A Veiled Life—on The Early Art Of Eudora Welty In A Curtain Of Green And Other Stories

Eudora Welty (1909-2001) is one of the leading American writers in the twentieth century. Her art in A Curtain of Green and Other Stories, which brings her reputation, is taken as the representative achievements of her early career. This thesis is to discuss three of the most important techniques in A Curtain of Green and Other Stories, i.e., narrative perspective and modes of discourse, symbolism and structural irony. In this collection of stories, Welty explores the true meaning of lives for various people and to expound the ideal relationship among them. In the first chapter of this thesis, different narrative perspective and modes of discourse are adopted to delve into the inner world of the characters, to show the importance of communication and mutual understanding between people. In the second chapter, symbolism is applied to reveal the inner world of the characters, so as to trace the footprint of their inner development.In the third chapter, structural irony is employed to uncover the tense human relationship, with a hope to pursue a genuine humanity. A Curtain of Green and Other Stories is a collection about the human relationship. It depicts vividly different characters with different pursuits. But all in all, their pursuits are much alike. They are all in pursuit of the most sincere and most precious thing in human beings. They all try to seek the secrets in other’s inner world. Because of various reasons, they can not go beyond the high wall blocking up between them-in utter lack of communication and mutual understanding.