Grandmother: Brief Information
- Ray Young Bear
“Grandmother” written by American- Indian poet Ray Young Bear is a recollection of poet’s unfathomable love for his grandmother. The poet draws the picture of his grandmother – all loving, all inspiring- through the use of images.
“Grandmother” written by American- Indian poet Ray Young Bear is a recollection of poet’s unfathomable love for his grandmother. The poet draws the picture of his grandmother – all loving, all inspiring- through the use of images.
As a grandson, the poet’s heart is very close to his grandmother. This poem presents the poets deep sense of intimacy and closeness to his grandmother even after her death. He can not forget her. Her images come into his mind as fresh as before. He could recognize her by all senses except taste. If the poet would see her from a long distance, he could easily recognize her. Her warm and damp hands with the smell of roots on his head would make him guess that those were her caressing hands. Even the voice coming out of her tombstone would flow inside him like a light coming from a sleeping fire at night. Her words would inspire him and enlighten his spirit.
Critical Summary
In this poem, the poet draws the picture of his grand mother, all loving, inspiring. The poet figure out cultural identity of American Indian or Misquaki people. In their culture, they provide high owner to their grandmother. The women work in the field. They were typical close; however their culture is nowadays not pure. The purple scarf and the plastic shopping bag is not their cultural apparition even after grandmother death, the poet remembers her.
If the poet saw her from a long distance, he would tell that she was his grand mother. There are certain features to know, she would were a purple scarf and go market with plastic shopping bag. The “Purple Scarf” and the “Plastic Shopping Bag” represent our sense of sight. She would come home back working in the field. She would wash her hands. Her hands were wet and had the smell of roots. Due to the smell of roots he could recognize her without looking at her. She would work in the field so there was smell. This smell made him recognize her. “Smelling of roots” represent sense of smelling. She would touch his head and would care it. He would know it was her hand. “Touching his head” represent sense of feeling. Some times he would imagine to have heard Noise from the tombstone voice coming form a rock attracts sense of hearing. The rock is metaphorically the tombstone of his grandmother from the very sound he would recognize her. Her words coming from the rock would inspire him like the light of some one stirring ashes from a sleeping fire at night. In this way the poet finds her grandmother all loving all inspiring.
