So what is the point of his message here? When we look at the character of Jody, Mr. and Mrs. Tiflin, and grandfather, we learn that something vitally important is missing from the young adult generation,...gratitude; or appreciation for themselves, and their past, and this is the perspective I want to build upon. We know this because, when grandfather comes to visit the Tiflin house, Mr. Tiflin is upset that he will have to listen to his father-in-law's same old stories of when he moved out west, and the difficulties in that. In fact all the adults reveal, in some fashion or another, throughout the story, their boredom with him; showing their careless attitudes. Jody is the only one who "gets it," and the only one who seems to appreciate what his grandfather went through so that he could be who he was.
This story really touched my heart, because I too feel as if my generation is slowly pulling away from the past, so here is something to think about...
You and I do not just happen to exist. But we came from our parents, who in fact came from theirs. We are who we are today because of our family before us.
Like Jody, ... I remember my grandfather telling me stories about times in his life where he could have died as a soldier in WWII, or where times were so hard for him and his family, he believed he was never going to make it. He was a "common man". And you know something...I would have ceased to exist if that so called "common man" had died. As I sat their listening to him as a little girl, even though I had never been through what he had, I felt myself there with him through it all. It was true! The things that I had only read about in history were all true! And I could see it in how my grandfather lived his life. For instance, my grandfather was a little boy through the Great Depression, and so he and his family had learned to save everything they could. From the time I could remember him, and now that he is gone, I never once will forget him reusing Cottage Cheese containers for leftover pot roast, or reusing PAPER PLATES sometimes three or four days old just so he would not waste them.
I appreciate my grandfather, not just because of the things he went through,... but because without him... I would cease to exist... for I am a part of who he was in more ways then one.
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| John Steinbeck |
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI really respect and admire how much you appreciate your elders! Grandparents offer a source of wisdom and love that cannot be found anywhere else. I found it kind of sad that the adults of this story were pretty open about their boredom with the grandfather's stories. You could also tell by his reaction to the negative thing Carl says about his stories that he was deeply hurt by it. I, too have had a grandparent who made a impact on me. My great grandmother Clarece, who passed away five years ago, was born in 1921 and was alive during the Civil Rights Movement. I cannot imagine how it was for her to have to live through segregation and extreme racism. I always admired her kindness, compassion, and her love of spreading the word of God. Her legacy definitely lives on through both my grandmother and my mother.