1.
A Conversation with My Father
Grace Paley
Summary
This story illustrates the difference of
opinion and between the old and new generation. They both have firm belief in
their knowledge and ideas and they are not ready to change them. The writer
represents the young generation and the father represents the old generation.
The writer’s father is a heart patient. He asks
the writer to write a simple story like the Russian writers used to write. She
writes a story. It is a true story. It is about a woman who is a neighbor of the
writer. This woman had a son and they both lived nicely in a small apartment in
Manhattan. Her son became a drug addict at the age of fifteen. She also became
a drug addict just to have a close contact with her son. However, for a number
of reasons, her son gave up drugs and left the city and his mother. Now the
mother was hopeless and alone. The writer went to see her.
However, her father does not like the story. He
raises some objections. He says that she has not written the story according to
the Russian writers who could write a plain, ordinary story.
She writes the second version of the story. She
changes it completely. Still he does not like the story and raises some more
objections. He objects that she does not want to face the reality. He believes
that no character can change. If there is any change, it cannot last long.
Therefore, the daughter tries to write a story
according to the wishes of her father but fails.
The writer Grace Paley has demonstrated the generation gap in the story “A Conversation with My Father”. Discuss.What is the conflict between the father and the daughter?
The writer has demonstrated
the generation gap in the story “A Conversation with My Father”. Both father
and the writer are not ready to accept other’s opinion. They are not ready to
embrace the reality that does not fit to their perceptions. This is the cause
of conflict between them.
The father represents the old generation. For
him life is simple, nice and family oriented. He believes in marriage. He also
believes that a character in a story has some individuality and it does not
change. He believes that the life story of each character should have some
reasonable end. He has his own idea of reality. The reality presented by the
writer is just a joke to him. He is not going to accept it. The young
generation is not ready to look the truth in the face.
Whereas, the young generation considers the
life story unfinished, complex, and depressing. To them family life of bond of
marriage is not important. They believe that every person can change. That is a
truth to them. The writer hates the stories that start with the sentence:
“There was a…” She fully believes that every character can change with time.
Therefore, both have sensibilities of their own
times – the old and the modern. They are rigid and are not ready to accept what
is wrong to them. (230)
The writer, Grace Paley loves her father and is willing to write a simple story for him, but cannot, why?The writer fails in writing a story in keeping with the sensibilities of her father’s time. Comment.
When we go through the story
“A Conversation with My Father”, we find that the daughter has great love for
her father. She wants to please him. She does not want to argue. Even if there
is an argument, she is always willing to let her father have the last word.
That is why she is willing to write a simple story for him. She writes two
stories according to her father’s wishes, but fails to please him.
Its reason is that the daughter is the
representative of the young generation of writers. She considers the life story
unfinished, complex, and depressing. To her family life or person can change.
That is a truth to her. When her father does not agree, she says, “No Pa, it
could really happen that way, it’s a funny world nowadays.”
She hates the stories that start with the
sentence: “There was a…..” She does not hate such stories because of literary
reasons. She thinks that every person or character of a story should have the
open destiny. She feels a kind of responsibility for the characters in this
respect. She fully believes that every character can change with time.
Therefore, we can conclude that the daughter
has great love and care for her father. However, she cannot write a simple
story for him. She has sensibilities of her own times. She is rigid and is not
ready to accept what is wrong to her. (241)
What was the first version of the story written by the writer and what were her father’s objections?
The writer’s father asked her to write a simple
story for him. The writer did like to write a simple story, but she wrote a
story just to please him. It was a true story. It was about a woman who was a
neighbor of the writer.
This woman had a son and they both lived nicely
in a small apartment in Manhattan. Her son became a drug addict at the age of
fifteen. It was not usual in that area. She also became a drug addict just to
have a close contact with her son. However, for a number of reasons her son
gave up drugs and left the city and her in disgust. Now the woman was hopeless
and alone. The writer went to see her.
The writer’s father did not like the story and
he raised many objections. Firstly, he said that she had not written the story
according to his wishes. She misunderstood him on purpose. Secondly, she had
left everything out. Thirdly, she had not written the story according to the
Russian writers who could write a plain, ordinary story. She had not written
the story for ordinary people.
Fourthly, she had not told about the physical
appearance of the woman and about her hair. Fifthly, she had not told about the
parents of the woman. If she had told, it would have been possible to tell why
she had become such a person. Sixthly, she had not told about her husband and
whether her boy. He believed that the bond of marriage was very important.
