Memoirs In Eudora Calloway's Autobiography

Determined to Read

Memoirs help recall a particular time in a person’s life that had a special meaning or a significant impact. Even as a child, Eudora Welty had an insatiable appetite for books. But the draconian librarian in her hometown of Jackson was limiting access to books. Eudora’s desire to read was so great, she was so hungry for books that this particular time in her childhood left an indelible mark on her. At the same time, she recalls how her mother shared her love of reading and how she was able to achieve her goals with her mother’s support and encouragement. In Eudora Welty’s autobiography “One Writer’s Beginnings,” Welty uses language to convey the intensity and value of these experiences to describe her passion for reading

Calloway, the librarian was intimidating, according to Welty and her arbitrary rules were getting in the way of Welty’s reading. She says that the librarian “sat with her back to the books and facing the stairs, her dragon eye on the front door”. Welty implies that Mrs. Calloway had turned her back on books and suspected that she did not like reading. By using the metaphor of a dragon, she tries to paint a picture of a daunting librarian who is putting up a barrier to books to keep avid readers like Welty away from the library instead of welcoming them. From the very first time she was introduced to the librarian by her mother she feels like she had met a “witch,” someone who stood between herself and the prize. She was so strict that if she could see through a little girl’s skirt, she would send her straight home without a book. For a little girl like Welty who loved reading more than anything, it seemed pretty harsh. But Welty would do anything to read; she was even willing to put on another petticoat. Welty was vexed by the fact that Mrs. Calloway did not seem to care that this was a public library and says she ran the library “absolutely” by herself. She made her own rules about books limiting them to two per day and not allowing books to be brought back the same day. Nobody could question her decision. But Welty would not be stopped; she was willing to abide by the librarian’s arbitrary rules if it meant she could