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The Jilting of Granny Weatherall by Katherine Anne Porter Study Guide Literary Terms Use the glossary in your textbook to define the following terms. Stream of consciousness- When the author attempts to capture the natural flow of thought.

Flashback- An interruption from the characters thoughts to explain a previous event.

Katherine Anne Porter uses flashbacks, foreshadowings, and shifts back and forth between the present to the past to give necessary background information about the meaning and the characters. Below are listed thoughts or events. If the thought or event happened in the present write P on the line following it. If it happened in the past and Porter tells about it in one of Grannys flashbacks, write F on the line. Then reorder the following events as they would have happened in real life or as they flashed through Grannys mind. 1. The letters from George and John. __P__ 2. Granny rides in a wagon with a man she knows. __F__ 3. Grannys first lover, George jilts her at the alter sixty years ago. __F__ 4. Granny received satisfaction in the raising of her children. 5. Doctor Harry visits Granny. __P__ 6. Granny blows out the eerie light at the end. .__P__ 7. Granny has made plans to leave certain possessions to her children. __F__ 8. Her dead child Hapseys ghostly form appears near her bed. __P__ 9. The priest, Father Connolly visits Granny. .__P__ 10. Granny raises her children alone. __F__ 11. Granny marries John who dies young. __F__ 12. Doctor Harry visits Granny when she delivers her first child. __F__ 13. Granny has milk-leg, and double pneumonia. __F__ 14. Grannys child Hapsey dies. __F__ 15. When Granny was sixty, she made her will and cane down with a fever. __F__ 5 13 1 7 12 15

4 11 10 3 2 14 8 6 9 Study Questions 1. Who sits with Granny during her final hours? What is Grannys attitude toward this person?

Cornelia. Granny thinks Cornelia should just leave her alone so she can rest. 2. What are the names of Grannys children? Which of them does she long to see? Why is she unable to see this child?

Haspy, George, Lydia, Jimmy, and Cornelia. Haspy. She is a ghost. 3. As she drifts in and out of consciousness, what memory is squeezed out of Grannys heart? How does she try to talk herself out of the pain of this memory?

She remembers when her first husband George jilted her at the alter. 4. What memories and details suggest Grannys physical and emotional strength?

Her past illnesses and labor suggest her strong physical strength and her fail relationships and dead child give away her emotional strength. 5. 6. What is the significance of Grannys last name? As she nears death, why does Granny say she cant go?

She literally Weathers it All and survives a harsh lifetime. She is afraid she wont be able to find Haspy.

7.

What is the connection between her experience of having been jilted sixty years ago and her experiences in the final paragraph?

She tells Cornelia to find George and to tell him that she had forgotten and gotten over the fact that he left her

8.

Find two points at which Grannys thoughts drift from one subject to another that is seemingly unrelated. What natural associations connect her thoughts in each of these examples?

What was I set out to do? She asked herself intently, but she could not remember. A fog rose over the valley then it was time to go in and light the lamps. God, for all my life I thank Thee. Without Thee, my God, I could never have done it. Hail Mary, full of grace. I want you to pick all the fruit this year With old age and the fever Granny is losing her focusing abilities.

9.

Does the jumbled sequence of events as they appear in the story create a complete picture of Grannys life? Explain.

Yes, they do. Her life is full of these hardships as well as pleasant memories that a person would remember if they were on their deathbed. 10. This story was written around 1930. Do you think a young persons experience of being left at the altar would have a less profound impact on his or her life if it happened today? Explain your answer. Yes, it would. Back then, society held higher moral values unlike today. If a bride was left today she would feel heartbroken, but she would be able to find love quicker than a jilted bride back in the 1930s who would have almost a streak on their reputation.