with her
Grandma Del, who was from the Caribbean, did not live in the city, and had not
adopted colonial values. The narrator also spends time with Grandma Elaine, who is
from Miami. While young and innocent, the narrator is fascinated by the simple
surroundings of the Caribbean. However, she is constantly surrounded by city people
who care about tangible things, and soon she becomes entrapped by the notion of
social status. She distances herself from Grandma Del and instead begins to immerse
herself in pop culture, and to identify with Grandma Elaine’s social structure. The
narrator has chosen one part of herself with which to identify.
Watch the following Video
for a better understanding
of this Short Story.
 Plot (Review)
The short story, "The Two Grandmothers" tells the story from the point of view of a young girl who
monologues to her mother, describes her family and her transition to adolescence. The narrator
begins by explaining her experience of visiting her paternal, Grandma Del to her mother. The
description gives details about her Grandma's house and neighbors, paying special attention to
her Grandma's curtains, and ability to make her dresses and a hat. Next, the child compares
Grandma's Del living style to staying with her other Grandmother, Towser, a lady who is
concerned with makeup, men and curses regularly. It is also revealed that Grandma Del is black,
and Towser is white, alluding to the fact that the child is mixed. As the story progresses, the
narrator shows evidence of 'losing her innocence' as the simpler country childhood playtime at
Grandma Del's becomes a chore, and spending girl time with Towser or traveling the world
becomes more appealing. She also begins to notice racial differences as she comments on the
roughness of her hair and darkness of her skin.
 Plot Outline

Climax
(The Turning Point)
Letter 4

Fa
l
lin
n

Le
io

g
t

t
Ac

te

Ac
3

rs
g d

tio
Resolution
si
n an

n
i 2

an
R (Denouement)
rs

d
tte

6
Le Letter 7
Exposition
Inciting Moment (Introduction of the Conflict)
Letter 1
Beginning of Letter 2 (when Granda Elaine “Towser” is introduced and we
see the divergence in values. The narrator is caught between two
 Characterised by racial tension, social class
Setting tension, political tension (changeover from PNP to
a Seaga led JLP), migration in hopes of betterment,
and masculine dominance.

➔ The story occurs in the 1980’s.

➔ The story occurs in three places:
1. Kingston (town;
urban setting),

2. rural Jamaica

(in the country),

3. and Clearwater
in the USA (urban foreign
 Conflict

The story is driven by internal conflict.

➔ The narrator is caught between two different grandmothers who live

mutually opposing lives. She struggles to find her place, but eventually
decides that the urban socialite lifestyle was more for her.

➔ The narrator also experiences internal conflict as she grapples with

concretizing her racial identity. She has a problem with her skin colour and
her hair. She seems to envy those relatives who are of lighter complexion
than her.
 Main Character and Protagonist (Narrator)
Narrator (1st person)
➔ The readers first meets her when she is a little girl.
➔ She is a young girl who explains to her mother the differences between staying
with her religious grandma Del compared to staying with her modernized
grandma Towser, and then as the story progresses, it changes her whole point of
view on staying with both grandmas.
➔ She grows and matures as the story progresses, and by the end of the story, she
appears to be a teenager.
➔ She initially prefers the company of Grandma Del, but as she grows up, she
begins to show a preference for Grandma Elaine (Touser).
 Main Character and Protagonist (Narrator)
Narrator (1st person)

➔ She reports a lot of sensitive information, for example – the ‘fall’ of grandma Del,
Pearlie’s home situation, Eulalie and Ermandine’s pregnancies – but does not
appear to understand the gravity of the various situations.
➔ As she grows up, she appears to become more materialistic in her desires, she
wants to be like everyone else.
➔ She appears, by the end of the story, to be confused about how to feel about her
physical appearance.
➔ She cannot be bothered with her country grandmother, grandma Dell, by the end of
the story.
➔ She begins to appreciate her hip socialite grandma Elaine, aka Touser, by the end of
the story.
 Major Characters (Grandma Del)
Grandma Del

