𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 |𝗡𝗘𝗕 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀| 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝟭𝟮| 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀|

                                                                                                  Grandmother| Poem| Ray Young Bear|

                                           Prepared By, Dipendra Shrestha (Lecturer of English)

                                                                                                                                                 

About the Writer

   Ray Young Bear (born in 1950 in Marshalltown, Iowa) is a Native American poet and novelist of the Mesquaki tribe.

   Growing up on the Meskwaki Tribal Settlement in Iowa, he was encouraged to learn English by his maternal grandmother, and he began to translate his poems into that language. His work was first published in 1968.

   He writes about the dislocation {disorder/confusion} of contemporary {of the same time} Native Americans who are pulled by two different cultures. He often switches {controls} between English and the Meskwaki language to express himself more fully.

   His principle theme is the contemporary American Indian’s search for identity.

About the poem (theme)

   Simply, this poem is about the poet’s grandmother who is already dead. The poet remembers 4 things of his grandmother in this poem. They are the shape, the touch, the voice and the smell of his grandmother.

   He says if he saw his grandmother from a far distance, he would tell that it was his grandmother because his grandmother always wears purple scarf and carries plastic shopping bag. Hence, he could recognize his grandmother from her touch, voiceand smell as well. His grandmother’s touch was warm, wet and full of love. She would smell roots as she would work in the garden and her voice was loving and inspiring.

   In a deep sense, this poem is about the love and respect for the vanished culture of native American tribe (the Mesquaki). Here the death of grandmother symbolizes the death of their culture and civilization.

Detailed Summary

   The poem entitled ‘Grandmother’ by the American-Indian poet, Ray Young Bear  , has two meanings:  the literal and the metaphorical . In a literal sense , he presents the picture of his all-loving and all-inspiring grandmother whose love and inspiration never dies . Metaphorically , the poem deals with the poet’s love and respect for the vanished communities of Native American tribes Mesquaki tribe that belongs to the ancestor of the poet).

   His grandmother is no longer with him. So, he can’t see her shape . Neither can he feel her hands on his head  nor can he hear her voice coming from a rock. But, he can only think what he would do  if he hearda voice , saw her body from a long distance  and felt her hands on his head . If he saw her shape from a long distance, he would know it was his grandmother. Her purple scarf   and her plastic shopping bag would help him to guess that . If his grandmother touched his head , he would guess that they belonged to her  because they are warm, wet and full of love  If he heard a voice coming from the rock , he would know it was her voice because her words are all loving and all inspiring . Her voice would be like the light coming from the sleeping fire.

Important Questions

a.        What are the four things that Ray Young Bear remembers about his grandmother? {HSEB-2057}

       The four things Ray Young Bear remembers about his grandmother are her shape, touch, smell and voice. On the other hand, the first thing he remembers about his grandmother is that she used to wear a purple scarf and go to market carrying plastic shopping bag. Secondly, she would put her hands on his head that are warm, wet and full of love. The third thing is that she would smell roots because she used to work in the garden. The fourth thing is her voice or words that are all-loving and all-inspiring.

b.       How does the speaker feel toward his grandmother ? {HSEB-2071,Supp.} Or

c.        The speaker in ‘Grandmother’ seems to be emotionally attached to his grandmother. How? {HSEB-2071, Par.}

d.       How does the poet express his memory and honour toward his grandmother? {HSEB-2070} Or

e.        How does the speaker remember his grandmother? {HSEB-2067} Or

f.         What impression of grandmother does the speaker give in the poem ‘Grandmother’?

       His grandmother is no longer with him. So, he can’t see her shape. Neither can he feel her hands on his head nor can he hear her voice coming from a rock. But he says if he felt her hands on his head he would guess that they belonged to her because they are warm, wet and full of love. If he heard a voice coming from the rock, he would know it was her voice because her words are loving and inspiring.

g.       What is the main idea/theme of the poem ‘Grandmother” by Ray Young Bear? {HSEB-2063}

       The poem entitled ‘Grandmother’ by the American-Indian poet, Ray Young Bear, has two meanings; the literal and the metaphorical. In a literal sense, he presents the picture of his all-loving and all-inspiring grandmother whose love and inspiration never dies. Metaphorically, the poem deals with the poet’s love and respect for the vanished communities of Native American tribes (Mesquaki tribe that belongs to the ancestor of the poet).

h.       How would the speaker know his grandmother? 

       His grandmother is no longer with him. So, he can’t see her shape. Neither can he feel her hands on his head nor can he hear her voice coming from a rock. But, he can only think what he would do if he heard a voice, saw her body from a long distance and felt her hands on his head. If he saw he saw her shape from a long distance he would know it was his grandmother. Her purple scarf and her plastic shopping bag would help him to guess that. If he felt her hands on his head he would guess that they belonged to her because they are warm, wet and full of love. If he heard a voice coming from the rock, he would know it was her voice because her words are all-loving and all-inspiring. Her voice would be like the light coming from the sleeping fire.

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