Since the beginning of the written language, the reader's perception of a literary work has been based on their interpretation of how the story was portrayed. Differing points of view within the story generate diverse interpretations among readers. From Shakespeare to Faulkner, the aspect of differing viewpoints allows each story to convey contrasting feelings to the reader. In Eudora Welty’s Why I Live at the P.O., she uses a first-person view to reinforce this idea. The attitude of the narrator, sister, is biased in many respects to further her agenda. The slanted viewpoint of sister contributes to the story through her need for personal attention, the empathy the reader has for sister, and the inaccurate representation of the entire story. From the beginning of the story, sister’s need for attention is apparent. She is disgusted that …show more content…
By examining the story and listening to sisters viewpoint, the reader can speculate that emotions played a tremendous role in the story. This classic case of jealousy is not fueled by pure facts but rather high emotions and immense anger. The combination of these two elements makes the narrator's version of the story seem inaccurate. However, the narrator was still mistreated to a certain degree, but not the level of injustice to which she is describing throughout the story. Eudora Welty’s Why I Live at the P.O. is a story that is filled with mistreatment. Both Stella-Rondo and Sister are guilty of wrongdoing. Everyone who has a sibling can find similarities between this story and their own life. Countless times throughout life many siblings do not get along, but making rash decisions based on anger is not the path to take. Sister’s point of view throughout the story is what leads to the outcome. Without this viewpoint, the meaning of the narrative might have been entirely
”This part shows the theme of the story because it shows how the narrator was only helping his brother for his reason and so that he wouldn't have to be ashamed of him
Everyday Use by Alice Walker and Eudora Welty in A Worn Path are two short stories that share many similarities. One similarity between the two stories that caught my attention was protection and love. Both women take care of a child that went through an incident. In the story Everyday Use by Alice Walker, Mama is a poor African American woman who is considered to be very strong and manly.
This showcases a pattern in middle sister’s detachment from details as a way of coping with the many traumatic experiences she faces, and I believe it is a comment on how many people during this time
Stella had not visited her family since she and her husband moved houses across town because her husband was not comfortable with Stella going to what he considered a sketchier part of town. Stella recognizes that she can make her own decisions though, and that family is a huge part of her life she had been missing so despite what her husband says, she goes to visit her family. Once she arrives she calls her husband and tells him, “Jeff, I’m at Kookoo’s and we’re going to stay here” (Vermette 207). Stella finally recognizes and allows herself to do what is best for her, being with and taking care of her family, and she finally regains her self-worth.
There are 56.7 million people in the United States have a physical disability, that is 19 percent of the population of the whole country. Imagine each and every one of those people being hated and shamed by their family, specifically their older siblings. Older siblings are supposed to be a role model for the younger children in the family but in “The Scarlet Ibis” the narrator was a prideful, spiteful, and murderous person who held shame and hate in his heart for his invalid younger brother. The narrator was the older brother to an invalid child who could not even walk, yet the narrator hated him for what he was and felt shame that he had to associate with a kid such as his brother. The narrator was the cause of his younger brother’s death
In Eudora Welty’s short story, “A Worn Path,” she illustrates the trials and tribulations a Christian will face on life 's journey to heaven. She tells a story of an old African American woman traveling across town to get medicine for her grandson that was very sick. Her grandson swallows lye, which is a pun in itself on the word lie and how even as Christians there are still times of struggle. Phoenix Jackson the main character in the short story is a little old woman that is symbolized as a Christian that struggles on her path. The timing of the story has a significance in the Christian community.
The third person limited point of view allows us readers to watch and observe the characters which makes the audience feel involved with the characters actions and feelings throughout the short story. The author does a fantastic job on creating the element of suspense throughout the short story by drawing the readers in with Marilyn’s letters that she writes to her loved
Incest is the undisclosed secret that has not been mentioned at all, even when the signs are noticeable. When the pedophile uncle positions himself to constantly get down on the floor so he can peek up under the dress of an innocent six-year-old, everybody sees it, but no one dares to mention anything about it, intervene on it, try to stop it, or try to protect the little girl. The author and her sister go to such dysfunctional lengths to disregard what they see that one can deduce that they have their own incestuous experiences with an uncle or family member as well. These are symbols are of deep dark emotional trauma that will take years of therapy to recover from. The author perverts the situation even further by using symbols of distrust by the family ignoring what the pedophile uncle is doing and
Literary Analysis: “A Worn Path” Eudora Welty uses many literary elements in her short story, “A Worn Path,” to allow the reader to stay engaged throughout its entirety. Although there are many literary elements present in this story, there are three that Welty focuses intently on. She uses elements such as imagery, symbolism, and motifs to draw the reader’s attention. It is important for an author to write their story in a way that can be understood but also enjoyed. In “A Worn Path”, Welty focuses in on the elements, such as, symbolism, motifs, and imagery and writes a story that has great meaning and can be discovered by the reader when looked at carefully.
Brother now sees the horrible effect pride has had changed his life. In this story Brother has learned that pride has covered his love. He has also learned that Doodle has loved him and if they would have loved each other equally that maybe Doodle could have died differently. This story is a life lesson. Pride affects everybody and it is important to remember that their is a cruel streak in
In literature, writers use a variety of points of view to convey their plot; these points of view can be first person, second person, or third person. In “The Tell-Tale Heart”, the unnamed narrator describes he or she killing an old man. “Harrison Bergeron” is a dystopian story about Americans in the future that have handicaps in order for them to be equal. “A Good Man is Hard to Find” tells the story of a grandmother and her family taking a trip to Florida that went wrong.
However, in stories such as “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the narrator’s point of view is what truly helps define the setting and symbolism. Without the narrator’s distinct point of view on how she
Whitaker, before Stella-Rondo “broke us up” (1). Again, the narrator is the victim of Stella-Rondo’s sabotage for no apparent reason other than when she finishes the first paragraph stating that “[Stella-Rondo] is spoiled” (1). The first paragraph tells me that the narrator is immature, intolerance, inconsiderate, and emotional unstable because the narrator starts the story with a limited, biased, and negative perspective of Stella-Rondo. The absence of moral tolerance and the sound of frustration towards family are tip-offs of an unreliable narrator because of a biased point of
In the first paragraph, Sister mentions her relationship with Stella-Rondo giving more meaning to her reappearance and the impact it has on Sister, “I was getting along fine with Mama, Papa-Daddy and Uncle Rondo until my sister Stella-Rondo just separated from her husband and came back home again” (Welty 687). Sister explains the nature of her relationship giving the reader more of an idea for the reasons Stella-Rondo’s reappearance causes such family drama and somewhat introduces the plot of the story, “Stella-Rondo is exactly twelve months to the day younger than I am and for that reason she 's spoiled. She 's always had anything in the world she wanted and then she 'd throw it away” (Welty 687-688). This favoritism shown to Stella-Rondo not only produced the her spoiled nature, but also the jealous nature of Sister.
In Cynthia Ozick’s The Shawl, Ozick characterizes Stella as a maleficent older sister. She does this by revealing Stella’s feelings of jealousy and envy towards her baby sister, Magda. From the beginning Ozick directly tells us that Stella is jealous with, “But she was jealous of Magda.” Through the entirety of the story we are demonstrated the great bond that Rosa and Magda share, however it doesn’t demonstrate much interaction between Stella and Rosa, or Magda. This lack of interaction and abundance of interaction from Rosa to Magda, makes Stella become selfish.