“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,”Questions
Group 1
1. Write a one-paragraph summary of this short story.
2. Read the opening paragraph. What does the opening paragraph tell us about Ellen Weatherall?
3. What does the story reveal about Ellen Weatherall? What traits does this character have?List those traits and identify passages that illustrate those traits.
4. What is the significance of Ellen Weatherall’s name?
5. Identify: George, Hapsy, Cornelia, John, Jimmy, Lydia
6. What happened to Hapsy?
7. What is the significance of Ellen Weatherall’s “seeing” Hapsy and of Hapsy’s
“conversation”?
“. . . Hapsy came up close and said, ‘I thought you’d never come,’ and looked at
her very searchingly and said, ‘You haven’t changed a bit.’ They leaned forward
to kiss when Cornelia began whispering from a long way off. . . . “
8. What was Granny’s relationship with her children? What kind of mother has Granny
Weatherallbeen?
Group 2
1. What is the meaning and purpose of life?
2. How do people cope with adversity and bitter disappointment in life?
3. How do people survive from and adjust to painful life experiences?
4. How do people’s experiences in life change their character and personality?
5. What are the qualities that constitute mental and emotional health?
6. What are the qualities that Granny possessed which helped her to live successfully?
7. Does Granny have any weaknesses? If so, what are they?
8. What intelligent advice and wisdom did Granny give her family?
Group 3
1. What is Granny’s philosophy of life? (See paragraphs 7, 16, and 28).
2. How does Granny relate to God? Does that attitude/relationship change in the story? How?
3. Discuss the symbol of the bridegroom. What is the significance of that symbol?
4. What does Granny regret at the end of her life? What are her final thoughts?
5. What might be the "something not given back" that George took?
6. What detail indicates that Granny's sense of time has become distorted?
7. (a) Why does the jilting dominate Granny's thoughts as she approaches death?
(b) How is the jilting related to what she experiences in the final paragraph?
8. What does the light refer two in the last two paragraphs symbolize?
Group 4
1. How does Katherine Porter portray a person’s dying in this story? How realistic does thatportrayal seem to you? Cite examples (passages) from the story to support your conclusion.
2. How does Porter show us, through the character of Granny Weatherall, that we are neverprepared for death, no matter how independent we are? (Cite passages from the story to support your answer.)
3. Discuss the significance of the last line in the story: “She stretched herself with a deep breath and blew out the light.” What does Granny ask of God just before she blows "out the light"?
4. Identify specific instances (2 complete quotes for each) of: Irony,Metaphor,Simile, Imagery, Personification, Paradox, and Onomatopoeia
Group 5
1.Make a point of noting in the margin (say, with "J") the places where this comes up.But now notice something else.
A. What comes up just before Granny's memories of the events associated with her jilting by George?
B. And what do we find her doing when these memories arise?
2.Where do we see the idea of "I'm in control" or (alternative) "I managed to get on top of that"?
A. In what situations do these come to the fore?
B. What comes out of this idea, on different occasions?
3.In how many places does the concept of "waste" come in?What larger ideas is Granny inclined to make with it?
4. How does the opening of the story (down, say, through the beginning of the paragraph when she drops her hand and notices that Doctor Harry and Cornelia are discussing her case) present Granny Weatherall as repeatedly "in denial"?
5.The issue continually arises of what Granny thinks she deserves out of life, given how she has conducted and is conducting it.
A. What details of her conduct (as she remembers it and as we can construct it) are relevant here?
B. What are the proper standards for assessing this pattern of conduct-- in her view?in ours?
6.What in the story suggests that Granny Weatherall is well prepared for death?In how many respects is she not adequately prepared for it?How do we feel about her on the basis of what we take to be the facts here?
7. Does Granny Weatherall have a sound religious understanding of her spiritual condition?What details in the story implicitly raise this question?What questions do we need to get answers to in order to answer it?What facts in the story might provide materials for an answer?