The Imagery in the Story "A Visit of Charity" - Essay Sample

Introduction

The description is the use of descriptive language by an author in a bid to deepen the understanding of the reader on their work. A visit to charity is a short story written by Eudora Welty. As she explores the themes of love and separateness, she uses a lot of metaphors, symbols and biblical allusions to create resonance and depth in the nursing home story.

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One instance where Welty uses imagery is when Marian approaches the nursing home. The author writes that is was whitewashed and reflected the winter sunlight like a block of ice. The use of ice and color white indicates that the place was bleak and cold. Additionally, the nurses wore white uniforms and had a bitter attitude. The description of the nursing home as being cold does show not only the physical coldness of the place but also the psychological coldness of the nursing home. It was unwelcoming and unloving.

It is a nursing home for the elderly, outside, there are prickly, dark shrubs that the city had put. The surroundings indicate a lonely and abandoned place. The awkwardness in the nursing home inspires fear. In the interior of the building had loose bulging linoleum on the floor. That indicates that the area was poorly cared for and cheaply built. There is also an aspect of dehumanization. Marian enters a tiny room with excess furniture and the elderly she finds there have pet-like mouths and had red eyes like those of a sheep. There is a woman who the author describes as talking like she was bleating.

Even though Marian was a young girl, she was self-conscious, submissive and harsh. At one point she refers to one senior woman as an item that can be used and discarded whenever suitable. The view shows how people around the nursing home had lost touch with humanity.

Welty uses the clock to describe how work is done around the nursing home. She asserts that there is a place in the hall that smelled like the interior of a cock. The activities in the nursing home are done slowly but always on time. Additionally, there is a nurse that the author describes as moving like a machine and checking her watch. The nurse stops walking, extends her arm, and bends her elbow. She then leans forward from her hips to look at her watch.

From the description of the nursing home, it looks like a zoo. It is full of animals trapped in cages and are eager to get out. When Marian walks down the hall, the doors are all closed. She enters a room whose floor smelt wet indicating that the place was ignored. When she comes to the room, she compares it to a cave used by robbers and imagines that the two women to be the robbers.

Conclusion

A visit to charity is a story that takes place inside a nursing home for the elderly. The ambiance and of the nursing home shows desolation and negligence. The nurses have a negative attitude, and the walls of the building show that it poorly cares. Marian enters a room is cramped with furniture and has seniors who are described to have pet-like characters. The nursing home also has a lot of animals which are in cages, and that want to be released. The description shows a grim picture of the place.