THE TWO GRANDMOTHERS –

OLIVE SENIOR

SETTING AND CHARACTERS

SETTING
• The story is set in the 1980’s
• We know this from the activities
being described, the type of TV etc.
• It has three locations
• Kingston, Jamaica
• Rural Jamaica
• Clearwater, USA
CHARACTERS

Who are the three major characters in the story?

GRANDMA DEL

• Traditional/old fashioned
• Christian minded and simple in her approach to life
• Altruistic
• Never married
• Never dates
• Prejudiced against other members of her community
What is some evidence for any one of these characteristics?
GRANDMA ELAINE (TOWSER)

• Non-traditional/Socialite
• Materialistic
• Narcissistic
• Goes on dates, has many boyfriends throughout the course of the story
• Prejudiced
• Blunt and speaks her mind
What is some evidence for any one of these characteristics?
NARRATOR (1ST PERSON)

• The readers first meet her when she is a little girl.

• She grows and matures as the story progresses, by the end of the story she
appears to be a teenager.
• She initially prefers the company of Grandma Del, but as she grows up, she
begins to show a preference for Towser.
 NARRATOR
• She reports a lot of sensitive information, for example – the ‘fall’ of grandma
Del, Pearlie’s home situation, Eulalie and Ermandine’s pregnancies – but does
not appear to understand the gravity of the various situations.
• As she grows up, she appears to become more materialistic in her desires, she
wants to be like every-one else.
• She appears, by the end of the story, to be confused about how to feel about her
physical appearance.
ACTIVITY

• How do each of the three settings affect the narrator?