In the stories “The Two Grandmothers and “To Dah-duh in Memoriam” the theme of Childhood

experience is a prominent theme in both stories.

“The Two Grandmothers” is a story about a little girl telling her mother about her experiences
with her two grandmothers. The little girl talks about her time with her ‘country grandmother’,
Grandma Del who lives in rural Jamaica. She describes the wonderful things at Grandma Del
such as : The curtains, her grandma’s ability to make dresses and hats for her, the neighbors that
she became friends with and her being able to go to church. She enjoys spending time with
Grandma Del because she is very attentive to her needs and love to show her off to her friends
and family. Grandma Del often compliments her that her dark skin is beautiful like honey and
applies castor oil to her long thick hair. She tells her mother that Grandma Del didn’t have any
electricity and she have to light a lamp, this causes her to go to bed early. As the story progresses
and the little girl gets older, she no longer wishes to go to Grandma Del. The things that she once
loved and appreciated began to annoy her. She no longer likes to talk to the neighbors and
complains about Grandma’s new black and white television that she rarely gets to watch. At the
end of the story she wishes to make a deal only to visit Grandma Del on a Sunday and not for the
rest of the year which showed that she had no interest in spending the summer at her grandma’s
house anymore. Grandma Elaine is her ‘town grandmother’, and is the complete opposite of
Grandma Del. She has had multiple marriages, travels a lot, and is genuinely concerned about
her physical appearance. She doesn’t like her granddaughter’s complexion or hair and she makes
sure to tell her every opportunity she gets. She tells her granddaughter to call her ‘Towser’
because she was getting older, and no one would believe that her granddaughter was so big. The
little girl complains to her mother about her grandma always going out and leaving her with her
maid and asks why she wants her to spend time with her if she’s just going to go out. She makes
up for her absence by buying her granddaughter gifts and she shows her love, hugs her, and tell
her jokes.

The family member who impacted the little girl’s life was her grandmother, Grandma Elaine or
‘Towser’. During her time spent with her grandma she sees her spending hours before the mirror
applying makeup on her face and dressing up fancy to go out. Being around her grandma
influenced her to ask her mother to relax her name and start wearing heels and makeup. She even
wanted to attend charm school because her grandma wanted her to. The way she saw her
grandma taking care of her skin and the way she dresses piqued her interest in fashion and
entering Miss Jamaica. Her grandma saying bad things about the country and Grandma Del
influenced her to view the country in a different light. When she went to church when she was
little, she happily went with the hat and dress that Grandma Del made her but after she grew up
she started to complain about the long distance and it was even harder to walk in her heels.
As the story progresses, we start to see that the little girl is changing and maturing and her
attitude changes towards her Grandmothers. We start to see that she begins to prefer Grandma
Elaine, who is materialistic and is more cosmopolitan. Her attitude towards Grandma Del has
changed significantly over time. She complains to her mother about not wanting to go to
Grandma Del’s house. The things that she once appreciated as a child now disturbs and annoy
her. Grandma Del getting electricity and a Tv didn’t even satisfy her, she just complains about
her not getting to watch it often and missing some shows. The children she played with
whenever she visits her grandma were in her league. But what disturbed her the most was when
an argument developed, and she was told that her grandmother was not who she thought she was
She tells her mother that she doesn’t want to spend the summer with her because she’s
embarrassed to tell her friends that she’s going to the country for her summer break. She would
rather travel with Grandma Elaine and prepare to go to charm school