Two Grandmothers

Summary
 The story begins with a young girl telling her mother about her interactions with her two grandmothers, Dell, and
Elaine a.k.a. Towser. Grandma Dell is her 'country' grandmother who lives in rural Jamaica, raises livestock, serves
her community, takes her grandchild to church, and is smitten by her granddaughter's 'pretty' skin and hair. Her
'town' grandmother, on the other hand, is Grandma Elaine. She has been married several times, is a socialite who
dates wealthy men, travels, and is very conscious of her physical appearance. Initially, the granddaughter prefers her
country grandmother, who is very attentive to her needs and enjoys ‘showing her off' to her friends and neighbours.

 However, as the story progresses and the narrator matures, she begins to prefer her town grandmother, who is more
cosmopolitan and materialistic. However, her change in attitude toward Grandma Dell coincides with a change in
attitude toward her country friends. They are no longer awe-inspiring figures, but girls to look down on as 'less than.'
The story concludes with the teenage narrator proposing that her family spend a day with her country grandmother,
after which she will be looked after until next year, ensuring that they have more money.

Settings Characters
 Rural Jamaica, Kingston, and Clearwater in  Grandma Dell
the USA. Traditional/old fashion
 1980s Christian minded and simple in her approach to life
Altruistic
Never married
 Narrator Never dates
• The readers first meet her when she is a Prejudiced
young girl, and she grows and matures Hypocrite
throughout the story until she appears to be
a teenager at the end.  Grandma Elaine/Towser
Non-traditional/ Socialite
• She initially prefers Grandma Del's Materialistic
company, but as she grows older, she Narcissistic
develops a preference for Touser. Married multiple times
Goes on dates
• She reports a lot of sensitive information, Prejudiced
such as Grandma Del's "fall," Pearlie's Blunt and speaks her mind
home situation, and Eulalie and
Ermandine's pregnancies, but she doesn't
seem to understand the gravity of the
situations.
• By the end of the story, she has grown tired of her
• As she grows older, she appears to
country grandmother, Grandma Dell.
become more materialistic in her desires,
wanting to be like everyone else; by the
• By the end of the story, she has grown to appreciate
end of the story, she appears to be unsure
her hip socialite grandmother Elaine, aka Touser.
how she feels about her physical
appearance.
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Themes
 Racial Prejudice
Grandma Elaine/ Towser and the Clearwater relatives emphasize this theme. This theme is emphasized by Grandma
Elaine's reference to the narrator's hair: 'your mother had better start doing something about your hair from now on
it's almost as tough as your father's.... If you were my child, I'd cut it off to work out some kinks.’. 'Joyce says
Grandma is sorry I came out dark because she is almost white and I am really dark,' she says. The grandmother's
preoccupation with her granddaughter’s predominantly black features emphasizes the theme of racial
discrimination. She considers these characteristics to be flaws and conveys this sentiment to her grandchild. We see
the child questioning if being dark is a bad thing ‘Is dark really bad, Mummy?

In contrast, Grandma Del, the country grandmother, reinforces Grandma Elaine's opposing viewpoint. 'Grandma
loves to comb my hair, she says it's so long and thick, and she rubs it with castor oil every night,' she says of her
grandchild's hair. (Senior, 117) and her skin is also lovely: 'Grandma Del says my skin is lovely like honey' (Senior,
117). Despite Grandma Del's positive reinforcement, it still comes from a place of prejudice. She, like Grandma
Elaine, believes that having too much kink in one's hair is a bad thing. The only difference between the two
grandmothers is their perception of what is 'too dark' or 'too kinky.'

The Clearwater family, particularly Maureen, emphasizes the theme of racial prejudice. She introduces the term ‘{n
word}' into the story. The narrator questions her own beauty considering what she sees as beautiful around her, and
she feels inadequate; 'how can I be beautiful?' My skin is dark, darker than yours, Maureen's, Jason's, and Auntie
Rita's. And my hair is coarse, unlike yours or Maureen's, but Maureen's father is white. Is that why Maureen called
me a {n word}’ Based on the preceding incident, the narrator declares that she despises Maureen, but ironically, she
aspires to be like Maureen and is even more self-conscious about her hair.

 Social Prejudice
Grandma Elaine, Grandma Dell, and the narrator all emphasize this theme. Grandma Elaine has a dislike for
Grandma Dell. 'Granny Del,' she believes, is a country bumpkin from the 'deepest darkest country’. She regards her
as irrelevant and believes she is brainwashing her granddaughter with information that is not only irrelevant but also
embarrassing. This disdain stems from the fact that Elaine is a socialite whose world is the opposite of Grandma
Del's simple life. Grandma Elaine dates wealthy white men, travels, and works hard to keep her beauty. She scorns
Grandma Dell because she does not do the same.

The reader is not given any indication of Grandma Del's feelings for Grandma Elaine, but we are given the
judgment that she quietly metes out to her country neighbours. Ermandine and Eulalie are viewed as a "disgraceful
Jezebel-lot and dry-eye" (Senior, 121) because they have disgraced their parents by becoming pregnant. She
considers them beneath her, even though she did the same thing and was shunned by the community for a time.

In turn, the narrator adopts the prejudices of both grandmothers. She begins to dislike going to the country because
"nobody but black people" (Senior, 123) live there. She looks down on her friends, Ermandine, Eulalie, and Pearlie,
because of their multiple pregnancies and frailty. She begins to avoid them because she does not want them to ask
for some of her clothes. Everything about being in the country (rural area), from the people to her experiences,
irritates her – in her teen years – because visiting the country is shameful in comparison to going to Europe or
America. It is not regarded as a socially significant activity.
 Love and Family Relationship
Both grandmothers adore their grandchildren, and she reciprocates. Grandma Del demonstrates her love for
her granddaughter by combing her hair, taking her to church, steering her away from negative influences, and
educating her on appropriate behavior. This education is initially appreciated and accepted by the narrator,
but as she grows older and matures, she sees it as suffocating and irrelevant. The narrator does not dislike her
grandmother; rather, their points of view no longer coincide.

Grandma Elaine, on the other hand, demonstrates her love for her granddaughter by pointing out her flaws
and striving to improve them. As a result, she emphasizes the child's kinky hair and dark skin. This is, without a
doubt, an inappropriate conversation to have with a small child, but it is her flawed way of showing her love.
She suggests activities such as finishing school and going on trips off the island to help the child's social
prospects. The narrator reciprocates this affection by making Grandma Elaine the preferred grandmother. She
even adopts her materialistic sensibility at some point.

 Women in Society
This is a story about women, the values they instill in their children, and how they treat one another. There are
women in the with varying social statuses and financial backgrounds, and all of them contribute to this theme.
Grandma Elaine has a high social status, and she looks down on Grandma Del, who has a lower social status.
Grandma Del, for her part, mocks Eulalie, Ermandine, and Pearlie for being poor and victims of their financial
and social circumstances. The narrator contributes to this cycle by discriminating against her 'country' friends
and seeing herself as superior to them. Ironically, she is subjected to the same treatment by her cousin,
Maureen, who regards the narrator as "less than." Women should understand to accept each other.

 Innocence VS Loss of Innocence

As a child, the narrator reports on the actions of others without fully comprehending what is going on. This is
the essence of innocence. She accepts people as they are and sees the best in them. This is evident in her
admiration for Eulalee's culinary abilities, as well as her acceptance of Ermandine and Pearlie's children. She
simply accepted without hesitation. This changes as the child grows older and begins to think of herself as
superior to her peers. This is because her circumstances are superior to theirs. This represents the loss of
innocence that comes with maturation.