Eudora Welty Short Stories
If you’re interested in a book, eudora welty’s collected stories, linked below, contain all 41 published stories.
“lily daw and the three ladies”
mrs. watts, ma’am. carson and aimee slocum are at the post office. A letter has arrived from the Mississippi ellisville institute for the feeble-minded. a girl they have helped over the years, lily daw, has been accepted into ellisville. now she has grown up and they are worried about her. they went looking for her. it turns out that lily has made some plans herself.
This story can be read in the preview of eudora welty’s collected stories. (17% in)
“news”
ruby walks into her cabin out of the rain. She and her husband, Clyde, live in an isolated area. she almost never sees anyone else and she feels lonely. she has not. v. or radio: the newspaper is her link with the outside world. when she opens it, she is surprised to read her own name. Her imagination takes off.
This story can also be read in the previous preview of eudora welty’s collected stories. (31% in)
“petrified man”
In a beauty salon, Leota gossips with her client, Mrs. fletcher cover a plethora of topics, including leota boarders, pikes; Ms. fletcher pregnancy; and the traveling freak show in the city, with the petrified man.
This story can also be read in the previous preview of eudora welty’s collected stories. (39% in)
“the key”
people wait at a remote train station at night. insects are heard but nothing else. no one speaks ellie and albert morgan sit quietly, waiting with their old suitcase. a red-haired young man is standing by the wall. he has a key that he turns and passes from hand to hand and throws in the air and catches.
This story can also be read in the previous preview of eudora welty’s collected stories. (58% in)
“keela, the outcast Indian maiden”
little lee roy is sitting on his porch. His sons are picking plums. two white men approach his place. One of them points to Lee Roy and asks if it’s him. the younger of the two men continues to talk enthusiastically. he used to sell tickets to a circus show, keela the outcast indian maiden, where the subject ate a live chicken.
This story can also be read in the previous preview of eudora welty’s collected stories. (73% in)
“a curtain of green”
mrs. Larkin is an elderly widow. she spends her days from morning to night working in her garden, stopping only for lunch. even in the rain she continues her, moving to a sheltered place. she focuses on planting what she can and isolates herself from her community. Her neighbors don’t know what to do with her obsessive work.
“the whistle”
an older couple, jason and sara, are sharecroppers who work for mr. perkins. they lie in bed at night, jason sleeping and sara staring into the dark. he is cold every night, and as the fire dies down it gets worse. they are tired and poor. Sara thinks about spring and summer, but it’s hard to even imagine now. When freezing temperatures threaten to destroy the crop, Mr. Perkins blows a whistle to warn the farmers.
“death of a traveling salesman”
r. j. Bowman, a traveling salesman for a shoe company, is back on the road after a bout of the flu. he still doesn’t feel well. he is also lost. he eventually drives to the edge of a ravine and is unable to prevent his car from falling off. he gets out before he rolls down the bank. he starts heading towards a house on a hill.
read “death of a traveling salesman”
“a memory”
The narrator recounts a day in her youth when she rested in a lake after swimming. she was thinking of a boy she secretly loved, remembering the interactions they had. a family came to the lake, interrupting her reverie.
“moon lake”
A group of girls gather for a week-long summer camp. half are orphans and half are from close families. there is a boy scout there as a lifeguard; he doesn’t want to be there, but his mother insisted. the girls are taking swimming lessons.
“music from Spain”
At breakfast one morning, Eugene Maclain slaps his wife across the face. he comes out of the kitchen, puts on his hat and coat and leaves the apartment. he thinks why he did it. he suddenly realizes that he is not going to go to work. he keeps walking.
“the hitchhikers”
Tom Harris, a traveling salesman, is on his way to Memphis when he picks up two hitchhikers. one of them had a yellow guitar. they have been waiting a long time and have only eaten a few blackberries. Tom stops by and buys everyone burgers and beers. As they talk, Tom realizes that they are homeless people, not just hitchhikers. he stops at a hotel to find a place for his passengers to sleep. while inside, there is a commotion with his car.
“a charity visit”
A fourteen-year-old girl with a flower pot walks into the old women’s house. she is a campfire girl and this visit of hers with an old lady will earn her some points. a nurse leads her down the hall to a room. She leaves her there are two old ladies. the girl tries to navigate through the visit.
read “a charity visit”
“Where does the voice come from?”
The narrator believes he got the idea when he told his wife she didn’t have to watch or listen to a black man on TV. he could find out where that man lives. he finds the man’s place but he is out. the narrator has to wait for it.
read “where is the voice . . .”
“why do I live on p. or.”
the narrator’s sister, stella-rondo, returns home. she is separated from her husband, mr. Whitaker, whom she had stolen from the narrator. she returns with an adopted two-year-old blonde daughter, shirley-t. the narrator points out that the girl resembles both sides of the family. the sisters, and the family in general, get involved in many petty arguments.
read “why i live on p. or.”
“a well-worn path”
on a bright december morning, phoenix jackson, an old woman, walks slowly through a forest. she has a long way to go on difficult ground. although there are numerous obstacles and potential dangers, she must continue. Her journey is important.
