Framework in the Goophered Grapevine Essay - 529 Words

Framework in The Goophered Grapevine The frame narrative in Charles W. Chesnutts The Goophered Grapevine creates a hidden tension between the viewpoints of the internal narrators voice and the voice of the external narrator. Uncle Julius McAdoo is Chesnutts internal narrator, and serves a storyteller in the story. He exemplifies the characteristics of a former slave such as being uneducated and unable to speak Standard English. Julius is old, poor, and uneducated. These characteristics set him up as being a person that lacks credibility. However, early on in the story Julius claims his credibility as a storyteller by saying Day ain naer a man in dis settlement w at won tell you ole Julius McAdoo uz bawn en raise on dis yer†¦show more content†¦On the other hand, John had learned that North Carolina was a great state to cultivate grapes, and his main goal was to move there to cultivate grapes while aiding in the improvement of his wifes health. He had already observed the condition of the vineyard and was confi dent that he could restore its productivity. The conflict of territory is present here. The incongruity of the internal narrator and the external narrator is the element that sets up the tension between the two characters. They both interact with each other cordially and respectfully. However, there is a presence of internal arrogance between the two narrators. John thinks of himself as smarter than Julius because he (Julius) is old, poor, and uneducated while Julius thinks he can out smart John because hes younger, wealthier, and lacks knowledge of the area. Julius is extremely good at storytelling because he yields to his audience and draws his audience in from the beginning of the story to the end, which is a tool involved in tall tales. Julius is a trickster and even illustrates his story with the character of a Yankee, who seemingly posses the same shrewdness as Julius. His illustration of a shrew Yankee also seems to be an indirect insult towards John because he too is a northerner. In the frame structure, the two voices operating off each other raise a question of motive between the two narrators. Julius motive is clearly to mislead John and Annie so that he will