A question was brought up in class regarding "The Hitch-Hikers," by Eudora Welty. It asked how the concept of hospitality changed in the 40s, and how this affected the story. In the 30s, with the Great Depression, things were much more conservative and isolationist. With the advent of WWII, America became much closer-knit, standing strong together.
his affects the story in a simple way. The hitch-hikers. Harris picks them up because they're clearly not bums (page 3). Nowadays, one would hardly ever pick up a hitch-hiker, back then, it was fairly common. Even with the party later on, Harris is invited over, even though he may not have seen Ruth in ages (page 7). Five years ago, this may not have happened, not that there were many parties going on then.
Paul Horgan, the author of "The Peach Stone," loved the West. He moved out there, and most of his stories take place there as well. His stories usually revolve around the characters and there development, and this story is no different. It starts with a family on a trip. This is not a happy trip, though. The family is on their way to their hometown to bury the body of their dead daughter in the family graveyard. In keeping with Horgan's style, the family, the mother especially, moves from pure grief to the glimmer of hope for the future.
The story is truly a an insight into small-town Western life, complete with the character who went East to study, and came back to teach. Arleen Latcher has a superiority complex to rival Emperor Palpatine (forgive m\y geeky reference). She's a hyper-religious, stuck-up snob, basically. Everything she says brings the attention to herself, and most of it casts her in the role of a Christian martyr (page 232). But then again, what world would be complete without a character like that?
No comments:
Post a Comment