Olive Senior, author of 'The Two Grandmothers', was born in Trelawney, Jamaica.

She attended Montego Bay High School, then went on to study journalism in Cardiff,
Wales. She then studied at Carlton University in Ottowa. She currently lives in
Canada, but visits Jamaica regularly. SUMMARY The story opens with a little girl
telling her mother about her experiences with her two grandmothers; grandma Dell
and grandma Elaine a.k.a Touser. Grandma Dell is her 'country' grandmother who
lives in rural Jamaica, raises lifestock, caters to her community, takes her grand
daughter to church and is enamored by her grand daughter's 'pretty' skin and hair.
Grandma Elaine, on the other hand, is her 'town' grandmother. She has had multiple
marriages, is a socialite who dates wealthy men, travels, and is very concerned
about her physical appearance. The grand daughter, initially, prefers her country
grandmother, who is very attentive to her needs and loved to 'show her off' to her
friends and neighbours. However, as the story progresses, and the narrator ages
and matures, she begins to prefer her town grandmother, who is more cosmopolitan
and appreciative of material things. With her change in attitude to grandma Dell,
however, also comes a change in attitude to her country friends. They are no longer
figures who inspire awe, but girls to look down on as 'less than'. The story closes
with the teenage narrator proposing that her family should spend a day with her
country grandmother - then she would be taken care of until next year - ensuring
that they have more time to spend with Touser (Grandma Elaine) as well as pursue
more interesting exploits. SETTING The story occurs in three places; rural Jamaica,
Kingston and Clearwater in the USA. The story occurs in the 1980's. CHARACTERS
Grandma Dell Traditional/ old fashion Christian minded and simple in her
approach to life Altruistic Never married Never dates Prejudiced Hypocrite
Grandma Elaine (Towser) Non-traditional/ Socialite Materialistic Narcissistic
Married multiple times Goes on dates Prejudiced Blunt and speaks her mind
Narrator (1st person) The readers first meets 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 Touser. 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. She
cannot be bothered with her country grandmother, grandma Dell, by the end of the
story. She begins to appreciate her hip socialite grandma Elaine, aka Touser, by
the end of the story. THEMES Racial Prejudice This theme is highlighted by Grandma
Elaine/ Touser and the Clearwater relatives. Grandma Elaine highlights this theme
by her reference to the narrator's hair; 'your mother had better start to do
something about your hair from now it's almost as tough as your father's .... If you
were my child I would cut it off to get some of the kinks out.' (Senior, 119) and skin
tone; 'Joyce says Grandma is sorry I came out dark because she is almost a white
lady and I am really dark.' (Senior, 120). The grandmother's preoccupation with the
fact that her grand daughter has predominantly black features highlights the theme
of racial discrimination. She sees these features as flaws and passes this sentiment
on to her grandchild. We see the child questioning if being dark is a bad thing 'Is
dark really bad, Mummy?' (Senior, 120). This is in contrast to the country
grandmother, Grandma Del, who re-enforces the very opposite view of Grandma
Elaine. She believes that her grandchild's hair is beautiful 'Grandma loves to comb
my hair she says it's so long and thick and she rubs it with castor oil every night.'
(Senior, 117) and her skin is beautiful as well 'Grandma Del says my skin is beautiful
like honey' (Senior, 117). Despite this positive re-enforcement by Grandma Del, it
still comes from a place of prejudice. She too, like Grandma Elaine, believes that
being too dark and having too much 'kink' in one's hair is a bad thing. The two
grandmothers only differ in terms of their idea of what is 'too dark', or 'too kinky'.
