Death: Ah, what a cheery subject. There's definitely no way of avoiding it in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"—even if Granny herself spends a fair bit of time in denial about her mortality. Granny assures us again and again that she's not afraid of dying, it's just that now isn't really the best time for this whole death thing to be happening. Granny's got some things she still needs to tick off her to-do list and, well, she's just not ready to go yet—but, we can't help but wonder (cue dramatic music): Are we ever really ready for death?
Questions About Mortality
- How would you describe Granny's attitude toward death?
- What insights about death do we get from being inside Granny's head?
- Since Granny never explains directly, it's pretty much up to us readers to piece together the clues that she had a daughter, Hapsy, who died. Why is Hapsy's death referred to so cryptically?
- What role does religion or Catholicism play in Granny's death?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
The fact that Granny's mind is so active is what makes her death so tragic.
LOL: "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" helps us to appreciate the humor in dying.