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Fredricka Mckenzie

Professor Toledo

English 102

December 10, 2019

Summary of the short story “A Visit Of Charity”

“A Visit Of Charity” is a short story written by Eudora Welty. The story ended

ambiguously. Welty uses different symbols, metaphors, and also a biblical reference in his

short story. The story focuses on a fourteen year old Campfire Girl name Marian, who

decided to do community service in order to get more points to earn badges. She decided to

do her service at a local nursing home. When she got to the nursing home on that cold

morning, she walked into the nursing home with a potted plant. She told the nurse that she

wanted to visit an old lady. When she got inside, she noted that the place smells, and that the

room was dark. She got engaged into a conversation with two old lady. One which had an

awkward smile on her face when Marian and the Nurse entered, and the other who she noted

that was bedridden. One of the old woman loved the plant that Marian had brought, while the

other one disliked it. The two old women started to argue about the plant. The old lady told

Marian that it was Addie’s, the older woman of the two old ladies birthday, and it was the

reason she was so grumpy. Addie stated that it was not her birthday. Marian asked how old

she was, but then Addie started to cry. The other old lady stated to mock her. Marian tried to

leave as quickly as she could. She ran out of the nursing home, went on a bus and sat, and

took a bite of her apple she hid in the bushes upon entering the nursing home.

Brainstorming

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1. Character

A. Marian

1. She is a fourteen year old campfire girl

2. She attended the nursing home as part of her vampire duties to

earn points for new badges.

3. She wore a red hooded sweater.

4. She is portrayed in the story as being selfish or selfless.

B. Old lady

1. She had an awkward smile when Marian entered the room

2. She thinks the flowers were beautiful

3. She was talkative, cheerful, polite and kind.

C. Addie

1. She is bedridden

2. She didn’t like the flowers

3. She was older than the other old lady

4. She was not talkative and mean

2. Settings

B. Nursing home

1. Elderly nursing home

2. The room that the two old women were described as being dark

and damped, which reminds the protagonist of a prison cell.

3. The settings of the story highlighted the theme of neglect.

3. Imagery

A. The Apple

1. She hid it before entering the nursing home

2. She was portrayed as being selfish and unkind, so she didn’t want to

share the apple

3. The apple highlighted a religious allusion, the Adam and Eve story in

Garden.

Pointing A Finger

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“A Visit Of Charity” is a short story written by Eudora Welty about Marian, a

fourteen years old Campfire Girl who took a visit to an elderly nursing home. The setting of

the story helped Welty to use imagery and other characters to portray Marian as a selfish and

mean young girl. Welty portrayed the protagonist as a very selfish young girl because of her

actions. Firstly highlighted from her visit to the nursing home. Secondly, by her bringing the

potted plant; finally, with the apple. He characterized her visit to the nursing home as not out

of love and compassion for the elderly, but rather to gain points for her Campfire badges. He

depicted that she brought the potted plant to the old lady only to gain extra points. The story

ended with Marian rushing out of the nursing home and went on a bus and took a bite of the

apple. Most readers would draw the conclusion that she left the apple outside of the nursing

home because she didn’t want to share the apple. The story ended in an indecisive way, but if

you read the story more than once and think hard on the true purpose of Marian’s actions, you

will see that the atmosphere or setting provoked her actions; which had left her looking like a

selfish young lady. In order to do an analysis of her character, the two old woman, the

settings, and imagery in the story must be included in order to fully understand her actions.

These factors have some impact on her behavior.

With analyzing the character Marian, the old lady and Addie has a significant impact

on her actions. When she spoke to the nurse and began walking down the hall, she noticed a

smell; “There was a smell in the hall like the interior of a clock” (131) she noted. She then

suddenly heard a sound coming from the room. The old lady of sounded like a sheep bleating

when she cleared her throat. They went into a room with two old woman. When the old

woman saw the nurse and Marian she forced an awkward smile to her old face awry. This

means that she did not expect the nurse or anyone’s visit. Marian stood holding the plant and

did not say anything. The small room smelled wet and had way too much furniture according

to Marian. The old lady loved the flowers. Addie, the oldest of the two women who could not

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move disliked it. The two old lady went fussing back and forth several times in the story.

