Grandmother
Ray young Bear
Theme/
Main Idea of the poem
Q What is
the main idea of the poem? [063-3]
Nostalgia is the main theme of the poem Grandmother. In this poem the
poet remembers his dead grandmother and writes about her. He draws a picture of
his grandmother- all loving and inspiring. This poem presents the poets deep
sense of intimacy and closeness to his grandmother even after her death. He can
not forget her. He could recognize her by all senses except taste. The poet
uses different images to draw the picture of his grandmother. 'Purple scarf '
and 'plastic shopping bag' is related to eyes, while the touch of ‘warm and
damp’ hands appeals to skin or touch. A 'voice coming from a rock' is related
to the sense of hearing; and her hands like that of 'roots' appeal to the sense
of smell.
Q What
impression of grandmother does the speaker give in the poem 'Grandmother'?
[065-3]
The
speaker gives the all-loving and all-inspiring impression of his grandmother in
this poem. He feels as if her memory is flowing inside him. He feels as if her
memory gives sparkles like the ashes give at night. He remembers her purple
scarf and her plastic shopping bag. He remembers her warm and damp hand with
the smell of roots. The poet presents the deep sense of intimacy and closeness
to his grandmother even after her death. He can not forget her.
Q. What are
the four things that Ray Young Bear remembers about his grandmother? [057-3]
In this nostalgic poem “Grandmother” the poet Ray Young Bear
remembers his dead grandmother and draws her picture by using four types of
images. The things that Ray Young Bear remembers about his grandmother are her
shape with her purple scarf and plastic shopping bag, warm and damp hands,
the smell of roots from her hand and her inspiring voice.
Q. What is image? What four images are used in the poem
Grandmother?
Image
is a kind of literary device. It is a mental picture created by words. Ray
Young Bear has used four types of images out of five in this poem “Grandmother”
to draw the picture of his dead grandmother. At first he talks about purple
scarf and plastic shopping bag as visual image. Then, he talks about warm and
damp hands to appeal our sense of touch. He says about the smell of roots from
her hands as the image of smell. He talks abut her voice or words to appeal our
sense of hearing. He is successful to create a word picture of his grandmother
by using four types of images. He doesn’t talk about the taste.
Q What images do you find in this poem written by a member of
the Sauk and Fox (Mesquaki) Indian tribe of North America? To what senses do
these images appeal?
= The poet has used images to discover two intertwined themes -
recollection of his grandmother at one level and search for identity at another
level. The images like 'purple scarf', 'plastic shopping bag', 'the light ...
at night ' appeal to our sense of sight. These images also have symbolic link
to the Indian culture. 'Plastic shopping bag' indicates the poverty of Indian
tribe. 'The light .... at night' associates that the spirituality of Indian
culture guides him in the modern corrupt American society. The images like
'smell of root' appeal to our sense of smell. It indicates the work ethic of
Indian tribe and his grandmother. They are near to nature and are good farmers.
'Warm and damp hands' appeal to our sense of touch. It also shows how his
grandmother and Indian tribes work in fields with pleasure and sense of duty. '
A voice' and 'her words' appeal to our sense of hearing. This indicates how the
teachings and philosophy of Indian culture enlightens his spirits.
Thus by the use of images, the poet has symbolically linked his
grandmother to the lost culture of Indian tribe.
Long Question
Interpret the poem Grandmother
. Nostalgia is the main theme of the poem Grandmother. In this poem
the poet remembers his dead grandmother and writes about her. He draws a
picture of his grandmother- all loving and inspiring. This poem presents the
poets deep sense of intimacy and closeness to his grandmother even after her
death. He can not forget her. He could recognize her by all senses except taste.
The poet uses different images to draw the picture of his grandmother. 'Purple
scarf ' and 'plastic shopping bag' is related to eyes, while the touch of ‘warm
and damp’ hands appeals to skin or touch. A 'voice coming from a rock' is
related to the sense of hearing; and her hands like that of 'roots' appeal to
the sense of smell.
The poet says that he could recognize his grandmother If he
could see her face from a distance, from a mile away. He would
quickly know that it was his grandmother with the purple scarf and plastic
shopping bag. If he could feel hands on his head, he would know her warm and
damp hands. They were warm with love. He says he feels the smell of roots from
her hands. If he could hear a voice coming from the rock he would know that it
was my grandmother’s voice. He would feel her words flowing inside him. The
flow of her words would be like the light coming out of the sleeping fire at
night. The poet says that her voice would be the source of inspiration for him.
The memory of his grandmother takes the poet back to his childhood when she
used to love him very much. Though the poet’s grandmother left him many years
before, her images, voice, love, inspiration and memory are still animating in
the mind and heart of the poet. Likewise the activities, behaviours, shape and
so many other memory of his grandmother are the source of living which
encourages him at all the moment. He has used four types of images out of five
in this poem “Grandmother” to draw the picture of his dead grandmother. At
first he talks about purple scarf and plastic shopping bag as visual image.
Then, he talks about warm and damp hands to appeal our sense of touch. He says
about the smell of roots from her hands as the image of smell. He talks abut
her voice or words to appeal our sense of hearing. He is successful to create a
word picture of his grandmother by using four types of images. He doesn’t talk
about the taste.
In conclusion, the poet draws the picture of his grandmother in
this poem by using four types of images out of five.
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Credit: Dr. Ramesh Adhikari
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