a visitof charityVIP

A Visit of Charity In the story A Visit of Charity, Eudora Welty illustrate a fourteen-year old Campfire girl whose name is Marian, pays a visit to the Old Ladies Home in order to earn points. Before the visit, Marian thought it would be an easy task that would take little time and few efforts. She even brought a potted plant for extra points. Marian thought she was going to visit a sweet and kind old lady, but she encountered two old ladies who were far from gracious and charming. The visit was much out of Marians expectation. She ended up being insulted by rude comments from the old lady-Addie, and upon leaving the room, she was harassed by the other old lady who wanted some money. Marian hurriedly left the Home, with scared but finally relieved mood.Welty uses irony, symbolism, descriptive settings and imagery to get across the theme, painting a vivid picture in front of the readers which reveals the miserable living conditions of the elderly and their helplessness and criticizes the fake charity of the charity organization and the selfishness, insensitivity and dehumanization of the society.The title contradicts the meaning of the story. Websters New World College Dictionary defines charity as the love of man for his fellow men: an act of good will or affection. “ Charity” in Oxford Advanced Learners English-Chinese Dictionary means “kindness and sympathy towards other people”, however, the whole story is filled with self-interest, insensitivity, and dehumanization, instead of love, good will, and affection. No one in this story carries the charity out. The detail description “she stopped for a moment” and “ then proceeded slowly toward the building” shows Marians reluctance to get into the Home. “ Im a Campfire GirlI have to pay a visit to some old lady.” These words and her frequent thoughts about the points she will get for the visit reveal her reason for coming. Her motives for the visit were not out of her compassion and kindness, but to earn points for her Campfire Girl status. It vividly reveals her self-conciousness and selfishness. When the poor old lady asks Marian for a penny upon her leaving, “Marian pulled violently against the old hands”. Though the action may be out of fear, it also shows her apathy. After she ran out of the nursing home, “under the prickly shrub she stopped and quickly retrieved a red apple she had hidden there” “ and took a big bite out of the apple”. Even after witnessing the poor living conditions of the old women, Marian yet understands the true meaning of charity. As a fourteen-year old girl, her actions and emotions disclose the insensitivity and morbidity of the society then.The environmental descriptions of The Old Ladies Home imply Weltys ironically demonstrate the fake charity of the charity organization. Outside of the so-called Home, there are “pricky dark shrubs with which the city beautified the home” which create a sense of coldness, and abandonment. The floor inside the building with loose bulging linoleum on it illustrate the awkwardness. “The room is dark”, The window shade was down, and the only door was shut which brings forth the gloomy and unwelcoming feeling, imply that the cramped room is a more suitable for animals rather than humans. Marian even compares the room to a robbers cave. The living conditions of the elderly in the nursing house contradicts the Homes warmness. Besides, attention should also be paid to the description of the nurse. Instead of describing the nurse in stereotypical terms as a warm and nurturing character ,Welty wrote, “This was a woman who looked as if she were cold; she had close-cut hair which stood up on the very top of her head exactly like a sea wave” . And later, “She lifted one eyebrow and spoke like a man”. The nurse acts like a robot, “She first extended her arm, bent her elbow, and leaned forward from the hips”. Her movements are unnatural and exaggerated, with no passion and warmness. In conclusion, through descriptive setting, irony and imagery, Welty allows the reader to be pulled into the story and actually experience the mood that the setting interprets. The author criticizes the fake charity which can destroy the very humanity and criticize the apathy of the people like Marian and the nurse who have created the Home and the conditions more miserab