Eudora Welty -- a Memory

There are several relevant themes in this short story. One powerful theme used by Welty in A Memory is very clear from the beginning: a vivid memory is not a list of scenes from the past, but instead memory can become a living, forceful part of the here and now. Her truthful recollections seem as alive as though she could actually be catapulted back to that beach scene. The recounting of the memories captures perfectly her youthful biases and naivete -- and brings out a sense of honesty that is perhaps not possible during adolescence. Another theme is that life is lived in stages and as a young person in possession of a lively imagination, every moment in a person's experience has a heightened significance well beyond its actual impact and reality. She offers those heightened moments in a waterfall of youthful recollections and symbolism...
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