Summary Of The Jilting Of Granny Weatherall

Two more pertinent points are made by the author, in regards to the grandmother, follow in quick succession; both allude to further yet-to-be seen gloom within the story. O’Connor writes of the grandmother “[s]he didn’t intend for the cat to be left alone in the house for three days because he would miss her too much and she was afraid he might brush against one of the gas burners and accidentally asphyxiate himself” (1043) and of the way she is dressed “[i]n case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady” (1043). These two observations are innocent enough on the surface but provide true intent on the foreshadowing that O’Connor uses throughout the story. It is these two devices, irony and foreshadowing, that I feel are prominent and important aspects of the story and are evidenced in my quest to decipher this story.

In this reading the main character, Granny, is easy to pick out. Granny is dying but she refuses to believe that she is actually dying. On her deathbed she is thinking about keeping the house clean and orderly. She was also thinking about the love letters that she has in the attic from her ex-fiancé, John. Granny did not want her daughter, Cornelia, to find them. Grannys last thought was that she had been jilted. Honestly, I did not find this story very interesting because I think it was a boring topic. It is sad that the Granny dies in the end, but how they organized it was boring. They organized it just like a normal reading would be. I think it could have been more interesting if they organized it a different way.

Porter's "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" depicts the story of a dying woman's life. Throughout her eighty years of life Mrs. Weatherall has had her fair share of disappointments, heartaches, and unfavorable outcomes. This short story is written in a manner that allows the reader to get an outside view looking in; similar to looking at the story through a window as if being acted out in front of you in the theater. The story is eloquently written and leaves the reader with a sense of familiarity towards the family. The populations of readers who have had the pleasure of experiencing this pathetic story have come to relate their own experiences and disappointments towards the story and have empathetic feelings towards the main

The significance about the number of times she was shot is notable to be the second most important symbol in the story. “To insist at this moment of mutual revelation that the Grandmother is transformed into the agent of God’s grace is to do serious violence in the story. It is as tendentious as to decree that the bullets in her chest symbolize the trinity” (Bandy, 151). After the grandmother is shot, the story goes on to describe the Grandmother's face. When one thinks someone of being dead, the picture is a blank face. But in this short story it is quoted: “Hiram and Bobby Lee returned from the woods and stood over the ditch, looking down at the grandmother who half sat and half lay in a puddle of blood with her legs crossed under her like a child's and her face smiling up at the cloudless sky” (O’Connor). The smiles symbolizes the Grandmother's acceptance. “The smile on the face of the grandmother marks a victory over the grotesque in which the sublime is passed through to the reception of grace in a gratuitous act of love” (Raigor, 189). The symbolism with the Grandmother is very important throughout the entire short story, as is her role, and her death.

At the same time, however, Janie begins to confuse this desire with romance. Despite the fact that nature’s “love embrace” leaves her feeling “limp and languid,” she pursues the first thing she sees that appears to satisfy her desire: a young man named Johnny Taylor (Hurston 11). Leaning over the gate’s threshold to kiss Johnny, Janie takes the first step toward her newfound horizon. Nanny sees this kiss and declares Janie’s womanhood. She wants Janie to marry Logan Killicks, a financially secure and well-respected farmer who can protect her from corruption. The marriage of convenience that Nanny suggests is “desecrating … [Janie’s] pear tree” because it contradicts her ideal vision of love (Hurston 14). Because she did not have the strength to fight people in her youth, Janie’s grandmother believes that Janie needs to rely on a husband in order to stay safe and reach liberation. Ironically, Janie’s adherence to Nanny’s last request suppresses her even more because it causes her to leave behind her own horizon.

A Worn Path by Eudora Welty and The Jilting of Granny Weatherall by Katherine Anne Porter are short stories written in the twentieth century. The main characters in both stories were motivated by love and perseverance to keep going and never give up. Phoenix Jackson is likened to the Mythological Phoenix bird that dies at an old age and is then reborn in ashes. Phoenix Jackson is an elderly woman who is travels a lot just to accomplish one goal. She overcame a lot of obstacles and she never gave up and she always stood up for herself. Katherine’s The Jilting of Granny Weatherall also has Granny Weatherall as the main character who is portrayed to be in denial and also very sick on her deathbed.

