As stated in “Universal Theme” by Doris Sato (lines 1-3 and 5-6), “No matter what we look like or where we come from, we are all made of the same stuff- we all have hearts and minds, feelings and thoughts. We all have hopes and fears, worries and dreams. We all experience both sorrows and joys….Writers translate these shared experiences into works of art that express universal themes.” In the Russian folktale, “The Old Grandfather and His Little Grandson” retold by Leo Tolstoy in the 1800s, an old grandfather is mistreated and disrespected by his family. In the poem from the 20th century, which is the 1900s for those who don’t know,“Abuelito Who” by the Hispanic author Sandra Cisneros, the granddaughter is missing her Abuelito who is very old
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Next, the story of “The Old Grandfather and His Little Grandson”,as stated before, is a Russian folk tale from the 1800s, which can be proven because 1. it says it right beneath the title and 2. Leo Tolstoy is a Russian author that lived in the 1800s. This shows “...themes are not restricted to literature from a particular time or place but appear over and over again”(Soto lines 6-7).
By the same token, the granddaughter shows love, caring, and respect toward Abuelito. Similarly in “Abuelito Who”, much like the grandfather in “The Old Grandfather and His Little Grandson”, Abuelito is getting older and becoming more and more ill. This is conveyed in lines 10-13 when the author states, “Can’t come out to play/ sleeps in his little room all night and day/ who used to laugh like the letter k/ is sick.” Abuelito can’t play, can’t entertain and be that person he was for the narrator anymore, because he is always sleeping in his room. Finally lines 14-21 bring this poem to its conclusion, describing the aging and sickening Abuelito. “Doesn’t live here anymore”. This line claims that Abuelito’s door is closed so often and he is never around, that it is as though he doesn’t live here anymore. “Is tired shut the door” emphasizes all the more, that Abuelito’s door never opens. Through the writer’s description of Abuelito, the reader can tell how much Abuelito means to the narrator. The line, “Who talks to me in my head”, highlights the feelings that the narrator has. Missing Abuelito all the time has resulted in her having to hear him in her mind, from memories of him, which again, is just like the grandson in “The Old Grandfather and His Little
Next, the story of “The Old Grandfather and His Little Grandson”,as stated before, is a Russian folk tale from the 1800s, which can be proven because 1. it says it right beneath the title and 2. Leo Tolstoy is a Russian author that lived in the 1800s. This shows “...themes are not restricted to literature from a particular time or place but appear over and over again”(Soto lines 6-7).
By the same token, the granddaughter shows love, caring, and respect toward Abuelito. Similarly in “Abuelito Who”, much like the grandfather in “The Old Grandfather and His Little Grandson”, Abuelito is getting older and becoming more and more ill. This is conveyed in lines 10-13 when the author states, “Can’t come out to play/ sleeps in his little room all night and day/ who used to laugh like the letter k/ is sick.” Abuelito can’t play, can’t entertain and be that person he was for the narrator anymore, because he is always sleeping in his room. Finally lines 14-21 bring this poem to its conclusion, describing the aging and sickening Abuelito. “Doesn’t live here anymore”. This line claims that Abuelito’s door is closed so often and he is never around, that it is as though he doesn’t live here anymore. “Is tired shut the door” emphasizes all the more, that Abuelito’s door never opens. Through the writer’s description of Abuelito, the reader can tell how much Abuelito means to the narrator. The line, “Who talks to me in my head”, highlights the feelings that the narrator has. Missing Abuelito all the time has resulted in her having to hear him in her mind, from memories of him, which again, is just like the grandson in “The Old Grandfather and His Little