Therefore, these were the objections of the father to the first version of the
story. (281)
What was the second version of the story written by the writer and what were her father’s objections?
The father of the writer raised some objections
to the first version of the story and asked the writer to write the story
again. Therefore, the writer wrote the story again. This time she added many
things.
The story was about a woman. She had a son whom
she loved very much. He became a drug addict in his adolescence. He was a
writer and wrote articles in newspapers.
I order to keep a close contact; she also became a drug addict. However,
in spite of that she took great care of her son. She kept many orange juice,
honey, milk and vitamin pills at home.
Once her son went to a cinema where he met a
girl because of the girl, he gave up drugs and started his normal life again.
The son asked his mother to give up drugs, but she could not. The son left her and went away. The mother
was alone now and she wept for her son. The writer visited her.
The writers’ fatter did not like the second
version of the story either. He raised several objections. Firstly, he
ironically objected that she had nice sense of humor. Secondly, he objected
that she could not tell a plain story. Thirdly, he objected to the end of the
story. He did not like that, the woman was left alone, and she had no hope.
Fourthly, he objected that the writer did not want to face the reality. He
believed that no character could change. It was a joke to show that in a story.
If there was any change, it could not last long. It was the only truth for him.
Therefore, these were the objections of the writer to the second version of the
story. (292)
What kind of story does the writer’s father want her to write?
The father of the writer of the story “A
Conversation with My Father” asks her to write a simple story for hmm once
more. The writer used to write simple stories.
He wants that the story should have all the
good qualities of a simple story. Firstly, he likes the stories of the Russian
writers, so he wants her daughter to write the story according to these
writers. Secondly, the story should be written about the real, recognizable
people. Thirdly the physical appearance of the characters should be given. The
writer should tell even about the hair of the characters fourthly the
background of the character must be given. In this way, it will be possible for
the reader to find out why the character had become such a person.
Fifthly, the bond of marriage must be given a
lot of importance in the stories. Sixthly, he believes that the sense of humor
must be nice. The writer of the story should face the reality and should give a
convincing end to the story. The end of the story must be finished. The characters
in a story cannot change and the writer must not try to change them. It is a
joke if a writer does therefore. According to him, such a story is against
reality and it is not true. He believes that if a character changes it is only
for the time being.
Therefore, the father wants her to write a
story according to his own sensibility. (249)
Why does the writer not like to write a simple story about real and recognizable people?
The father of the writer of the story “A
Conversation with My Father” asks her to write a simple story for him once
more. From a simple story, he means such story as the famous Russian writers
used to write. According to him these writer used to write simple stories about
real and recognizable people.
However, the writer does not like to write a
simple story because of certain reasons. She is a representative of the young
generation. The young generation considers the life story unfinished, complex,
and depressing. To them family life or bond of marriage is not important. They believe
that every person can change. That is a truth to them. When her father does not
agree, she says, “No Pa, it could really happen that way, it’s a funny world
nowadays.”
The writer hates the stories that start with
the sentence: “There was a ….” She does not hate such stories because of
literary reasons, but because she thinks that, every person or character of a
story should have the open destiny of life. She feels a kind of responsibility
for the characters in this respect. She fully believes that every character can
change with time.
Therefore, we can conclude that the daughter
has great love and care for her father. However, she does not like to write a
simple story. She has the sensibilities of her own time. She is rigid and is
not ready to accept what is wrong to her. (246)
What is the theme of the story “A Conversation with My Father”?
The theme of the story “A Conversation with My
Father” is the generation gap between the old and the young writers.
The father of the writer represents the old
generation of writers. For him life is simple and family oriented. He values in
marriage. He also believes that a character in a story has some individuality
and it does not change. He believes that the life story of each character
should have a reasonable end.
He has his own idea of reality. The reality
presented by the writer is just a joke to him. He is not going to accept it. He
also believes that evasion is a characteristic of the young generation. The
young generation is not ready to look the truth in the face.
Whereas, the young generation consider the life
story unfinished, complex, and depressing. To them family life or the bond of
marriage is not important. They believe that every person can change. That is a
truth to them. The writer hates the stories that start with the sentence:
“There was a….”
She does not hate such stories because of
literary reasons. She thinks that every person or character of a story should
have the open destiny of life. She feels a kind of responsibility for the
characters in this respect. She fully believes that every character can change
with time.
Therefore, the theme of the story is the
generation gap between the young and the old writers. We see that the daughter
has great love and care for her father. However, she cannot write a simple
story for him. Both have sensibilities of their own times. They are rigid and
are not ready to accept what is wrong to them. (285)
