A Visit of Charity by Eudora Welty

Irony is the use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning. Eudora Welty successfully uses this literary technique to elucidate the theme of the story, "A Visit of Charity". The title "A Visit of Charity" is rather ironic. Charity means to show kindness and sympathy towards others; however, no one in this story does such a thing. There are no charity from Marian's, the nurse's, the two old …

…gets fear because the old ladies give her a broader and truer sense of the reality, which she is reluctant to accept. These ironies used by Eudora Welty suggest us that what appears to be true is not really the truth. They make us think how we treat people or things in life. Is doing something good a chore, or are we making others feel uncomfortable by doing something we think is good for them?