Respecting your grandparents and elders is a given. Either if your mom warns you to do it or if you’ve just grown to respect them yourself, we all are taught to respect them. In the stories,”Abuela Invents the Zero,” and “Celebration of Grandfathers,” These usual teachings are amplified because respecting your elders would be considered the theme. In “Abuela Invents the Zero,” A teenaged girl named Constancia learns a valuable lesson on this topic, changing her personal values for a lifetime to come. Along with her realizations and now “opened eyes,” Anaya from the story,”Celebration of Grandfathers,” tells us about his life on the farm with his grandfather and growing up being with such a powerful role model. He tells us how these experiences shaped his …show more content…
Growing up with such a strong role model, as Anaya describes him, has altered his personal values over a long period of time. He saw his grandfather and other elders as beautiful and strong, all of them being full of wisdom and stories to share,”The old people I remember from my childhood were strong in their beliefs, and as we lived daily with them we learned a wise path of life to follow.” (Anaya) He believes that old people are willful and strong and should be looked up to. Towards the end of the essay, Anaya brings up how old people are portrayed as smiling and happy in the media, and how they’re also always trying to sell something. He thinks that the media hides the way old people truly are,”Commercials show very lively old men, who must always be in excellent health according to the new myth, selling insurance policies or real estate as they are out golfing; older women selling coffee or toilet paper to those just married.” (Anaya) Anaya’s personal experiences when he was younger, and growing up with his strong grandfather made his personal values into what they are
The grandson in this story seems to be very reflective of his parents, who treat the grandfather poorly, hence he is seen making a dish for his parents. The themes of these stories can arguably be considered somewhat similar to the ways they are used; In “Abuelito Who”, the theme is to cherish things while they last because you will never know when they will be gone. This theme shows when it becomes quite clear that something has happened to the speaker’s grandfather and he suddenly “doesn’t live here anymore”. In “The Old Grandfather”, the theme is to respect your elders, which is shown when the grandson is seen making a wooden dish for his parents because of how he witnessed them treating his grandfather. Both themes aren’t exactly the same, but they are both used in the case of grandparents.
This essay will contrast a good and evil concept between two different stories. There is an obvious distinction that stands out between the stories; however they are similar in one way. In A Worn Path (Eudora Welty) and A Good Man is Hard to Find (Flannery O’Conner) the one thing that sticks out, is the main character in both stories. The main character in both stories being the grandmother. Grandmothers are of course an important part of the family. In each story we have a grandmother of a different race, appearance, and attitude. In each story the grandmothers take different journeys, but there is one thing they both face being treated disrespected. We live in a world in which the grandmother resides with the family and helps to take care of the grandchildren. In the world today things are different and times are still hard if not harder. We live in a time when respect is no longer earned. Now days it seems as if respect is not as important as it was in earlier years and it is evident in these two stories.
Even though the Grandmother shows to be a victim of rudeness, hostile statements, and dangerous situations, she still stood by her morals regardless of the situations. In the first paragraph, the grandmother is a victim of her grandchildren and at the end, she is a victim of a murderer who ironically is much nicer to her than her own grandchildren! It is easily observed that the grandmother’s morals involve making her environment as pleasant as her personality. At the beginning, you can see how the grandchildren are making hostile comments towards the grandmother about going on the trip with them. As she sits in the back seat with the hostile children instead of allowing them to ruin her mood, she decides to point out the “ interesting details of the scenery- stone mountain’s; the blue granite, the brilliant red clay banks slightly streaked with purple”…. (pg 199). At the end while a victim of a murderer the grandmother still tried to make some good out of the situation. “Ain’t a cloud in the sky” he remarked. “Yes it is a beautiful day” said the grandmother. “Listen you shouldn’t call yourself misfit because I know you’re a good man at heart. I can just look at you and tell.” The grandmother said (pg 205). As stated earlier the grandmother was dedicated to keeping her moral of making her environment as pleasant as her personality!
People of different ages often have problems with one another because of the depravity of society and culture. Because of age differences, people are usually seen as incapable or have no ability to carry out things that others are able to do, like surviving or taking care of themselves. In one book, Two Old Women, by Velma Wallis, the two main characters, Sa’ and Ch’idzigyaak, were left because they were old and just wore down the tribe or so the tribe believed. “The council and I have arrived at a decision… We are going to have to leave our old ones behind” (Wallis5). They thought that doing so would help them rebound and get back to living a normal lifestyle. However, the complete opposite of what they expected happened. Instead of thriving, many of the tribe’s members ended up dying on their journey. The society that they were a part of made a decision of leaving the elderly behind, in hopes of recovery, but deterioration is what resulted. In the end, the society and its influences on the desperate people i...
The grandmother is very judgmental and her actions lead up to her family’s death. She calls a little boy a cute “little pick ninny” and we see her true colors. Pick ninny is a derogatory word towards black people and no good Christian woman would ever say those words (O’Connor 412). The grandmother tries very hard to be a good woman but her actions oppose everything she wants society to believe about her. The grandmother sees that her grandchildren are not the most behaved kids so she tells them they should be good people by listening and showing respect. She wants her grandchildren to have respect for their “native states and their parents and for everything else” (O’Connor 412). She tries to tell her grandchildren to be good
In the article, “O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Doyle W. Walls, the author writes about how judgmental the grandmother is and how her actions lead up to her family’s death. Her southern side comes out as her character is building when she calls a little boy a cute “little pickaninny.” As much as the grandmother portrays herself as a good woman and a leader, her actions contradict everything she wants people to believe. The grandmother talks to her grandchildren telling them that they should be good people by listening and showing respect. Walls writes, “The grandmother has just been lecturing her grandchildren concerning
The first way our world parallels the Brave New World is our desire to stay young. In Huxley’s macrocosm, the people are made to live without any change in aesthetics; they’re meant to look the same since day 1. But you can void your youngness by taking too much of the drug, soma. They have nothing to combat their aging unlike us. In many cultures today, it seems that the youth are worshiped and admired. As people age, they might believe they will be treated differently because they’re "too old" or maybe they’re looking to have a relationship and believe that looking younger will make them look more attractive. In earlier generations, older people were treated with a little more respect, but the culture today seems to prefer a youthful appearance; this makes some old people feel they need to use anti-aging products or have plastic surgery done so that they will not seem out-of-date. This is evident in today’s markets; market research firm Global Industry Analysts projects that the boomer-fueled consumer base striving to keep signs of aging at bay, will push...
