How are Granada and Gran Gran radically different? Or are they?

I see Granada as self-absorbed, the little girl only interested in protecting herself and trying to get back into that plantation house. But then over time she evolves into Gran Gran. the keeper of the people, the one who takes care of the people when Polly leaves. She finally becomes a part of them, instead of apart from them.

Over time she makes her see the whole person, not just the outside of a person and overtime she realizes these are her people. That it is up to her to take care of and to care for the.

I think Polly was an instrument to assist in bringing Granada from a girl to a woman. In doing so, Polly showed by example what mothers hope to do with their children. I'm not sure Polly "changed" Granada, but rather practiced a form of "tough love" with her to bring her to independence and understanding of her true gift. I truly loved both characters!

She taught Granada the value of her people, how to look beneath the surface of a person and to see what is really there. She showed her what freedom really meant and how being the mistresses pet was not freedom but just a different form of servitude. She taught her to respect the gifts she had been given in her ability to be a midwife and a healer. She taught her to value her own self worth from within instead of relying on the approval of others.

Polly taught Granada how to be a contributing member of society. Before Polly arrived, Granada was a self-absorbed little girl. She had been protected from the normal labor of the slave. Granada even balked when it was suggested that she assist Polly. In the time that she worked with Polly she was taught skills that would be valuable to the other slaves. In return, Granada was made self-sufficient.