Marian thinks of the old women in the story as animals. She thinks of the old lady as a bird

and Addie as a sheep. “Suddenly Marian saw a hand, quick as a bird claw, reach up in the air

and pluck the white cap off her head and she had a bunchy white forehead and red eyes like a

sheep” (Welty 132). The old lady had long nails that needs cutting. The old lady asked to

know her name and she completely forgot her name, “I’m a Campfire Girl,” she said finally.

The old woman sat on a rocking chair in the corner of the room. She began to rock and

Marian was confused as to how someone could rock so fast. “She seemed to rock faster and

faster; Marian did not see how anyone could rock so fast” (Welty 132). She began to tell

Marian stories of her childhood. She told Marian that its Addie’s birthday. Addie disagreed,

they began to argue back and forth. The two old women trigger Marian actions of rushing out

of the room, which left her looking unkind or mean.

The setting of the story took place at a elderly nursing home, which had a big impact

on Marian’s actions. The nursing home had a smell, indicated by Marian. The room that the

two old ladies were described as being dark and wet; “the tiny room had altogether too much

furniture. Everything smelled wet—even the bare floor” (132).When the nurse and Marian

enter the room the old did not expect them. This gives the reader an indication that the two

old lady are not getting taken care of properly. This could be observable because argue back

and forth for simply things. “Watch out for the germs,” (132) said the old woman like a

sheep, not addressing anyone. She tried to give Marian a hit that the place had germs. The

setting of the story had such a major impact on Marian. The environment startled Marian. “

Marian stood enclosed by a bed… the tiny room had altogether too much furniture…. She

held onto the back of the chair…” (Welty 132). She felt trapped, she could not even

remember her own name. The environment disrupted her thoughts. The environment seems

dirty and unsafe for the two old ladies and for her. It seems as if it was a first time visiting a

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nursing home because of her actions. The environment may be one of the leading factors as

to why the two old lady argue back and forth often. They lack attention and is not used to

having different people around them. Marian who isn’t familiar with that type of

environment, and the old ladies arguing back and forth made her a bit nervous in their

presents.

The imagery of the apple in the story has a significance. Most readers would associate

the apple with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. When she rushed out of the nursing

home and went on the bus she took a bite of the apple. Adam and Eve sinned when they ate

the apple from the tree of knowledge. Consequently, Marian would have sinned when she

took a bite of the apple. It would have highlighted what Welty has portrayed of her being

mean and selfish, because she left the nursing room and took a bite of the apple as if she

doesn’t have a care in this world as to what she just experienced. I think she left the apple

outside because she didn’t want it to be contaminated by germs or other things inside the

nursing home or maybe she thinks that visitors were not allowed to take food inside the

nursing home.

I disliked the way Welty portrayed Marian. Firstly, Welty described her dressed in a

red coat which somewhat reminds me of the short story, “The Little Red Riding Hood,”

which is about a little girl’s visit to her Grandmother’s house. The girl in the story did it with

a willing heart but Welty portrayed Marian as if she did not do it with a willing heart. It

seems clear to me that this visit to nursing home occurred for the first time and she didn’t

know what to expect. Welty described her as walking vaguely up the stairs moving the potted

plant from one hand to the next, which indicated nervousness. She appears very nervous, yet

readers quickly highlight selfishness as one of the major themes. Mentally, she seemed

unprepared. When I read this story for the first time, Marian’s selfishness stood out the most.

Reading the story again, I believe that she should not be portrayed as being selfish. In some

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cases people in general don’t treat the elderly properly. An observable scenario is the

condition of the room the two old ladies were in, and the unexpected visit of others. Marian’s

kindness in heart led her to choosing to visit a nursing home because there were so many

other places she could have visited. I think Welty portrayed her as selfish a young girl in

order to open our eyes as readers and to educate us about the importance of taking care of the

elderly, but I disliked that he tried to portray Marian only, and not include the nurse or people

in general. Welty made emphasis on only Marian’s selfishness but not the selfishness of the

nurse; and her delinquence in taking proper care of the old ladies. I think she ran out of the

nursing home because it was her first time visiting a nursing home, she ensue startled, and

didn’t know how to react in a situation like that. It may also be the case that she had a change

of heart, and left with the intention of coming back in order to do something about the

situation. Welty pointed his finger only on Marian.

Work Cited

Welty, Eudra. A Visit Of Charity. Unknown Publisher, 1941.

Clifford, John. Making Literature Matter. Bedford/St.Martin’s, Macmillan Learning, 2009.