The theme of family is extremely crucial in a man’s life. People tend to adhere to the fact of subordination within families so that to follow ancient prescriptions to obey parents. The parents and grandparents as well the predecessors on the whole are the bearers of people’s identity and genealogical background.
They teach everything that should be done due to their experience and express with the stubbornness of facts they usually use in support. These experienced people are so-called signs for younger present generations. They seem to direct their youngsters now and then. As I see, grandparents stimulate us to fix the slightest ideas as of life and its peculiar things to teach us how to survive in everyday life.
To approve this thesis it would be useful to apply to the work in a form of a poem by Elizabeth Cook-Lynn “Grandfather at the Indian Health Clinic” with some glimpses on Bell Hooks’ “Inspirited Eccentricity”. These two examples represent a huge and uncontrollable flow of love expressed by grandparents towards their grandchildren. The themes and ideas are almost identical with plenty of several outlooks on the details describing the appearance and inner world of grandparents.
Both authors experienced those deep feelings in their earliest periods of mindset development. The points intend a reader to pay attention to those times when a man is helpless in right decision- making and directs all his strives embodied in a simple question “Why?” So there stands a purpose to analyze thoroughly the steps and tools which Elizabeth Cook-Lynn chooses in terms of implementation of the feelings and striking ideas in the sphere of a reader’s state of the soul.
The generation gap seems to be an obstacle between younger and older generations. This point emphasizes that the story can be appealed to a wide audience of readers. As many authors in this sphere underline, the story-telling of grandparents is a precious thing that is adorable by every child.
Elizabeth Cook-Lynn’s “Grandfather at the Indian Health Clinic” is a manifestation of the tender love of a granddad towards his granddaughter strengthened by the paralleled descriptions of nature in comparison with the nature of grandfather’s soul. She and her grandfather are of Native American origination. The details of grandfather’s dressing impart a specific tincture of what the author associates with the person of her lovely granddad.
he wears his denim cowboy coat high on his neck: averse to
an unceremonious world, he follows me through (MLM 408)
The poem is interesting because of the simple manner of its representation and the words which are used. The organization of the poem is free with key concepts maintained in an accessible manner of writing. The author does not follow the trend of some clichés and, thus, presents readers with a spectacular and tangible narration that cannot but recall personal memoirs of that time of joy which everyone had in life.
The personal outflow of emotions in childhood and witty remarks of grandparents taught by experience are the factors that present deeper feelings so that to aim the audience of readers at the colorful and vivid world of love maintained in words and actions of parents and grandparents to improve children’s skills and behavior on the whole. This additionally emphasizes the idea of relationships importance between all layers of the family according to age differences.
The entire love of those close relatives who are older in every epoch is constant. It is seen in the fact that the author is old enough but feels like a child when remembering her grandfather who usually “pushes down the easy rage he always has with me, a youngest child, and smiles.” (MLM 408) Such figurative and literal depiction of mutual intentions makes a reader follow the idea of patience and love for those who continued the family chain and supported once some traditions to be saved for further generations.
The instructions of the grandfather are usually strict and straightforward. They intend children to learn some lessons of everyday life and its peculiarities. The author sees such details in her childhood, she takes care of what granddad once said and reflects this in her poem:
This morning the lodge is closed to the dance
and he reminds me these are not the men who
raise the bag above the painted marks: for the young
intern from New Jersey he bares his chest
but keeps a scarf tied on his steel-gray braids (MLM 408)
Such attempts to describe the way of grandfather’s reasoning and actions should be a signal for those little kids who are speechless and helpless in this cruel world of people. The author reminds about all affairs by granddad because of her great impression towards the fact of how he did it. The manner of explaining things symbolizes the great interest of grandfather in terms of descriptive performance in the poem.
and thinks of days that have no turning: he wore
yellow chaps and went as far as Canada to ride
Mad Dog and then came home to drive the Greenwood Woman’s
cattle to his brother’s place,
two hundred miles
along the timberline
the trees were bright
he returned his hat down in summer rain. (MLM 408)
The depiction of gradual actions tends to behave discipline in children and responsibility in every action provided. It is very significant for everyone to follow those instructions which can make people stronger and more efficient while going through various obstacles. The author, thus, prevents a reader from any negative notes as of family concept so that to strengthen the role of it for further generations.
Thus, in the poem by Elizabeth Cook-Lynn “Grandfather at the Indian Health Clinic” the theme of a grandparent, namely grandfather love is outlined in terms of age, racial, and gender aspects. An artistic approach incorporated in literature gives special values for this poem to be pointed out.
References
Schilb, J & Clifford, J (2008) ‘Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers’. 4-th edition.