A Visit of Charity

Hope Biggs Character Analysis Paper Dr. Brookter January 22, 2013 No kindness, No channelize Charity is defined as a voluntary giving of help and generosity especially towards the needy or suffering. This small simple word conveys a much bigger meaning, one of compassion and selflessness. In the tier, A Visit of Charity the true act of charity seems to be missing. It is as if the main pieces of the besot be missing. The write up has framework but lacks the compassion and selflessness needed to bring it to life. The reality is, charity never came to visit.The story is about a childly teenage girl, Marion, who in order to gain points for her Campfire Girl Club mustiness visit the Old Ladies Home. By simply buying a potted dress and taking it to one of the residents, she gained three points but she can earn extra points for bringing her bible and reading it to the residents. Marion brings merely a plant. (Welty 111) A Visit of Charity begins by describing the cold winter day a nd a description of the nursing home, a whitewashed brick and reflected the winter sunlight like a block of looking glass (Welty 111).This description alone non only describes the buildings appearance but also is descriptive of the coldness and the lack of feeling for the elderly. Marion is no different. No fantasy was roll into what might be helpful and useful for the residents, like toiletries, socks, or even food. Instead her only provision for the visit was buying the potted plant. It is a undecided indication of her selfishness and a reflection of a society that does not value its elderly. Her main c at oncern is in take hold ofting points because she brings a potted plant.No real thought is put into who to give it to or who might actually enjoy it. She receives more than she gives and this reveals a true character flaw in Marion. Repeatedly in this story she reveals a selfishness and lack of connectivity to anything or anyone that does not benefit her. This is evident w hen Marion tells the nurse, I put up to pay a visit to some old ladies (Welty 111). And when she is asked if she knows any of them, Marion states, no but that is, any of them will do (Welty 111). The use of some and any argon evidenced that she has no interest in where she is or whom she will meet.There has been no preparation or thought of who could benefit from her visit separate herself. In addition, either out of fear or self-preservation, Marions views the two old women not as people but as animals and birds. She refers as to one as having a bleating sound of a sheep and the other as having a birds claw. Her descriptions of the women are reflective of disrespect for older people. In a sense she dehumanizes them as to not see their real needs or pains. Sensory deprivation is lots seen in older adults that lack stimulation and human contact. fourth-year adults who are confined to a nursing home often lose track of time, place, and person. Joseph Casciani, a geropsychologist, give tongue to in an article about sensory loss, Added restrictions, such as confinement to bed or Geri-chair, increases the risk (of sensory deprivation). But the old ladies are not the only ones experiencing sensory deprivation. Marion has difficulty answering the old womens questions and to her surprise Marion cannot remember her name (Welty 111). It would be nice to believe that Marions lack of response was evidence of a tiny bit of empathy towards these old ladies but it is doubtful.Marion is oblivious to the older ladys needs her thoughts are only of herself and her desire to chip off. time stands still and the tiny room closes in on her. She realizes that the doors are closed and at one point she contemplates if she were to get sick, would they let her leave? Her only mansion house of compassion comes when she is told of Addies birthday and she asks her how old she is. Addies response is to cry, possibly from the realization that she is spending her birthday alone with h er roommate, a stranger, and isolated from anyone else. Or mayhap she cried because she actually thought Marion cared.Regardless, Marions compassion was short lived. It is a mirror image of our present day society and our seemingly short attention drag in to the needs and hurts of our elderly. Brief encounters, brief awareness, but little intervention, and no real change. Clearly, all that Marion has encountered is a bit too much for her. Her lack of forethought and preparation of what to bring is also carried over in lack of planning on what she would do or say while she was there. Her thoughts quickly move to how she can escape without physical contact from either of the two old women.The harsh realities of life close in and she quickly escapes into the hallway with one of the old women following her beggary for a penny, Oh, little girl, have you a penny to spare for a poor old women thats not got anything of her own? We dont have a thing in the world-not a penny for candy-not a thing Little girl, just a nickel-a penny? (Welty 111). Her mind was only on escape, her ears may have heard what the old woman was saying but her heart did not respond to the need. Marion was out of her relieve zone and her one desire was to get back in it as quickly as possible.The same can be said for our contemporaries that ignores the cry of our elderly. To truly see and respond to their needs, readers must get out of their comfort zones. We have become a generation that has found value in the selfishness of our own desires instead of the needs of the greatest generation that gave sacrificially for the freedoms we now enjoy. Marion may have escaped the discomfort of the Old Ladies Home but the could not escape the association of the harsh realities that she witnessed there. At the end of the story a red apple appears.It is uncertain what the apple symbolizes and how it pertains to the story. One can merely speculate to its importance. In biblical times the apple was symboli c of the knowledge of good and evil. This shows the evidence, When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirablefor gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband,who was with her, and he ate it. (New International Version, Genesis 36). An apple was given to Adam to eat and when he did his whole life changed.It is quite possible the apple represents that once we have the knowledge of anothers needs but we fail to act on it, then we are no different than any other evil generation. With knowledge comes responsibility. A Visit of Charity is a story that sends a message to our society. What will we do with the knowledge once we discover it? We are clearly a generation that has unlimited access to all kinds of information and knowledge. But with knowledge must come responsibility and that requires that we get out of our comfort zones and meet the needs of the less fortunate and the hurting.Otherwise we are a generation of Marions who think only of themselves and lack the character to change not only their own destiny, but anyone else, as well. Work Cited Welty, Eudora. A Visit of Charity. Making Literature Matter. Ed. John Schilb, John Clifford. New York 2012. 55-56. Print. Casciani, Joseph. Sensory Touch in Older Adults- Taste, Smell & Touch Behavioral Approaches for Caregivers. Ezine Articles. com. April 9, 2008. Web. January 16, 2013. Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Ed. Kenneth L. Barker. Grand Rapids, MI Zondervan, 2002. Print.