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Behind Grandma's House Analysis

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Adolescence is a difficult time of transition in many children’s lives. Faced with physical, mental and social changes, many children struggle to find a coping mechanism that allows them to seamlessly transition into young adulthood. Because the struggles of adolescence are almost universal, many poems have been written about the issues faced during this critical period of social development. “Hanging Fire” by Audre Lorde and “Behind Grandma’s House” by Gary Soto are both poems that tell stories about youths trying to create an image for themselves. Despite both facing issues associated with adolescence, the speakers in “Hanging Fire” and “Behind Grandma’s House” have different support mechanisms that contribute to them handling their situations in different ways. Audre Lorde’s “Hanging Fire” details the thoughts and insecurities going through the mind of a fourteen year old girl. The teenage girl begins by telling us about her dissatisfaction with her physical appearance and her changing body. She is frustrated by her newfound acne and is wondering why “(her) skin has betrayed (her).” …show more content…

On the other hand, the speaker of “Behind Grandma’s House” has a grandmother who is engaged in the speaker’s life and passionate about setting him on the right path. Although the grandmother’s actions may be questionable, her mind is in the right spot, and she seems to really care about her grandson. The speaker in “Hanging Fire” could benefit significantly from a role model like the grandmother in “Behind Grandma’s House.” Having a strong support system in place could benefit the speakers in both poems and help them to navigate the challenging years of

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Everyone goes through the transition from childhood to adulthood. Boys become young men, and girls become young women; this is a significant stepping stone in the “journey to maturity.” Of course, becoming mature does not happen over night. Instead, it is a long process of learning from experience, which gives the young adult a new outlook on life and a new set of skills. The initiation theme is discussed in the article “Greasy Lake,” by critic Dennis Vanatta who argues that the author T.C. Boyle has created a narrator who is reflecting on his youth and an evening that would prove to be his stepping stone in the journey to maturity.

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Instead the author, Giovanni, allows them to have a shallow conversation with very few expressed words. Behind the simple words, there are more complex issues being harbored by both the grandmother and granddaughter. There are some key words in the poem such as “proud” (5) that describes how the grandmother felt about her rolls and “dependent” (9) that describes how the family needs the grandmother and her traditions. Also, the whole poem centers around the rolls of the grandmother, but it really centers around family bonds and traditions. These words, although key, are never share directly between the grandmother and granddaughter.

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In his poem “Behind Grandma’s House,” Gary Soto details the life and daily routine of a somewhat masochistic ten year old boy as he kicks over trash cans, terrorizes cats, and drowns ant colonies with his own urine. In many ways the boy acts as any other boy his age would be expected to, but he tends to go further than most young boys with his actions and descriptions of how he feels. This extra violence and destructive tendency the narrator exhibits can lead the reader to believe that, rather than being a typical child, he strongly craves attention due to his circumstances, and he is willing to act out and act obscenely in order to receive that attention. Throughout the poem the narrator details all the things he does to prove how tough he is, many

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Carolyn Kizner’s pantoum “Parent Pantoum” (1996) laminates that the speaker is conflicted about her daughter’s adolescent behavior and attitude. Kizner explores the speakers discontent between herself and her children using metaphor, juxtaposition, and parallel structure. Through her contemporary pantoum, Kizners speaker marvels at her “enormous children” (1) in order to try to understand how the girls can “moan about their age” (6) but still appear in “fragile heals and long black dresses” (7). Kizners pantoum addresses the speakers view on how kids act when they are in their adolescent years with a bewildered tone, however; as the poem progresses, the speaker develops her own ideas about why teens behave the way they do in a hopeful and proud tone.

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