The tone of this story seems to portray Granny’s bitterness, which is seen during a part of her consciousness when she hears her daughter and the doctor whispering, “Wait, wait, Cornelia,

The following passage is an excerpt from Katherine Anne Porter’s short story “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall.” Read the passage carefully. Then write an essay in which you analyze how such choices as figurative language, imagery, and dialogue develop the complex emotions the character is feeling.

The short stories, “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” by Catherine Anne Porter and “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, have many similarities as well as differences. Both stories have a simple plot with a theme that is symbolic of their lives. These stories include great characterization, description of elements in the stories, and the point of view.

This theme of social facade and hypocrisy is seen throughout The Jilting of Granny Weatherall in the character of the grandmother. For example, the grandmother had an illegitimate child,

This act left Granny alone to deal with the humiliation and scarlet mark of the jilting. This feeling is important as this occured in an age where women were expected to marry and bear children and work within the home. Although Granny did eventually marry, have a family and find happiness within her marriage this experience with George caused her to place a larger value on future experiences of desertion. As Granny Weatherall lie in her doctor bed Cornelia, Granny’s daughter, and the young doctor gives Granny a warning that her body is failing as they try to get her to see that she doesn’t have the strength and abilities that she once had but all Granny can do is reflect on how she “pulled through milk- leg and double pneumonia” (64) and envisioning herself standing up on her feet when in fact her “bones are felt loose, and floated around in her skin” and Doctor Harry is [floating] “like a balloon around the foot of the bed” (64) and she is having thoughts that “if they’d let me lie in peace and get rested” (68)

To start off the analysis, the setting of the entire poem is significant. Though the poem takes place in a house, the atmosphere the house is set in is also important. The month is September which is a month of fall which can be seen as a symbol for decline. It definitely insinuates that the poem is leading towards death. Line 1 has “September rain falls on the house” which gives the feeling of a dark and cold night with a storm on top of that. To further develop that, Bishop gives us the failing light in line 2 to also give us an idea of the grandmother’s struggle. Bishop uses the cyclical theme of changing seasons to show the unending nature of what is transpiring within the

A strong foreshadowing imagery can be read into these lines. Knowing the definite ending of the story, the grandmother?s elaborate dress symbolizes a preparation for her coffin. When a person dies, they usually are dressed in their best outfit, just like the grandmother was dressed in what seemed to be her Sunday best. A stronger foreshadowing is when O?Connor states the reason for the grandmother?s immaculate dress, "in case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady." She herself predicts her own death. Unfortunately, she doesn?t know this yet. Although this is beyond the parameters of this essay, it is interesting that in the grandmother's mind wearing her best clothes prevent any misgivings about her status as a lady IF she was to die. But as the Misfit later points out, "there never was a body that gave the undertaker a tip." The grandmother's perceived readiness for death is a stark contrast to her behavior when she encounters the Misfit; for she shows herself to be the least prepared for death.

The children and the ways of the grandmother symbolized the division between the generations in the story. The children, June Star and John Wesley, represent a new generation of unruly and disrespectful people. On the other hand, the grandmother represents the strong, southern heritage and stubborn godly beliefs. The two conflict when they discuss going to Tennessee rather than go to Florida, which is what the grandmother wants to do. June Star, who can read the grandmother like a book, remarks after John Wesley told his grandmother to stay at home if she did not want to go to Florida, "She wouldn't stay at home for a million bucks. Afraid she'd miss something. She has to go everywhere we go." This is a prime example of the loss of respect the children had for the grandmother. The grandmother does nothing but reply, "Alright, Miss." The generation gap creates a stir, but the outcome of the two coinciding might be positive.

Society portrays women as being nurturing, submissive, and weak and that their main role is to stay at home take care of their children, cook and clean for their husband, and be submissive to their husband’s will. The characters of Mrs. Mallard, Mamzelle Aurlie, Casilda, and the grandmother in some ways conform or break this stereotypical role that society sees women as being. In the story “The Judge’s Wife,” the