How Did Grandma Change In The Horned Toad

In Gerald Haslam’s “The Horned Toad,” The story takes place in Oildale, California in the mid-1940’s. This family does have some problems about how close they are, and the four characters do not really have a stable relationship. However, three out of the four characters change positively. Grandma changes from a judgmental woman to a helpful woman. In the beginning, Grandma is judgmental when the narrator shows her something and she says some hurtful things, “‘Expectorian su sangre!’ exclaimed Great grandma when I showed her the small horned toad” (Haslam 245). Here, the narrator shows her a horned toad that he has found. He shows Grandma the little reptile and she screams, They spit blood In Spanish. Once again, Grandma is judgmental when

“But the old lady seemed unimpressed with Daddy whom she called ‘ese gringo’” (Haslam 246). Grandma does not like the father and is very irritated with his actions. This is why the narrator’s family is torn apart. The father is a quiet man that does not really fit in with his wife’s family. On the other hand, the mother always agrees with Grandma and hides certain things from her husband. Grandma says that he is not a hispanic person in Spanish. This is meant to insult the father. Another way grandma is rude is when she would not give something to the narrator. “Oh so you wan’ some candy? Well go to the store an’ buy some” (Haslam 248). The narrator walks up to Grandma and she asks him if we wants candy. The narrator says yes to her offer and she yells at him to buy his own candy. This is when the narrator realizes that grandma can speak English. This surprises the narrator because Grandma always used to say things in Spanish to him, which he could not understand. So when Grandma says something in English, that becomes the turning point of the

“We must return him to his own place” (Haslam 250). Grandma says that the horned toad should be in the place where the narrator first found him. This is because the horned toad dies and that is where it should be buried. Along with that, Grandma helps the narrator break out of his shell and state his opinion. “‘But Grandma has to go home,’ I burst. ‘She has to! It’s the only thing she really wanted. We can’t leave her here in the city’”(Haslam 251). The narrator is brave enough to say that Grandma should not be buried in Bakersfield. When he tells his father this, the father agrees that she should be buried in the open country. Without the narrator’s courage, Grandma would have been buried in Bakersfield, where she didn’t want to be buried. Finally, Grandma is helpful when she brought the narrator’s family together. “When you’re family, you take care of your own” (Haslam 251). After Grandma passes, even though it is sad, she had helps her family bond and come