Do you think Phoenix's grandson is alive or dead? Explain.
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- Todd's 110 Garage
- Born and raised near signs of Lewis and Clark's Missouri River portage, I now live in Auburn, WA and teach at Green River CC and Muckleshoot Tribal College. I have an M.A. in English literature from The University of Montana. I'm married and have no kids.
8 comments:
I beleive that Phoenix's grandson is dead. When she went to get the medicine she did not respond right away to the question of her grandson being alive. At the beginning of the story when she was traveling through the woods she would have hallucinations. For example she thought the scarecrow was a ghost. If her grandson did died she might still be getting medicine not only for routine but maybe also denial.
I think her grandson is dead. She is a crazy old woman who is seeing hallucinations of two headed snakes, bulls, alligators and ghosts. I believe she takes this journey because it is rooted into her routine. It may not matter if he is dead because she is use to doing this for her grandson.
I believe that Phoenix's grandson is alive when the story begins. There are several references to clocks... "moving a little from side to side in her steps, with the balanced heaviness and lightness of a pendulum in a grandfather clock," and, "She makes these trips regular as clockwork." Clocks are generally an allusion to time. At the very beginning of the story, "she kept tapping the frozen earth in front of her. This made a grave and persistent noise in the still air," the words grave and persistent carry connotations of a condemned endurance. However, I must agree that it is likely he is dead by the time she gets home, due to the closing line, "Then her slow step began on he stairs, going down." The repetitive sound of footsteps on the stairs could be hinting at a heartbeat, to be followed eerily by, "going down."
"She makes these trips just as regular as clockwork." "Is your grandson's throat any better since the last time you came for the medicine?"
These two quotes lead me to believe that Phoenix's grandson is alive. That and the fact that her name is Phoenix, it lives to help in delicate situations like this one.
Alright, I'm going to try this again. It didn't work last time. I think that Phoenix's grandson is dead but she thinks he's just suffering and cant breathe. I think that she is going to go to town to get the medication because she loves him and wants to ease his suffering as much as she can. I think that the clocks that Ahnna refered to were not clocks on the grandson's life but clocks on Phoenix's life. I think that is possible that she may die on her way home or soon after she gets home, she'll end up sacrificing her life for her grandson.
I beleive that Pheonix's grandson is dead. Pheonix is a very old woman who is prone to believing something is real when it really isnt. This leads me to think that she is just going through the motions trying to help the grandson that she believes needs her help when in reality he must be dead.
I think it is highly unlikely that phoenix's grandson could still be alive after swallowing lye, in any quantity it would have dissolved his thin little throat and caused him to die of a lack of air flow.
Still, it is a noble thing that Phoenix would make a long journey in her old age in memory of her lost grandson. I think that she is likely very sad and lonely, which could cause her to deny that her grandson is still alive. Insanity via circumstances.
I wonder if then, assuming her grandson is dead, if she has purchased a present for him every year since he's been gone and pretended as if he had never gone? It is a sad thing to think about, but its very likely that this has been happening for quite some time now.
I do not believe Phoenix's grandson is dead. The theme that stuck out to me while reading this story was the fact that Phoenix persevered regardless of her old age and the other obstacles she faced. She is so determined to complete this task throughout the story that the idea of her son being dead did not even occur to me. I do not think the author intended to make this a possibility. I feel that the author wanted the focus to be on Phoenix's determination to complete the task at hand.
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