Eudora Welty?s ?Livvie? Essay, Research Paper

A Celebration of life Eudora Welty?s ?Livvie?, is a great story on how

life should be celebrated. The story is about a young woman , who marries and

old man, that in a since imprisons her. The young girl gets a second chance at

life when a younger man (someone her own age) enters her life and the older man

is about to die. The theme Welty is trying to get across is live life to the

fullest. Welty shows the theme through the character, setting, and symbols.

Characters played a big role in the story. First, Solomon who is the husband of

young woman. His name kind of explains what type of man he is going to be in the

story. Solomon was the king of Israel and in the story Welty provides

information that Solomon is playing a king type role. Welty says Solomon had a

bed ?like a throne? (511). ?Solomon had never let Livvie go any farther

than the chicken house and the well. (515). Welty shows the control Solomon has

over Livvie (the young girl). Another sign of control that Welty shows in the

story is, ?Solomon would not have let Livvie look at them, just as he would

not let her look at a field hand or a field hand look at her? (512-513). He

does not realize how unappreciative he is making Livvie. Livvie, her name too

has a symbol. It means ?life? or ?live?. ?She is unable to live her

life Watt 2 under Solomon?s strict rule (Sample Short Story Analysis). Solomon

is not letting her live her life. Therefore, she cannot appreciate the few

things in life that he has given to her. Miss Baby Marie and Cash shine a little

light on the story. They both kind of persuade Livvie to go out and explore life

a little more. Marie does so by showing Livvie what the outer world has to

offer. Example about cosmetics, Livvie gets so excited about the color of the

lipstick. It must remind her of something in life. Cash?s youth attracts

Livvie. The setting also plays a significant part in the story. The story is set

up in a nice isolated area. It is in the spring around Easter. By Solomon

staying in an isolated area which was unfamiliar to Livvie, he had all control

over her. At the time she was only a girl. This way Solomon could control who

sees Livvie and who does not. Easter also represents a meaning in the story.

Welty lets the audience know it is around Easter when Cash says, ?I ready for

Easter? (520). Easter means the ?rebirth?. It is a turning point for

Livvie in the story. She is in the process of living a lifestyle of isolation to

living a life of great opportunities. Welty lets the audience know Cash is going

to be the one to lead Livvie to this life of great opportunities. Welty wrote

?It might be if he had not appeared the way he did appear that day she would

never have looked so closely at him, but the time people come makes a

difference? (519). Cash shows up at the time. Solomon is dying and Livvie is

ready to go out and see what the world has to offer. Welty uses great symbols to

support the theme. One example of symbolism that Welty provides is the bottle

trees. The bottle trees were suppose to keep evil spirits Watt 3 way. In this

case the bottle trees were supposed to protect Livvie from the evil spirits.

Solomon made one tree each year to keep people like cash from coming to take his

lovely wife away from him.. One day in the next year cash threw a rock into one

of the bottles. This means there is room for one evil spirit to get hold to

Solomon?s wife which happens to be Cash. Welty proves this when, ?So here

come the man Livvie wait for. Was no prevention. No prevention. Now I lay eyes

on young man and it come to be somebody I know all the time, and been knowing

since we were born in a cotton patch, and watched grow up year to year, Cash

McCord growed to size growed up to come in my house in the end ragged and

barefoot? (522). Livvie is basically a story about a young woman whose life is

stolen away from her. An older man marries her and moves her far away from

everyday life. In the end when the old man is dying, a second opportunity to

live life is available. Welty?s theme live life to the fullest is thought of

because everyone is given this second chance.

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