Main Flaw Grandma India
Like every human, Grandma India sometimes focuses more on herself than others’ feelings and can be too harsh when reprimanding her grandchildren. An instance of the first flaw is on a Monday after school, when the family is playing Monopoly. “She didn’t look up. She was preoccupied with examining her next move on the board. We were already resigned to the fact that she would skunk us all once again. ‘Right, how so?’ she mumbled, not taking her attention off the game for even one instant” (Pattillo 136). In this quote, we see that Grandma India is too preoccupied with the game to pay attention to Melba’s telling of her school day. Now, normally she would care more about Melba’s experiences, but in this moment she is more caught up in playing a game that
…show more content…
She is very strong, relatable, and intelligent. One of my favorite examples of this is near the end of the novel, when she discovers that battling hatred with unexpected kindness is her greatest weapon. “I felt myself smiling inside. As Grandma India said, turning the other cheek could be difficult, but for me, it was also beginning to be a lot of fun” (Pattillo 181). Being constantly positive about every situation is a trait which I wish to take from Melba.
Feelings About the Character Grandma India
The majority of Grandma India’s character traits are those I wish to copy. They include a strong trust in God, empathetic, and protective. A strong embodiment of all three is a situation where she expresses that she believes that Link can be trusted to provide friendship to her granddaughter. “‘Perhaps the boy was telling the truth. Who’s to say that he can’t be one of God’s good white people?’” (Pattillo 175). I deeply admire that Grandma India shows trust in someone that would be expected to wish Melba harm. The fact that she knows that even her “enemies” believe in the same God she does is incredibly
One of the earliest events that happened to Melba was the attack that happened in the bathroom. The event occurred near the start of her time in Central, when a group of boys attacked her and she had to be protected by Danny, and when she brought this up to the school board they pushed her away by stating “Well in order to do anything, we need an adult witness.” (Beals pg 108-109) This showed her that the school had no interest in protecting her, which made her start to stand up to protect herself. The second important event that occurred was when Danny left after a month of protecting her, which made her think “Warriors keep moving, they don't stop to lick their wounds and cry.” (Beals pg 128) This was an event that pushed Melba to overcome the problems that were occurring to her, and gave her, her first hero. All of the events that happened to Melba made her be able to stand up for her freedom in times where she was at her
Melba began her story with her childhood in Little Rock, Arkansas. She lived with her mother, grandma, and brother in a strict and religious household. Her family had come to accept the fact that they would always be mistreated because of their color. In the South this mistreatment of blacks was seen as perfectly normal, but Melba saw things a little differently. As a young girl, she experienced first hand how awful it was to be segregated against and be constantly ridiculed simply because of her color. Unlike most people, though, she wanted to do something about it and prayed for an opportunity that would allow her to fight back and hopefully make a difference.
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.
Doaker- A forty seven year old, tall, patient man that has a lot of respect for others. Even though he caves into people he is still a respectable figure.
She is a manipulator when it comes to any aspect of her life. Ideally, the grandmother was selfish and care about herself. For instance, when the author has her saying “In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady (O’Connor). The author let it be known at that second that the grandmother was only thinking about herself. As if she was traveling with a group of strangers. Throughout the story, the grandmother shows that she can be dishonest towards her family. “She woke up and recalled an old plantation that she had visited in this neighborhood once when she was a young lady” (O’Conner). The grandmother did this to manipulate the situation causing the ride to be delayed. Thus, she was lying to the children about the secret panel in the house. Therefore, she caused chaos in the car. The author made it seem that the grandmother was very content with that she has caused. Even when she realized that the location of the house that she was referring to was not up that road at all. But she remained quiet or did she know this along. She was quick to judge and tell someone what not to do. But she never turned her eye on herself. That she was selfish and dishonest to her
The main protagonist of Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet is a cheeky, intelligent, good natured young lady that often lets her own opinions and feelings get the better of her and her judgment, which has majorly influenced her impressions of Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham throughout the novel. Although Mr. Darcy can be quite condescending and Mr. Wickham can be charming and maybe even chivalrous at the beginning, they both turned out not quite what others may have first believed since, well you can never judge a book by its cover and proved that they both may, in fact, be each other’s foil.
