Comparing How Two Short Fiction Writers Effectively Convey a Common Theme Essay

â€Å"A Visit of Charity† by Eudora Welty and â€Å"The Use of Force† by William Carlos Williams are both engrossing short stories featuring two young female characters who must face an ailment. Eudora Welty touches on a social ailment, using an indifferent teenage girl as takeoff point, and portrays the abandonment of the elderly in a home that is as cold as the treatment they are subjected to. On the other hand, Williams tackles a physical ailment, and he depicts how a medical practitioner will go to great lengths not to neglect his duty, even if he encounters resistance. Welty takes on a serious, somewhat mocking tone, while Williams is thoroughly amusing and almost comical, yet very realistic. In Welty’s short story, a teenage named girl Marian is the protagonist who temporarily leaves the confines of her cloistered existence to visit a home for the aged to fulfill a requirement for Campfire Girls, a group that seeks to develop character in the young.   Instead of gaining the expected social benefits from the visit, Marian ironically develops great uneasiness and retreats. Both short story titles reflect their themes and plot, although the titles may have other implications. â€Å"Visit† in Welty’s short story implies Marian’s fleeting and superficial encounter   with elderly women in the institution. Another possible meaning of the title, â€Å"A Visit of Charity† is that in the world of   apathetic young people, there may be an instance when life offers an opportunity to look beyond themselves and show helpfulness or compassion for fellow human   beings. The title may be seen then as a case of Charity paying Marian a visit by offering her the opportunity to help or give solace or relief to the needy.    Being young and preoccupied with her personal agenda, though, she fails, as most young people do, to enrich herself from a special opportunity to reach out and be of service to others. As for â€Å"The Use of Force† by William Carlos Williams, the title at first glimpse conjures a serious or frightening situation like the application of brute force, a common subject in many literary works. In â€Å"The Use of Force† by Williams, we see instead the firm hand   of a physician who responds to the call of duty as he overcomes the temporary setback of an unwilling and naughty, young patient who resists him. The setting, characters, events and situations in both short stories come alive through the use of vivid language. When Welty describes the home for the aged as   having walls that bounce off † the winter sunlight like a block of ice† (Welty 245) and corridors that â€Å"smell like the interior of a clock† (Welty 246), she lets readers in on the pitiable plight of the elderly women who endure not just the poorly illuminated and unkempt dwelling place but also the neglect and contempt of people entrusted to care for them, or society as a whole. Welty uses a lot of similes like these as the story progresses. William likewise uses figures of speech like personification as he amusingly narrates his experience with the impish Mathilda, the sick child with overprotective parents who are easily swayed by her whims but who care for her well-being. Williams, for instance describes the antagonist as follows: â€Å"The child was fairly eating me up with her cold, steady eyes† (Stuber). There are also symbolisms in each short story.   In â€Å"A Visit of Charity,† the potted plant that Marian brings to the home for the aged is just a thing or gift that is expected of a visitor.   In the same way, the elderly ladies are placed in the home because it is the right thing to do, even if they are not given the genuine warmth and attention they deserve as human beings. In â€Å"The Use of Force,† the parents of the sick child represent a bygone era, when medicine was not yet fully developed as a science and old-fashioned remedies were resorted to.   The doctor may therefore represent the western world’s modern man or â€Å"savior† of those afflicted with illness. In â€Å"A Visit of Charity† by Eudora Welty, the main character desires or concentrates on her own personal advantage.   In contrast, â€Å"The Use of Force† by William Carlos Williams depicts a doctor’s selfless concern to be of help to his patient. In both short fiction stories, the characters interact and engage in dialogue as part of a first-time encounter. The dialogue breathes life to the personalities of the characters, allowing readers to visualize and relate to them better, while also advancing the plot and making the story even more interesting. Both authors lend credibility to the main characters’ views by first establishing their age, gender. task or occupation, and the social class they represent as seen from their mode of dressing and speech. Overall, both William Carlos Williams and Eudora Welty are masters of the short story form who are effectively able to convey important social themes through imagery and characterization, among other elements of short fiction. Works Cited Stuber, Irene. â€Å"The Use of Force by William Carlos Williams (1883-1963).† Classic Short Stories. 1995. 17 July 2008 . Welty, Eudora. â€Å"A Visit of Charity.† Modern Satiric Stories: The Impropriety Principle. Ed. Gregory Fitzgerald. Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1971. 245-246.