➔ A religious grandma who is popular within her ‘country’ community, very holy and
lives an old-fashioned lifestyle, and seems to be poor due to not having the money
to pay for electricity. She also showers her young granddaughter with gifts like
dresses and hats, baking cakes, making guava jelly, and always tells her how
beautiful she is; for example, making it clear to her how long and soft her hair is.
➔ Christian-minded and simple in her approach to life
➔ Altruistic
➔ Never got married ➔ Is Prejudiced

➔ Never dates ➔ Can be Hypocritical

 Major Characters (Grandma Elaine "Towser")
Grandma Elaine "Towser"

➔ This is the narrator’s grandmother who is into a fancy childish lifestyle like wearing
makeup, cursing in front of her young granddaughter, telling the narrator to call her
“Towser” instead of “Grandma”, and dating. She also shows criticism towards her
young granddaughter by telling her how dark she is and how course her hair is. She
doesn't seem to like grandma Del because she states "She has only done one
absolutely fantastic thing in her life which is to produce one son, your esteemed
father... Grandma Del is a bumpkin of the deepest waters and don't quote her goddamn
sayings to me.'' ➔ Married multiple times
➔ Non-traditional/ Socialite ➔ Goes on dates
➔ Materialistic ➔ Colour Prejudiced
➔ Narcissistic ➔ Blunt and speaks her mind
 Minor Characters (Narrator’s Mom)

Mom

➔ The narrator’s mother to whom she explains the differences between

staying with both grandmothers is not explicitly active in the story, but as the
narrator is communicating with her throughout, her presence is still integral
to the story being told.
 Minor Characters (Pearlie)

Pearlie

➔ Is a young girl who lives within Grandma Del's ‘country’ community and is a
mother figure to her poor family. She has to take care of her young brothers,
cook, and clean when her mother is at work. She sometimes gets beaten if
her brothers break things.
 Minor Characters (Eulalie and Ermandine)

Eulalie and Ermandine

➔ Two young high school girls who lived within the neighborhood of Grandma
Del. They were friends with the narrator and had children towards the end of
the book, thus messing up the relationship between them and the narrator.
 Minor Characters (Maureen)

Maureen

➔ A racist cousin. She calls the narrator “a goddamn nigger” who is “not fit to
play with [her]”.
➔ The narrator slapped her across the face due to the incident mentioned
above.
➔ She has light skin, with hair not as coarse as the narrator as she (Maureen)
has a white father.
➔ Wears braces on her teeth, and is considered fat and ugly by the narrator.
 Style/Writer’s Craft (Structure or Format)
This short story is divided into sections that represent the various letters written by the
maturing narrator to her mother.

➔ So the story takes the form of letters (a personal form of communication that also
indicates that the story is set before the time or popularity of emails, cellphones,
and social media.)

➔ Using the letters as sections in this story also symbolizes the passage of time.
This was clever on the writer’s part!

➔ The length of the letters decreases with the age of the narrator, signifying the
narrator’s change in values. As she ages and becomes less inquisitive and more
stagnant, her letters shorten.
 Style/Writer’s Craft (Structure or Format)
➔ Many of the paragraphs begin and end with Mummy or Mom. Why was there a
change to Mom?

❖ “Mummy” - a term used in the country in reference to one’s mother. It is also

used mainly by young children.
❖ “Mom” - a term used in urban settings in reference to one’s mother. Many
children begin using this term in their teen years onwards when referring to
their mother.
❖ Therefore, this transition from “Mummy” to “Mom” by the narrator could
signify her preference of the urban socialite lifestyle, and certainly points to a
maturing/aging narrator.
 Style/Writer’s Craft (Punctuation)
➔ The first three letters are riddled with question marks, exclamation points,
and dashes. These many questions, expressions of emotions, and addition of
information and explanations are all the hallmark of an inquisitive, curious
excited, and talkative young child.
➔ Letter number four marks a shift in the story (the climax). Noticeably fewer
questions are asked and there are no further use of exclamation to indicate
childlike exuberance. Here questions in this letter reveal an
early pubescent child concerned with her appearance,
growing up, and material luxuries like a satellite Dish.
 Style/Writer’s Craft (Punctuation)
➔ Dashes have been replaced with the ellipses which indicate her running thought
process and the fact that lots have been left unsaid though implied whether in regard
to her beauty (as she has now become rather self-centred) or her dislike of Maureen
who is not as physically appealing to the narrator.
➔ Also note that in her younger letters, she used the dash to share more and more
information. She had to tell; she had to share; she had to get out as much as she could
or as much as she remembered.

