The optimist in question is 71-year-old Judge McKelva, who has come to a New Orleans hospital from Mount Salus, Mississippi, complaining of a "disturbance" in his vision. It’s divided into four parts and even though I’m going to summarize each part, I’m really not giving much away about the book because it is a character … The chapter begins as a nurse escorts Laurel Hand, her father, Judge McKelva, and his second wife, Fay, into an … His relentless optimism, whether actual or assumed, goes so far that it does not even allow him to admit that his wife is dying. The Optimist’s Daughter is renown novel, arguably Welty’s best work— winning a Pulitzer Prize. Other characters in The Optimist's Daughter represent the bizarre, including Mr. Dalzell, whose senility causes him to act and speak strangely. The Optimist’s Daughter: Readers’ Guide Developed by Lee Anne Bryan, Former Education and Outreach Specialist for the Eudora Welty House and Garden 1. In the Optimist's Daughter, Eudora Welty uses imprisonment in the development of several of her characters.While some of her characters are able to break free of their imprisonment some are not. Eudora Welty’s novel The Optimist’s Daughter was published in 1972 and won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction the following year. ‘He’s gone, and his eye was healing’’ Are you trying to tell me you let my husband die?’ Fay cried. The Optimist's Daughter. Judge McKelva remains imprisoned throughout the entire novel while Laurel is able to have freedom. You've reached the "hub" for any and all Dramatica analysis of The Optimist’s Daughter.In addition to the Storyform, you'll also find any additional analysis or media related to the story in question.. More Analysis → The Others. Education: University of Wisconsin. Consult psychology textbooks and journals on the subject of grief. A Form to Story. The major characters in The Optimist's Daughter are Judge McKelva, Becky Mckelva, Laurel Mckelva, Wanda Fay, Dr. Courtland, Miss Adele Courtland, Tish Bullock, Major Bullock, Miss Tennyson, and Miss Missouri. The Optimist’s Daughter: Synopsis By Suzanne Marrs Eudora Welty Foundation Scholar The Optimist’s Daughter is a short novel divided into four sections. Becky Mckelva was Judge Mckelva's wife before she died and had Laurel Mckelva with him. It’s The Optimist’s Daughter, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1973. Summaries of each section follow. The The Optimist’s Daughter Community Note includes chapter-by-chapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and … Becky Mckelva was Judge Mckelva's wife before she died and had Laurel Mckelva with him. The research also analyzes many aspects including the “core characters of the novel”; in addition, the research enlightens the concept enlighetend in … -Marries to Fay to fill the void of Becky's death and Laurel's abandonment. Judge McKelva is the optimist of the novel’s title. The minister's wife, Mrs. Bolt is an elderly neighbor woman. In The Optimist’s Daughter, by Eudora Welty, a woman’s mother and father, who are briefly mentioned in the story, influence all of her actions in the story. This partially autobiographical story explores the subtle bonds between parent and child and the complexities of … Essay Topics. A lot of the In this short novel, the death of Judge McKelva prompts Laurel and Fay, who are his daughter and wife, to connect with their own homes. The Optimist's Daughter is a compact and inward-looking little novel, a Pulitzer Prize winner that's slight of page yet big of heart. The Optimist's Daughter is the story of Laurel McKelva Hand, a young woman who has left the South and returns, years later, to New Orleans, where her father is dying. In The Optimist's Daughter everyone has to deal with the death of Judge McKelva. Symbols & Motifs. The Optimist’s Daughter, Pulitzer Prize-winning short novel by Eudora Welty, published in 1972. … Important Quotes. The J.D William’s library at the University of Mississippi obtains several copies of the novel in English, French, Chinese, and Tybaniese which provides evidence of the popularity of this novel. The Optimist's Daughter: Summary The major characters in The Optimist's Daughter are Judge McKelva, Becky Mckelva, Laurel Mckelva, Wanda Fay, Dr. Courtland, Miss Adele Courtland, Tish Bullock, Major Bullock, Miss Tennyson, and Miss Missouri. Characters: The three central characters (Laurel, Fay, Judge McKelva) each represent a different approach to life and death. The Optimist’s Daughter is one of the books that I am assigned to read for a workshop I’m taking in February.I can’t quite believe I’m about to admit this on the internet, but I had never read Eudora Welty before I picked up this book – not even that short story “Why I Live at the P.O” that is in every short story anthology known to man. The Omen ← Large cast of characters and complex relationships. Minor characters in a story, like a deceased mother and father, can make or break the plot of a piece of literature. Wanda Fay is a woman in her 40's and has the maturity of a child. The New Yorker, March 15, 1969 P. 37. The Optimist's Daughter Uploaded by Admin on Jan 22, 1999. The novel begins with Judge McKelva, Fay, and Laurel in an examining room, with Dr. Eudora