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Accepting Ageism In Lucy Knisley's Journey Away

635 Words3 Pages

Age is generally not a concerning manner in day to day life when racism and sexism are prevalent topics of interest. However, the underlying fear of the unknown often results in acts of repulsion or loathing. When it comes to comics, or even most fictitious stories, it is rare to see an old person holding importance. Lucy Knisley however, uses the comics medium and the genre of travelogue to tell her experience of travelling with her grandparents. In a boat, bringing together the young with the old, she discovers the flimsiness of age and subtly shows the life undergone in the latter years of life. Though haggard at times, her sense of duty allows her to overcome the obstacles of taking care of her grandparents. Despite Displacement being a travelogue, Lucy Knisley’s trip with her grandparents demonstrates the transition between fearing death to accepting it as a process of life. This paper will focus on how Lucy Knisley depicts her grandparents and herself based on age, the concept of ageism, fears of aging, the idea of legacy and intergenerational connection. With a generation gap between her grandparents and herself, Knisley is closely faced with death as she recognizes her grandparents’ …show more content…

Even though they are real people to Lucy, her portrayal of them most likely stems from their supposed inability to do anything prominent throughout the trip. As Silke van Dyk points out “decline in old age is not a natural process but a consequence of the elderly’s social disengagement” (van Dyke 94). The idea seems to contrast Biggs, who treats aging as a natural decline, however, it is difficult to tell as Knisley grandparents seem to not actively seek out social activities. Instead, by being characterized as old, the reader identifies Allen as the kind and loving grandfather and Phyllis as the grumpy confused old woman, common character

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