Paper 4 Sample

Paper 4

“The Welcome Table,” by Alice Walker, is a story about an old African American woman who decides to attend an all white church. The reverend and usher attempt to politely send her away, but eventually some of the white women forcefully throw her out. As the woman stands outside she see Jesus coming down the highway and, ecstatic, joins him on the walk. She tells him of her life, of what happened, and how happy she is that he is there. Later, she is discovered to have fallen dead on the road. People who saw her walking say that she was alone, talking and singing and looking excited. The central idea of the story is that Jesus is not racist and the love for him overrides any soreness of injustice.

The main character, the old woman, is described physically just as any elderly person would be described, but along with subtle details hinting at her history and her strength of character: “On her face centuries were folded into the circles around one eye, while around the other, etched and mapped as if for print, ages more threatened again to live.” However, the absence described in her eyes indicates her absence of caring about the current situation: “But for those who searched hastily for ‘reasons’ in that old tight face, shut now like an ancient door, there was nothing to be read. And so they gazed nakedly upon their own fear transferred. . .” The woman’s actions of ignoring the reverend and usher’s requests for her to leave reveal that she is not aware anymore of any problem, especially when, after she is thrown out, she “[looks] about in bewilderment.” She is confused as to why they interrupted her quiet worship. Her enlightened, excited attitude at the arrival of Jesus shows her immense love and adoration for him. She does tell him of the incident, revealing that she is aware of it, but it is quickly overlooked by her being “so happy to be out walking along the highway with Jesus.”

The central conflict in “The Welcome Table” is an external one between the old woman’s desire to attend church and the societal norm of segregation. The woman’s presence conflicts with the people’s prejudice, and several attempts are made to remove her until they resolve to a physical removal. The woman, however, is offended by the fact that they rudely interrupted her worship rather than the fact that they threw her out because she was black. When she sees Jesus, she becomes excited and forgets about being thrown out of church. The conflict is unresolved, as the prejudice and segregation remains and is not remedied. At the same time, though, the conflict is resolved on the standpoint of satisfaction for each party. The woman forgets about the situation when Jesus arrives and only thinks about how happy she is to be with him; the people get what they wanted by throwing her out of their church. Based on the central idea, the conflict is resolved.

The point of view of the story is limited omniscient. The narrator refers to the main character and all the other characters through third person perspective but only knows the inner thoughts and feelings of the main character. During her walk with Jesus the narrator tells us how she feels at certain moments: “…she felt better instantly and time just seemed to fly by. . . .she was so happy to be out walking along the highway with Jesus.” This point of view supports the central idea because it reveals how much the woman loves Jesus and how unconcerned she is about the situation. Not being able to know what the other characters are thinking and only revealing characterization through actions, our focus is more on the woman and how she thinks and feels about the central conflict.

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