Nelson argues that ageism exists in America due to the cultural bias of American society towards the youth. According to Nelson, American culture encourages the youth to emulate a very individualistic and dominative personality, thereby promoting the idea that the life of the youth is in their own hands. Aging and death are factors that are not in our control, so lack of control causes youthful individuals to lash out in fear towards aging, death, and the elderly. This argument is made stronger by the comparison between modern, westernized culture and a more conventional, eastern culture. Nelson compares the idea eastern cultures promote a sort of reverence towards elders due to their long life and wisdom. In eastern culture, the youth look up to their elders with respect and dignity, while the modernized, western culture promotes a more individualistic viewpoint. By presenting this comparison, as well as the
The grandmother makes it a point in the story to dress like a lady while she goes on the trip. This is so of, “In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady,” (O’Connor 2). Being well dressed means more to the grandmother than just being presentable if she is found dead. It means looking nice and being respectable (Shmoop Editorial Team 1). Her hypocritical personality shows later on during the story when she is rude and does not show respect to many people that she comes across during the family’s trip.While the family passes through Georgia, the grandmother spots something that she thinks is absolutely amazing and makes the comment of, “Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!...Wouldn’t that makes a great picture, now?,” (O’Connor 3). If dressing like a lady means being “respectable,” then shouldn’t she have respect for other people? The answer is yes; however, the grandmother does not show that is respectable to the people that she comes in contact with. Also, she repeatedly puts down her grandchildren by saying how they do not respect their elders, state, or anything in general “If I were a little boy..I wouldn’t talk about my native state that way,” (O’Connor 3), and, “Aren’t you ashamed...People are certainly not nice like they used to be..,” (O’Connor 5), yet the grandmother is on vacation with her son and his family and does not appreciate this opportunity. Instead, she complains and talks bad about the grandchildren. Near the end of the story, the grandmother constantly asks the Misfit, “Do you know Jesus?” (O’Connor pg…). This statement is hypocritical because she constantly sounds as if she is trying to reassure herself with her walk of faith. Numerous times throughout the the end of the story, the Misfit lets both the readers and the grandmother know that, yes, he knows Jesus. He agrees with the grandmother
The issue of authority and respect has been and will be an ongoing issue between youngsters and their elderly. In the story Red Dress by Alice Munro and the movie Rebel without a Cause by Nicholas Ray the issue of authority and respect comes up many times through the character actions. Authority and respect is directly linked to one another. It is very hard to obey supremacy if you have no respect for authority. In both the works we have studied, all the characters have trouble dealing with the issues of authority and respect for themselves and for others, they do not show respect to their parents and therefore does not look upon them as authority figures.
The Grandmother is a bit of a traditionalist, and like a few of O’Connor’s characters is still living in “the old days” with outdated morals and beliefs, she truly believes the way she thinks and the things she says and does is the right and only way, when in reality that was not the case. She tends to make herself believe she is doing the right thing and being a good person when in actuality it can be quite the opposite. David Allen Cook says in hi...
Aging is universal and it is a process that everyone has to go through. The only difference is that everyone goes through this process at their own pace influenced by factors that will be discussed later on in this paper. When we think about factors that have an influence on older adults and how their life may be affected, we must consider the different social institutions while analyzing influences from social factors, cultural factors, and personal values. Abuse to older adults, stereotyping and informal care and technological advancements that affect older adults are the three topics that will be discussed in this reflection. Furthermore, will connect the three topics I have chosen to the knowledge that I have gained from my interaction
She only cares for herself and uses her manipulative skills to trick the other characters into doing what she wants. However, she views herself to be of higher moral standings than the other characters. If the grandmother has any lesson for the reader, the lesson is that no matter how tricky one is or how high one holds their standards to be, not everyone gets their way all the
This reflection paper is based on the life history interview conducted on me and a 78-year-old woman who is soon going to celebrate her 79th birthday on Sep 21st. I would call her with a fictitious name “Smita” in the entire paper to maintain and protect her privacy. The interview was about our life. It was divided into six major life categories: childhood, adulthood, identity, the present, aging, and life lessons. Having an opportunity to interview a 78-year-old woman and writing this reflective paper about the life history and experiences had made me realize that I have a lot to learn about the stages of human life. Every individual lives are different and it varies tremendously. As an interviewee my goal was to collect the details of life, different stories, and experiences that makes our life unique from the rest of the people.
Gran, as I frequently called her, stood at five feet seven inches tall. She was an elderly woman in her mid-50s that enjoyed living life and helping others in any way possible, whether it is at the market selling produce, donating to a charity for the less fortunate, or participating in walk-a-thons. On the verge of going into her sixties, her behavior protruded was one of a woman in her early thirties. Dressed in a tight, knee-high khaki pants, a black V-cut top, and a black sandals, with her hand held on her hip saying, “I might be old in age, but I am young and strong at heart darling” as she responded to my comment, in my dialect, “Yuh feel you too young.” This brought much humor to the room. The joyou...