Welty uses the five elements of characters (speech, appearance, thoughts, how other characters in the story perceive them, and actions) to show how different people react to death and dying. For example, Fay grieves for everyone to see. A Study Guide for Eudora Welty's "The Optimist's Daughter," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Novels for Students.This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. It concerns a woman named Laurel, who travels to New Orleans to take care of her father, Judge McKelva, after he has surgery for a detached retina. The Optimist's Daughter is a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winning 1972 short novel by Eudora Welty.It concerns a woman named Laurel, who travels to New Orleans to take care of her father, Judge McKelva, after he has surgery for a detached retina. Save this story for later. The Optimist's Daughter The major characters in The Optimist's Daughter are Judge McKelva, Becky Mckelva, Laurel Mckelva, Wanda Fay, Dr. Courtland, Miss Adele Courtland, Tish Bullock, Major Bullock, Miss Tennyson, and Miss Missouri. The major characters in The Optimist's Daughter are Judge McKelva, Becky Mckelva, Laurel Mckelva, Wanda Fay, Dr. Courtland, Miss Adele Courtland, Tish Bullock, Major Bullock, Miss Tennyson, and Miss Missouri. -He loves to read a lot. March 7, 1969. The Optimist's Daughter Important Quotes “He bent his head, but that did not hide the aggrievement, indignation, that was in his voice. The main focus of the research is on the novel “The Optimist's Daughter” and the use of “symbolism” by the author of the novel. Themes. Becky Mckelva was Judge Mckelva's wife before she died and had Laurel Mckelva with him. It was first published as a long story in the The New Yorker in March 1969 and was subsequently revised and published in book form in 1972. the optimist's daughter by Eudora Welty ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 18, 1972 Those who didn't enjoy the topsyturvy eccentricity of Losing Battles will be happy to find Miss Welty back in the changeless countryside of her earlier short novels where memory is the eternal revenant keeping alive places and people often in the mortmain of the past. Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary. He fails to recover from the surgery, though, surrenders to his age, and dies slowly as Laurel reads to him from Dickens. One: Judge Clinton McKelva and his much younger second wife (Fay) have come from The story line is simple, but Welty takes a difficult and complex situation and resolves it with incredible depth and meaning. Save this story for later. This Study Guide consists of approximately 65 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Optimist's Daughter. After his death, she and her silly young stepmother go back still farther, to the small Mississippi town where she grew up. Overview. Miss Missouri is the maid to the McKelva's and a long time friend of the family.3.1Two main characters in The Optimist's Daughter are Wanda Fay and Laurel McKelva. Miss Tennyson is another bride's maid to Laurel McKelva and is married to Major Bullock. The Optimist's Daughter is a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction-winning short novel by Eudora Welty. ‘He collapsed.’ Fatigue had pouched the The major characters in The Optimist's Daughter are Judge McKelva, Becky Mckelva, Laurel Mckelva, Wanda Fay, Dr. Courtland, Miss Adele Courtland, Tish Bullock, Major Bullock, Miss Tennyson, and Miss Missouri. The focus is on the characters, particularly Laurel (The Optimist's Daughter) and her struggle to reflect and process love and loss, move ahead in a healthy way to the present from the past. interesting characters The Optimists Daughter Laurel, Fay, Becky, some of Laurel's friends and The Optimists Daughter - made the book worth reading. Becky Mckelva was Judge Mckelva's wife before she died and had Laurel Mckelva with him. The old saying "The home is where the heart is" takes on a special meaning in Eudora Welty's, The Optimist's Daughter. This Study Guide consists of approximately 65 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Optimist's Daughter. This is another book with a strong female lead character. By Eudora Welt y. Becky is the one who brought the Dickinson books. Character Analysis. In The Optimist’s Daughter, questions about artistry and art, about art as a process of living in relation to others, and about the tensions, choices, and triumphs that await a woman artist—questions that are implicit in her earlier works—are explored in Laurel McKelva Hands coming to … And when her family from Texas shows up for the funeral, you see that she got it honestly. -Optimist. Judge McKelva's funeral also offers examples of the bizarre and morbid, as when Miss Tennyson argues with Laurel over the viewing of her father's body. The Optimist's Daughter The major characters in The Optimist's Daughter are Judge McKelva, Becky Mckelva, Laurel Mckelva, Wanda Fay, Dr. Courtland, Miss Adele Courtland, Tish Bullock, Major Bullock, Miss Tennyson, and Miss Missouri. After his death, she and her silly young stepmother go back still farther, to the small Mississippi town where she grew up. 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