Essay on Eudora Welty's "One Writer's Beginnings"

The experiences in one's childhood will shape his future. In Eudora Welty's autobiography One Writer's Beginnings, she recalls many of childhood experiences that instilled a deep love of reading. Her diction and selection of detail convey the intensity and value of these experiences. She invests especial attention to experiences involving Mrs. Calloway, herself, and her mother.
Welty utilizes the abhorrent Mrs. Calloway as a vehicle for the intensity and value of her experiences. She is at once described as a "witch," "
Welty focuses on herself to convey the intensity and value she holds for early reading. To describe reading as "[blissful]" and "devouring" is to relate the intensity in which she viewed books. She sees that this desire in childhood to read is intense. It is also clearly seen through the fact that she is receiving no outside pressure to read. All of her voracity and motivation stems from herself. In addition to diction is Welty's selection of detail. She "would do anything to read," showing her passion for books and also her willingness to trade away "anything." She esteems reading as more valuable than "anything," a way of thinking that will greatly impact her life. Welty admits "The only fear was that of books coming to an end." The way she views books develops her "taste", which ultimately has a critical impact "in its own time." The value of this experience to her is priceless.
Welty finally discusses her mother to uncover the intensity and value she recalls from her early reading experiences. She characterizes her mother as "not afraid" and perpetually "reading." These traits served as a model for Welty and one can infer the importance of the encouragement to read and support offered by her mother. She gave "[Welty]... her own library card" and "permission to read any book she [wanted]." This was imperative to the development of Welty's taste for reading and certainly valuable to her future. Not surprisingly, she compares and likens herself to her mother in using the simile "to my mother as severely as to me."
Through careful diction and selection of detail, Welty reveals the intensity and importance of her early reading experiences that greatly impact her craft. Three key people that played a crucial role in accumulating those experiences were Mrs. Calloway, herself, and her mother.