Eudora Welty´s Autobiography, One Writer's Beginnings

In this passage from her autobiography, “One Writer’s Beginnings”, Eudora Welty recalls early experiences of reading and books that had later impact on her craft as a writer of fiction. Welty’s language conveys the intensity and values of these experiences with the use of imagery, with the use of diction, and the use of details.

The person we are today is a reflection of how we were raised as children. Everything we learn and experience as children shapes us for the future. In this passage of her autobiography, One Writer’s Beginnings, Eudora Welty wrote about the library and how her becoming of a writer stemmed from her love of reading. Welty is able to convey the intensity and value of these experiences while connecting to her audience.

In the stories “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty and “The First Seven Years” by Bernard Malamud characters persevere for love. In “A Worn Path” Phoenix Jackson, an old grandmother, goes through a long journey and overcomes multiple obstacles to get medicine for her sick grandson. Phoenix perseveres through emotional and physical trials because of her love for her grandson. Likewise in the story “The First Seven Years” Sobel perseveres for seven years of unfair pay to try and marry his love, while Feld perseveres to make his daughter's life better than his own. Both of these stories exemplify that humans will go to great lengths for the ones that they love.

A person’s journey can have symbols that come through everyone’s life. Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. In “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, Eudora describes symbols by using people that come through Phoenix’s path while she’s in her journey to Natchez. Eudora uses a nickel, marble cake, big dead trees, mistletoe, and a white hunter to symbolize Phoenix’s difficulties and obstacles that she had to go through in order to get to her destination.

Within every person lies a will and a flame of strength to achieve any goal, or conquer any obstacle in life. In Eudora Welty 's "A Worn Path", her main protagonist, Mrs. Phoenix Jackson, perfectly displays the strength that a human possess. Despite being of old age, poor and out of shape, Mrs. Jackson 's strength defies these odds on the worn path that she walks daily. Human strength is abundant in "A Worn Path", as the author shows the reader the reason why mankind is so strong. Welty demonstrates that love is what makes Mrs. Jackson, and everyone else, strong enough to move mountains. The strength of Mrs. Jackson exceeds more than normal, due to the condition of her beloved grandson, so much that not pain, death, or pride can kindle the fire of her strength.

Confronting the truth often reveals painful realities. In “One Writer’s Beginnings,” Eudora Welty details her very sheltered life. Afraid of any dangers that may affect her, Welty’s parents attempted to shield her from the world around her. Welty’s mother made the world around her seem more dangerous. As a byproduct of her sheltered youth, Welty reveals the truth in a palatable manner. She spends considerable effort making the truth non-painful. Every person copes with pain and loss differently. In many ways, Welty hides from the truth or at least protects herself from it by detaching herself from reality. Through context, clever word choice, and rhetorical devices, Welty compares and contrasts how she confronts pain

Feminism can be defined as a social idea that men and women should both have equal rights. The topic of feminism has been debated for many years. Throughout the early 1900's, the Women's Rights Movement was one of the largest social movements in the United States. Eudora Welty was born in 1909, right around the time where women's rights were being debated the most. Welty grew up in Mississippi, a common setting in many of her short stories. She was a smart girl who enjoyed reading and writing. Welty was also an artistic soul who enjoyed painting, photography and drawing. Eudora Welty started her career as a writer early on in her life. After attending college to receive a degree in literature, she worked for various newspapers and radio

Would let your young child read the story of Elsie Dinsmore a young heroine that is force by her father to practice on the piano for hours on end? Eudora Welty’s mother forbid her from reading those stories because she was “to impressionable”. The language convey in the autobiography shows the sentimental feelings the author has for her mother; the reason Ms. Welty enjoys reading so much is because of her mother.

In order to show the value and strength of past memories about reading, Eudora Welty

I saw I had met a witch.” Again, the measures Welty goes to read books are evident in the odds she dares to defy. However, more importantly in this paragraph is the employment of a narrative anecdote. Welty recalls how her mother introduced her to Mrs. Calloway and explained that Welty could read any book “... with the exception of Elsie Dinsmore”. Since Welty was too “impressionable”, she would end up “falling off the piano stool” just like the novel’s heroine. Eudora Welty’s fond recalling of this anecdote displays the imprint these experiences must have had on her life. Consequently, she relates impressionability to falling of the piano stool, which is mirrored in her own life: a huge impression is made on Eudora Welty when she falls off the piano stool reading

Often, protagonists have more in common with antagonists than originally believed upon the introduction of a novel. Revealing a character in his entirety takes time. Such is the way In Eudora Welty’s The Optimist’s Daughter. Welty portrays Fay and Laurel very differently in their relationships with the Judge; however, upon further examination, Fay and Laurel do have striking similarities regarding their out-of-place lives in Mount Salus without the Judge.

Does a main character in a story have to appear the whole time or can they merely appear briefly? Characters in stories appear and disappear all the time; sometimes the most important characters aren’t seen much. In Eudora Welty’s short story “A Worn Path”, published in Atlantic Monthly in 1941, the grandson of the story isn’t present at all; however, without the grandson there would not be a story to write. Even though the grandson in Welty’s story did not appear in the text at all, he still played an influential role on several aspects of the story, such as conflict and development of other characters, which in turn impacted the theme.

Eudora Welty was a renowned American author who used literary themes and devices to describe the complexities of the human mind and soul. Through her short stories, Welty paints a vivid portrait based on morals, hardships, and human relationships. In her stores, Welty combines this with humor and psychological acuity to allow the audience a glimpse into the lives of her characters and to learn something of themselves in the process. Two of her most famous short works are “Death of a Traveling Salesman” and “A Worn Path”. In her works like “Death of a Traveling Salesman”, Eudora Welty reminds her readers that modernization and work isn’t always a good thing and that we should enjoy our lives. In “A Worn Path,” Welty demonstrates that anyone can accomplish anything if they struggle and work hard for it, even if the path towards success is a difficult one. However, in today’s society many people have forgotten these traditional values and are forgetting what morals are, what human relationships are like beyond the 4.55 pound of technology, and what it’s like to think for themselves and learn from their own interpretations.

stops to sit down under a tree, she dazes off and thinks that a little boy is giving her

Opposition can often be presented with a negative connotation; however, opposition can also be seen through a positive lens as it results in greater realizations. In The Optimist’s Daughter, Eudora Welty portrays the life of Laurel who soon opposed by her stepmother Fay, but the few similarities she has with Fay brings Laurel to a realization about her own life. Laurel and Fay’s physical and emotional responses are their key differences, becoming the main cause of their opposition. However, the reader can clearly perceive Laurel building off Fay despite constant fighting.