A Visit of Charity

The first literary device used in “A Visit of Charity” is foreshadowing (a hint of what to expect in the story). Marian arrives at the Old Ladies’ Home on a bright day. She wears a red coat, and her yellow hair hangs beneath the white cap on her head. She notices the “prickly dark shrubs” outside the home and that the home is like a block of ice (137). Upon entering, she informs the nurse at the front desk that she’s a Campfire Girl. The reader senses more trouble when the nurse replies in a masculine voice. The nurse shows little concern for the young girl, closing her in the room with the two quarrelsome old women.

The second literary device employed by Welty is imagery (language that uses the five senses of taste, touch, sight, smell, and sound). The reader can feel the wave-like linoleum floor tiles under Marian’s feet. The scent of the hallway, like the interior of a clock, awakens the reader’s sense of smell. We then learn someone is making sounds in one of the rooms like the bleating of a sheep.