In Eudora Welty's short story, A Visit of Charity, there are many elements which emphasize the author's characteristics of writing. Welty's use of symbolism brings the readers attention to how scared Marian is which she is at the Old Ladies' Home. The descriptive setting Welty uses allows the reader to be pulled into the story and actually get a sense of how the setting can interpret the mood. A third characteristic Welty uses is imagery. The imagery within this story allows the reader to use their imagination and create their own pictures of the scenery and characters. By using symbolism, descriptive setting, and imagery, the reader is allowed into the story and can actually understand how Marian feels, he or she can also feel the mood of the story which is caused by the setting, and finally the reader is allowed to create their own images of many different things throughout the story.
             Welty uses symbolism throughout, A Visit of Charity, to help the reader realize how frightened Marian is to be in the nursing home. All through the story, Welty compares the elderly woman to a sheep. As the woman talks, Welty compares her voice to "a sheep bleating," (Welty 221). Then Welty tells the reader the "sheep's bleating almost made her turn around and run back," (222). This incident undoubtedly shows how scared Marian is to be in the nursing home. Another occurrence of Welty's symbolism is presented as a bird. When the woman goes to take Marian's hat off, Welty compares the woman's hand to a bird's claw. "Suddenly Marian saw a hand, quick as a bird claw, reach up ... another claw to match drew her all the way into the room" (222). This comparison shows that Marian is not thinking about pleasant things, instead she is alarmed as she "held onto the back of the chair" and is thinking about things that intimidate her as the elderly woman does (222). Finally t...