The Grandmother | Question and Answers | Class 12

Questions and Answers: 

Answer: The poem is full of metaphorical implications. In a sense the whole poem is a massive metaphor of the Mesquaki poets's attempt to reflect upon the vanishing native identity of the Mesquaki Indians. The poem has many images that appeal to our different senses. For example, the image of 'purple scarf', 'plastic shopping bag', 'hands', 'head', 'rock', 'light', 'stirring ashes', 'sleeping fire' and 'night' appeal to our sense of sight. Grand mother's 'warm' and 'damp' hands appeal to our sense of touch. The 'smell of roots' appeals to our sense of smell. The 'voice' from the rock and 'her words' evoke our sense of sound. Thus, the imagery used in the poem presents a concrete picture of the poet's grandmother.

Or,

In this poem 'The Grandmother', the poet has used images to discover two intertwined themes – recollection of his grandmother at one level and search for identity at another level. The images like ‘purple scarf’, ‘plastic shopping bag’, ‘the light … at night ‘ appeal to our sense of sight. These images also have a symbolic link to the Indian culture. ‘Plastic shopping bag’ indicates the poverty of the Indian tribe. ‘The light …. at night’ associates that the spirituality of Indian culture guides him in the modern corrupt American society. The images like ‘smell of root’ appeal to our sense of smell. It indicates the work ethic of the Indian tribe and his grandmother. They are near to nature and are good farmers. ‘Warm and damp hands’ appeal to our sense of touch. It also shows how his grandmother and Indian tribes work in fields with pleasure and sense of duty. ‘ A voice’ and ‘her words’ appeal to our sense of hearing. This indicates how the teachings and philosophy of Indian culture enlighten his spirits. Thus by the use of images, the poet has symbolically linked his grandmother to the lost culture of the Indian tribe.