The Grandfather is a novel written by Gary Soto. The novel tells the story of a young boy, Antonio, who is living in a Chicano community in Fresno, California. The novel explores the themes of family, culture, and identity.
The Grandfather is a coming-of-age story that follows Antonio as he navigates his way through life in a Chicano community. The novel addresses issues of family, culture, and identity. The story is told from Antonio’s perspective, and we see the world through his eyes. The Grandfather is an important work of Chicano literature that provides insight into the Chicano experience.
The story is set in Fresno, California during the summer. The protagonist is a young boy who lives with his grandparents. The grandfather is the only one who works and the grandmother takes care of the house. The family dynamic changes when the grandfather becomes ill and can no longer work.
The grandmother has to take on the responsibility of working and taking care of the house. The grandfather starts to feel like he is a burden to his family. The boy tries to help out around the house but he is not used to doing chores. He is more used to playing outside with his friends. The boy learns how to do things around the house and he also learns about life and death.
Soto’s naturalistic writing style allows readers to connect with the characters on a personal level. The story is written in first person point of view, which allows readers to see the events through the boy’s eyes. The boy is an innocent character and he does not understand everything that is going on around him. Soto uses simple language to describe the events in the story. The events are also presented in chronological order, which makes it easy for readers to follow the story.
Soto’s real-life experiences also play a role in his writing. He was born and raised in Fresno, California. His parents were Mexican immigrants who worked in agriculture. Soto has said that his writing is influenced by his personal experiences as a Chicano growing up in California. He writes about the everyday lives of Chicanos and he also writes about the issues that Chicanos face.
Gary Soto’s “The Grandfather” is a story that presents the feeling of what everyday life would be like when living in a Hispanic community. The story is written in a naturalistic style, which allows readers to connect with the characters on a personal level. The story is also influenced by Soto’s real-life experiences as a Chicano growing up in California.
Naturalism is a style of writing in which the author immerses oneself in a slice of life and captures it permanently. In his work, Soto considers issues such as marriage, parenthood, friendship, and making a livelihood (Fields 284). Grandfather had “s arrives in Fresno and works thirty years at Sun Maid Raisin to obtain money” to make ends meet (Soto 6). Soto writes about things that happen every day. He does not try to sugarcoat anything.
The events in The Grandfather are not exciting or world-changing, but they are significant to the characters. Soto also uses a lot of imagery to help the reader feel like they are in the story. In one part of the story, Soto writes “the grandfather liked Fresno because it had an arcade where he could shoot pool” (Soto 8). The detail about the arcade immerses readers into the story and allows them to get to know the grandfather better.
One theme that is present in The Grandfather is change. The grandfather goes through many changes throughout his life. He starts off young and strong, but as he gets older he becomes weaker. The grandfather also changes his mind about things as he gets older. In the beginning of The Grandfather, the grandfather does not want to move to Fresno because he is comfortable where he is.
However, after he moves to Fresno he starts to like it and does not want to leave. The grandfather also changes his opinion about his grandson after getting to know him better. The grandfather initially thinks that his grandson is a “wetback”, but he later realizes that his grandson is a good kid. The theme of change is significant because it shows how people can change their minds about things over time.
Gary Soto references his father to day traumas, tragedies, and triumphs in this passage. This may be seen when Soto describes how Grandfather waits all of his life for the tree in which he has planted his favorite fruit to produce its fruits (9). Grandfather’s victory is seeing the tree give fruit. Soto employs a naturalistic style that keeps his stories interesting. In addition, Soto writes in a very basic style. According to Jerry Bradley, Soto’s simplicity is “a stylistic device” (401).
The way Soto writes makes the reader feel as if they are apart of the story, and not just reading it. The themes in The Grandfather are mainly about family, love, and loss. Even though The Grandfather is a very short story, Gary Soto still manages to pack a lot of emotion into it.
The Grandfather is a story about a man who has to come to terms with the death of his wife, and the fact that he is now alone. The grandfather is a very proud man, and does not want to admit that he needs help. He tries to keep up with his yard work, but eventually has to give up and hire someone to do it for him. The one thing that he does not want to give up on is his favorite tree.
The tree is a symbol of life for the grandfather, and he has been waiting twenty years for it to bear fruit. When it finally does, he is so happy that he can’t even put it into words. The tree represents the hope that the grandfather has for the future, and the fact that he is finally able to enjoy his retirement.
The loss of his wife is something that the grandfather is not able to deal with, and it eventually leads to his death. The death of his wife is a symbol of the loss of love in the grandfather’s life. The grandfather was a very loving husband, and after his wife died, he was never able to find that same love again. The death of his wife is also a symbol of the loss of the grandfather’s youth. The grandfather is a very old man, and his wife was the only thing that kept him young. After she died, he slowly began to lose his own life as well.
The simplicity of his style is appropriate for the basic themes he explores (401). In “The Grandfather,” Soto employs simple words. This can be seen in the word choice used by grandfather when admonishing the children. Grandfather asks, “Hijo (Son), what’s going on with you? You intend to break it. ” (Soto 7) The limited vocabulary that Soto employs for Grandfather’s speech is typical of many immigrants in the 1980s. By utilizing such a modest vocabulary, Soto was able to convey some elements of Chicano culture.
The Chicano culture is also expressed through the setting of “The Grandfather”. The story takes place in Fresno, California which is a heavily populated area with Mexican-Americans. The fact that Soto tells us the location of where the story is taking place lets us know that the location is important to the story. The location is not only important to understand the culture but it also helps develop the characters.
The characters in “The Grandfather” are very typical to those found in many Chicano families. The grandfather is the head of the household and he is very traditional. He expects his grandchildren to respect him and to do what he says. The grandmother is also a traditional woman who follows her husband’s orders.