“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” is a short story written by Katherine Anne Porter in 1930. This short piece of literature depicts a story of the life of an old woman, fraught by the untimeliness and inevitability of aging, and the destruction, as well as constant degradation, of her age. The diminution of quality of life for an elderly person is evident through the protagonist’s age and ability, as well as the actions of herself and her companions. There are social, historical, and cultural characteristics exemplified in “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” such as the role women played in society, the life of an elderly woman, respect of the elderly, and jilting. All of these aspects are utilized throughout the short story to aid readers in understanding the importance of a “jilting” in a young woman’s life during this time period, and to demonstrate the effects it can continue to leave through the remainder of her days.
“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” was written in a style known as stream of consciousness. It must be understood that the confusion occurring in the structure of the writing, as well as the thought processes of the narrator, stem from the lack of lucidity of the narrator as she is led to her death. As for the structure of the writing, this piece of literature was written from the point of view of combined limited omniscient and interior monologue, meaning both third and first person (Rosemary). Moreover, in order to begin to understand the cultural and social elements of this short story, one must first comprehend the timeline that accompanies the drifting mind of the protagonist. The earliest piece of substantial information that is known is that the main character was jilted when she was twenty years of age. ...
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...er 208). The world jilt originated in the 1670s as a “loose, unchaste woman; harlot” and “to deceive after holding out hopes” (Harper). This exemplifies that jilting had occurred in history, and if the word were to have lost significance, would no longer have been used two centuries later. Instead, as expressed by Granny Weatherall, jilting remained common enough to be known, and ultimately written about as did Porter.
Works Cited
Harper, Douglas. “jilt.” Dicitonary.com. Online Etymology Dictionary, (n.d.). Web. 10 Dec. 2013.
Porter, Katherine Anne. “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall.” Literature Portfolio. Eds. Desmet, Christy, D. Alexis Hart, and Deborah Church Miller. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2007. 204-211. Print.
Ziegler, Rosemary. “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall.” Mount Vernon Hazarene University, 3 Sept. 2001. Microsoft PowerPoint file. 10 Dec. 2013.
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When Nanny catches Janie kissing a "trashy, breath-and-britches" young man whom she says will be "usin' [Janie's] body to wipe his feet on" (Hurston 12), she immediately marries Janie off to Logan Killicks, a wealthy farmer in the town.... ... middle of paper ... ... Works Cited 1.
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