To conclude, the characters Jeannette Walls and Melba Patillo display both similar and different characteristics. The traits that they retain effected their stories in many ways, and ultimately determined the outcome of them. Since Jeannette showed ambition towards her future, it lead her to become successful, making the story end positive. As for Melba, her courageousness and determination towards ending segregation created an inspirtational environment to readers. Overall, the characteristics of a character can create vivid images for readers, making reading an interesting experience.
At the beginning of the story we are led to believe that the grandmother is morally superior to the other characters in the story, especially The Misfit. Who we are led to believe is an evil criminal, but in fact the rolls are reversed. The Grandmother sits lower on the moral ladder than The Misfit. She looks judgmentally on other people but never turns that look toward herself. She believes this until the end of the story right before she is killed. Even though The Misfit commits horrendous crimes, he still admits that he is not a good man.
Since the beginning of the story, the readers have come to known the grandmother as a spiteful old lady due to her repulsive and deceitful attitudes toward others. Right from the start, we can see the grandmother using her manipulative tactics on her family. “The grandmother didn't want to go to Florida. She wanted to visit some of her connections in east Tennessee and she was seizing at every chance to change Bailey's mind.” (O’Connor 1) This initial quote shows an early indication that the grandmother is determined to obtain whatever she wants and will not allow anything to get in her way, even if it means manipulating her own family. This line already suggests that the grandmother may have sly motives concealed in her mind. “Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is a loose from the Federal Pen a...
The grandmother is very old and has lived a very tough life in Vietnam. She “‘lost four of [her] children… twelve of [her] grandchildren and countless relatives to wars and famines’” (Meyer, 74) while in Vietnam. During her life she had very little time to enjoy herself, instead she had to focus on not only surviving, but also holding a family together and getting them through the hardships as well. On top of the Vietnam War, which killed an estimated 500,000-600,000 Vietnamese citizens alone (Weisner), she had to live through 2 additional wars and several famines. The implicated stress and hardships are almost unimaginable. This is evident in her stories and fairy tales she tells her granddaughters, which always have dark twist or no happy ending, or as the granddaughters say “The husband comes too late” (Meyer, 77) to stop the bad guy or save the
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
When her outward attempts fail, the grandmother turns inward to her knowledge of Christ in a last ditch effort to save her life. Suddenly, the grandmother and The Misfit move into an intellectual conversation about Christ. At its climax, The Misfit becomes emotional, “‘Listen lady,’ he said in a high voice, ‘if I had of been there I would of know’…his voice seemed about to crack” (21). Their discussion stops at this point, and finally reaches the core of O’Connor’s moral code. Merely knowing about Christ does not equate with salvation; it requires a true connection to God. In this moment, everything has been stripped away from the grandmother’s life, and she is able, for the first time, to find her relationship with God. “The grandmother’s
They say grandparents, are the two most favorite people in the world to children. Grandparents are the main characters of your childhood, they are the ones that leave you with the most beautiful memories of your life. Some grandparent’s teach you a very valuable lesson of life, they teach you respect, hard work, family values, and unlimited love. They show you their love in many ways, they say I love you in words as well as actions. Grandparents are the ones that sometimes get you out of trouble and guide you to the correct path. They show you trust, a trust that cannot never be broken.
This lady is the most wonderful person I 've ever met. She is old, affectionate, and intelligent. It took me eighteen years to realize how much this extraordinary person influenced my life. She 's the type of person who charms everyone with her stories and experiences. She always time for her family and friends. She is the kind of leader who does everything to keep her family together and in harmony. She is my grandmother.
The Das parents’ negligent relationship with their children in Clear Light of Day mirrors India’s independence from Britain. Before their deaths, Mr. and Mrs. Das were preoccupied and inattentive to their four children, Raja, Tara, Bim, and Baba. They spent most of their time at the club, playing “their daily game of bridge” (Desai 50). This pastime is so important to them that they neglect to take care of their kids. For example, Mrs. Das tires of “washing and powdering” Baba, her mentally disabled baby, and she complains, “My bridge is suffering” (103). Mr. Das also does not focus on his children and “he [goes] through the day without addressing a word to them” (53). Unfortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Das are unable to ever form a loving relationship with their children because they both pass away. After Mrs. Das falls into a...