The Clearwater relatives, particularly Maureen, highlights the theme of racial
prejudice. She introduces the term 'nigger' to the story. The narrator questions her
beauty based on what she observes as beautiful around her, and finds herself
lacking; 'how can I be beautiful? My skin is so dark, darker than yours and
Maureen's and Jason's and Auntie Rita's. And my hair is so course, not like yours or
Maureen's but then Maureen's father is white. Is that why Maureen called me a
nigger?' (Senior, 124). The narrator declares that she hates Maureen, based on the
before mentioned incident, but, ironically, she wants to be like Maureen and is even
more ashamed of her hair. Social Prejudice This theme is highlighted by Grandma
Elaine, Grandma Dell, and the narrator. Grandma Elaine has a distinct disdain for
Grandma Dell. She believes that 'granny Del' is a country bumpkin from the
'deepest darkest country' (Senior, 118). She sees her as irrelevant and believes that
she is brainwashing her grandchild with information that is not only irrelevant, but
embarrassing as well. This disdain comes from the fact that Elaine is a socialite
who's world is the direct opposite of the simplistic life that Grandma Del leads.
Grandma Elaine dates rich white men, travels, and ensures that she maintains her
beauty. She views Grandma Dell with scorn because she does not do the same. The
reader receives no inkling of Grandma Del's feelings toward Grandma Elaine, but we
are treated to the judgement that she quietly metes out to her neighbours in the
country. She views Ermandine and Eulalie as 'a disgraceful Jezebel-lot and dry-eye'
(Senior, 121) because they have disgraced their parents by getting pregnant. She
views them as being beneath her, despite the fact that she also did the same, and
was also shunned by the community for a period of time. The narrator, in turn,
adopts the prejudices of both grandmothers. She starts to dislike going to the
country because 'there's nobody but black people' (Senior, 123) there. She looks
down on her friends - Ermandine, Eulalie and Pearlie - due to their multiple
pregnancies and bedraggled state. She starts to literally avoid them because she
does not want them to ask her for some of her clothes. Everything about being in
the country (rural area), from the people to her experiences, annoys her - in her
teen years - because visiting the country is shameful in relation to going to Europe
or America. It is not considered to be a socially relevant activity. Love and Family
Relationships Both grandmothers love their grandchild, and she loves them in
return. Grandma Del shows her love by combing her grand daughter's hair, taking
her to church, steering her away from negative influences, and educating her about
appropriate behaviour. Initially, this education is appreciated and accepted by the
narrator, but as she grows up and matures, she views this show of love as stifling
and irrelevant. The narrator does not love her grandmother any less, it is just that
their point of views no longer align. Grandma Elaine, on the other hand, shows her
love for her grandchild by highlighting her flaws and seeking to improve them.
Therefore, she points out that the child's hair is kinky and her skin is too dark.
Undoubtedly, this is an inappropriate conversation to have with a small child,
however, this is her flawed way of showing her love. She suggests activities for
improving the child's social prospects such as finishing school and visits off the
island. The narrator returns this love by eventually placing Grandma Elaine as the
favoured grandmother. She even adopts, eventually, her materialistic sensibility.
Women in Society This is a story about women, the values that they pass on, and
the way that they treat each other. There are women of different social status' and
financial backgrounds in the Caribbean, and all of them contribute to this theme.
Grandma Elaine is of a high social status and she treats grandma Del, who is of a
lower social status, with disdain. Grandma Del, in turn, treats Eulalie, Ermandine
and Pearlie with disdain for being poor, as well as victims of their financial, and
social, circumstances. The narrator joins this cycle by discriminating against her
'country' friends by viewing herself as better than them. Ironically, she suffers the
same treatment at the hands of her cousin, Maureen, who treats the narrator as
'less than' as well. The possible moral of this tale is that women should try to
understand and accept each other. Innocence vs. Loss of Innocence As a child, the
narrator reports the actions of others without understanding a lot of what is
happening. This is the definition of innocence. She also accepts people for who they
are and sees the good in them. This is seen in her awe at Eulalee's skills in the
kitchen, as well as her acceptance of Ermandine and Pearlie's babies. She simply
accepted without judgement. This changes as the child matures and she starts to
view herself as better than her friends. This is because her circumstances happen to
be better than theirs. This signifies a loss of innocence that comes with maturity.
