THE LIVING PHOTOGRAPH

1. How old was the persona when the photograph was taken.
 She was three years old

2. Which line in the poem tells us the grandmother has become forgetful?
 The line, “her soup forgot to boil”

3. The grandmother seems to be a friendly and kind woman.

 The word “unthinkable”

4. The persona is three years old when her grandmother dies.

 In the first stanza, the grandmother is strong and healthy in the photograph while
in the second stanza the grandmother is older and ill.

5. The grandmother remains strong and healthy until her death.

 The poem is about how a photograph immortalises a person. This is illustrated in
the poem where in real life, the grandmother is dead but with the photograph, she
will always be remembered by the persona.

6. Give one moral value one can learn from the poem.
 The poem teaches us that we must spend time with our loved ones because when
they pass away, all that will be left are the memories of the time spent together.

1. List two items ‘grandmother’ wears in the photo.

 pleated skirt
 flat shoes

2. What do you think the writer is referring to in the phrase ‘the awful place
grandmothers go?
 The writer is referring to death.

3. Why do you think the writer’s ‘small grandmother’ is ‘tall’ in the photo?
 I think it is probably because the photo was taken when the writer’s
grandmother was younger. Her back was not rounded and hunched then, so
she looked tall.

4. In the first stanza, what does the word there refer to?
 It refers to the photograph.

5. Which line tells you that the writer and her grandmother come from different
ethnic background?
 ‘white hand in black hand’

6. How old was the writer when the photo was taken?
 She was three years old.
7. Why do you think the writer says that her grandmother is tall in the photo but later
became ‘small’
 I think she says that because at the time the photo was taken her grandmother
was younger. Her back was straight therefore she seemed taller. It could also
be because the writer was very young at the time (only 3 years old). As her
 grandmother grew older, her back became ‘round and hunched’. So she
appeared ‘small’. The writer would also have grown bigger and taller too,
therefore her grandmother no longer appears tall to her.

8. Quote evidence from line 14 to line 16 that the photograph was taken a long time ago.
 The persona says that the photograph was taken when he/she was three years
old.
9. Explain the meaning of the word ‘crinkled’.
 Wrinkled