The old man, is not given a name nor a proper physical description by the writer perhaps to rouse the reader's emotions by letting him think of the grandfather as a universal figure. This may be an important factor in the short story as older generations can relate to the feelings of the grandfather and younger generations to the feelings of the granddaughter.Though he is old, the grandfather is very active in that he keeps birds and trains homing pigeons.In the beginning of the story, when the old man is attending to 'his favourite, a homing pigeon', his feelings are very serene and content. But once the granddaughter enters, his feeli ...view middle of the document...
Immediately after, he starts acting childish by threatening to tell on her, 'I'll tell your mother!'The next paragraph is very important as it tells the reader of the old man's true feelings. His fear of loneliness and being unloved, 'He would be left; uncherished and alone…'The grandfather gives into his feelings quite easily for as he starts feeling lonesome and does not get the proper attention from Alice; he is 'stung' into 'love and repentance'. He thinks if she goes away, then she would forget him.As soon as the grandfather sees Alice embracing Steven, her boyfriend, instantly his mood swings back to being spiteful and petulant. Again he becomes childlike as he goes to his daughter, Alice's mother, Lucy, to object for he is not ready to let go. It is heart wrenching for the reader to go through the aching emotions of the grandfather.He seems disapproving of the fact that all his other granddaughters have married and may be more attached to Alice, as 'she's the last one'. It is not the first time that this has happened.The old man is alarmed and frightened when he learns the she is soon to get married. 'His eyes stung', he was crying due to the fact that the 'garden was empty', where Alice and Steven were, as empty as his heart and life would soon be. But he learns that 'nothing could change and they would always be with him' when they hand him a bird. Perhaps it was a gift for him to feel acceptance towards Steven. Yet as soon as the couples turn away, he is left hurt, 'his throat clotted with tears, his lips trembling'.
