“A VISIT OF CHARITY”
By Eudora Welty
Objective: Write a clearly articulated thesis statement/claim in which you
assert a central meaning conveyed by Eudora Welty in “A Visit of Charity”
(the WHAT) and a means through which the idea is conveyed (the HOW).
Support your thesis with at least three specific passages that support your
assertion.
WRITING A THESIS STATEMENT
Thesis statement: A specific argument; a main point that must be proven with evidence
from the story; it’s NOT a fact, and it’s not immediately obvious. Thesis statements may
be one sentence or a few sentences in length, and typically focus on a theme in the
story.
To write a strong thesis statement about a literary text, answer the following questions:
1. What is a specific message or meaning conveyed by the author through the experiences
of the characters in the story?
2. How does this writer convey this idea (through what means, i.e., literary devices)?
SOME EXAMPLES FROM GATSBY
*Example: Throughout The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the blinking green light at the
end of the Buchanan’s dock as a beacon of hope for Gatsby. However, because it is fleeting—
blinking, rather than constant—Fitzgerald seems to suggest that Gatsby’s dream of being with
Daisy is unattainable. He can reach for the light and strive for her presence, but ultimately, the light, just like
Daisy, is constant in its inconstancy. She is a dream and only a dream—something he will never fully grasp.
*A theme about a specific meaning in the story
*Or: Through the use of vivid imagery of Gatsby reaching earnestly for Daisy, most notably the
symbol of the blinking green light at the end of the Buchanan’s dock and the image of Gatsby
reaching towards it, Fitzgerald seems to suggest that no one can succeed in love when love is onesided. Only Gatsby reaches for Daisy—for the blinking light—and even his boisterous and bright parties cannot
draw her attention to him. It’s only after he goes to great lengths to set up a meeting that she becomes fully aware
of his presence. Such imagery underscores the emptiness of one-sided love.
*A message about life in general
DEVELOPING A THESIS STATEMENT
1. Brainstorm some topic ideas for your thesis.
2. Answer the WHAT and HOW questions about a few interesting topics to
develop a rough thesis.
3. Choose one of your rough statements and transform it into a complete
thought worded in complete sentences.
4. Find at least two specific passages that support your thesis and jot them
down, along with a brief explanation of how they reinforce your thesis.
GROUPS:
Share your thesis and supporting passages with your partner/group members.
Decide whose thesis you want to use, then work together to refine the thesis.
Clarify the idea if it’s clunky or overly complicated or develop the idea into a
more sophisticated expression of meaning if it lacks substance. Find additional
passages, if possible, to support your thesis and further strengthen it.
Be prepared to present your thesis to the rest of the class.