The Summary
The short story, "The Two Grandmothers" tells the story from the point of view of a
young girl who monologues to her mother, describes her family and her transition to
adolescence. The narrator begins by explaining her experience of visiting her
paternal, Grandma Del to her mother. The description gives details about her
Grandma's house and neighbors, paying special attention to her Grandma's
curtains, and ability to make her dresses and a hat. Next, the child compares
Grandma's Del living style to staying with her other Grandmother, Towser, a lady
who is concerned with makeup, men and curses regularly. It is also revealed that
Grandma Del is black, and Towser is white, alluding to the fact that the child is
mixed. As the story progresses, the narrator shows evidence of 'losing her
innocence' as the simpler country childhood playtime at Grandma Del's becomes a
chore, and spending girl time with Towser or traveling the world becomes more
appealing. She also begins to notice racial differences as she comments on the
roughness of her hair and darkness of her skin. Setting - rural and urban society.
Theme And Mood
Visual and Auditory imagery
Visual Imagery- An example of visual imagery is on page 116 par.2 "Mummy, I really
like grandma Dels house it's nice and cosy and dark and cool on the inside with
these lovely big picture frames ..." This quote shows that her grandma Del doesn't
have electricity. It's interesting that she learns to hate this darkness when she grows
up because she didn't know that darkness meant that she was poor. It's possible
that the author uses the new found hatred for darkness as a symbol for how
uncomfortable she feels about her own skin.
Auditory imagery- On page 125 in the last two paragraphs the narrator says mom
instead of mummy " Mom, I just cant fit her in and that is it." This is an example of
auditory imagery because her saying mom makes you imagine her voice more
maturely which is a major example of her change.
Style
The style of the writing is straight forward because the wording and grammar is
simple and the author avoids using intricate literary devices. He writes with this
style that is comfortable yet entertaining because it allows him to best portray the
message of the story.
Main Characters
Narrator- A young girl who explains to her mother the differences between staying
with her religious grandma Del compared to staying with her modernized grandma
Towser and then as the story progresses it changes her whole point of view on
staying with both grandmas.
Grandma del- A religious grandma who is popular within her country, very holy and
lives an old fashioned lifestyle, kind of poor due to not having the money to pay for
electricity. She also showers her young grand daughter with gifts like dresses and
hats, baking cakes ,making guava jelly and always tells her how beautiful she is, for
example making it clear to her how long and soft her hair is.
Mom- The narrators mother whom she explains the differences between staying
with both grandmothers.
Grandma Elaine "Towser"- This is the narrators grandmother who is into a fancy
childish lifestyle like wearing makeup, cursing in front of her young grand daughter,
telling the narrator to call her Towser and dating. She also shows criticism towards
her young grand daughter by telling her how dark she is and how course her hair is.
She doesn't seem to like grandma Del because on page 118 par.3 she states "She
has only done one absolutely fantastic thing in her life which is too produce one son
your esteemed father... Grandma Del is a bumpkin of the deepest waters and don't
quote her godamm sayings to me.''
Pearlie- Is a young girl who lives within grandma del's country and is a mother figure
towards her poor family. She has to take care of her young brothers, cook and clean
when her mother's at work and sometimes gets beaten if her brothers break things.
Eulalie and Ermandine- Two young high school girls who lived within the
neighborhood of grandma Del who were friends with the narrator and had children
towards the end of the book, messing up the relationship between them and the
narator.
One of the major themes in this story is coming of age. This theme is apparent
through the development of descriptions that the narrator tells her mother. For
example, her love for grandma Del's simple living, and her lack of concern for lady
like activities or behavior that Towser enjoys are the thoughts of a young girl. She
doesn't notice or understand the complications of being mixed in her environment.
Later on in the story it shows that she has become older and is interested in
wearing makeup and heels which makes her not want to visit grandma Del because
she knows that she doesn't allow this conduct. Since she's older now she starts to
realize the differences she has with the people who she goes to school with and her
mothers side of the family, for example, her hair is not as straight and her skin color
is very dark.

The Mood of the story is nostalgic and sad because the experiences that she
describes conjures happy memories and entertaining stories, yet on the other hand,
when you realize the changes she is going through and how her likes and dislikes
develop, its sad that she is losing that part of herself and actually choosing to
become estranged from her family members. It is also sad and not judgemental,
because you know that she is not meaning to be this way, but is becoming a
product of her environment.