However, with the use of the ellipses, thoughts are kept private (indicate of a child
becoming a secretive teen), and the mother and readers are left to fill in the missing
information and draw conclusions based on the details that had actually been
 Style/Writer’s Craft (Punctuation)
➔ In letters five to seven, yet fewer questions are asked, and those asked reveal a teen
concerned with fitting into a material world. A question reveals the fact that she no longer
wishes to visit her country grandma as she misses the urban luxuries and is no longer
accepting of rural values and practices. Hereafter, her questions reveal her struggle with her
identity, colour, and place in society. But the questions that end the story act as confirmation of
her rejection of traditional values for materialistic ones: “Why don’t we just take a quick run
down to see Grandma this Sunday and then we don’t have to worry about her again till next
year? […] We can leave there [Grandma Del’s] right after lunch so we will be back home in
time to watch Dallas. Eh, Mom?”

➔ The internal conflict she faced in being caught between two grandmothers with divergent values
was resolved. She made a choice, and selected the world she preferred to be a part of - the
 Style/Writer’s Craft (Imagery)

➔ Visual Imagery - An example of visual imagery is when the narrator says, "Mummy, I really
like grandma Del’s house. It's nice and cosy and dark and cool on the inside with these
lovely big picture frames ..." This quote shows that her grandma Del doesn't have electricity.
It's interesting that she learns to hate this darkness when she grows up because she didn't
know that darkness meant that she was poor. It's possible that the author uses the new
found hatred for darkness as a symbol for how uncomfortable she feels about her own skin.

➔ Auditory imagery - In the last two paragraphs, the narrator says “mom’ instead of
“mummy”: “Mom, I just cant fit her in and that is it." This is an example of auditory imagery
because her saying :mom” makes you imagine her voice more maturely which is a major
example of her change.
 Style/Writer’s Craft (Contrast)

➔ Contrast between Grandma Del and Grandma Elaine

“Towser”

➔ Contrast between narrator as a child and as a maturing

teen

➔ Contrast between rural and urban settings

 Style/Writer’s Craft (Irony)

➔ Situational Irony

The narrator declares that she hates Maureen, based on the

incident where she called her a “nigger”, but, ironically, she wants
to be like Maureen (light skinned) and is even more ashamed of
her hair.
 Themes
➔ Coming of Age

One of the major themes in this story is coming of age. This theme is apparent through the
development of descriptions that the narrator tells her mother. For example, her love for grandma
Del's simple living, and her lack of concern for lady like activities or behavior that Towser enjoys
are the thoughts of a young girl. She doesn't notice or understand the complications of being
mixed in her environment. Later on in the story it shows that she has become older and is
interested in wearing makeup and heels which makes her not want to visit grandma Del because
she knows that she does not allow this conduct. Since she is older now, she starts to realize the
differences she has with the people whom she goes to school with and her mother’s side of the
family; for example, her hair is not as straight and her skin colour is very dark.
 Other Themes

➔ Racial Prejudice

➔ Social Class Prejudice

➔ Love and Family Relationships

➔ Women in Society

➔ Innocence vs. Loss of Innocence

➔ Materialism

➔ Religion

➔ Country Life vs. Town Life

 Mood

The mood of the story is nostalgic and sad because the experiences that the
narrator describes conjure happy memories and entertaining stories, yet,
when we realize the changes she is going through and how her likes and
dislikes develop, it is sad that she is losing that part of herself and actually
choosing to become estranged from her family members. It is also sad and
not reflective, because we know that she is not meaning to be this way, but
is becoming a product of her environment.
 Point of View

This short story is told from a 1st Person Point of View.

Activity (Graded)

Discuss the negative and positive effects of having a child narrator.

(Due: Next Class)