My Grandmother Ruthie Character Analysis

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After five years of being raised and living with their grandmother whom they truly loved, the girls had a rude awakening. Their grandmother, Sylvia had passed away. “When after almost five years, my grandmother one winter morning eschewed awakening, Lily and Nona were fetched from Spokane and took up housekeeping in Fingerbone, just as my grandmother had wished” (Robinson 29). This was the final attempt that their grandmother had made in order for the girls to have a normal and traditional life. This is a solid example of how the sister’s lives are shaped by their family and their surroundings. Lucille’s ultimate concern in life is to conform to society and live a traditional life. She wishes to have a normal family and is sorrowful for all of the losses that she has experienced such as her mother’s and grandmother’s deaths. On the other hand, Ruthie, after spending more time with her future guardian, Aunt Sylvie, becomes quite the transient like her. A turning point in the story is when the true character of the two girls is acknowledged by the author. Ruthie’s feelings are revealed when she says, “Lily and Nona, I think, enjoyed nothing except habit and familiarity” (Robinson 32). She is beginning …show more content…

In turn, Ruthie loses touch with Lucille who now lives with her teacher while seeking a more traditional family lifestyle. On the other hand, Ruthie becomes more and more like Sylvie, transient. This encompasses the angel and monster concept by Gilman and Gubar because Lucille is more so the “angel” or the sisters and Ruthie is the “monster.” Lucille is more conventional and follows the rules made by society. Ruthie lives life much more “by the seat of her own pants” and is much more eccentric like Sylvie. She goes against society's rules of living in a stable household with a regular normal family instead living outside the

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