Summary Of Eudora Welty's Delta Wedding
The novel Delta Wedding written by Eudora Welty begins in September of 1923 with nine year old Laura, who has just arrived at her mother's family's house in Fairchild Mississippi. Her 17 year old cousin Dabney is soon to be married to Troy Flavin. The overseer of their cotton plantation. A true tight knit Southern family does not easily accept outsiders. The Fairchild family disapproves of Dabney marrying Troy. They do not think he is not the right man to be marrying their beloveded Dabney. Throughout the novel Troy makes many attempts to get the family on his side, but with all of the family home for the wedding the chaos is at an all time high. Though the family seems to be able to put that aside their disputes for Dabneys special day.
The Delta: a place where you are either in or you're out. Welty uses the minor character Troy to portray how tight-knit and unaccepting the Fairchild family is to those who are not their own. Although the family does not seem close with how much they bicker and fight with …show more content…
each other. When a conflict such as accepting another into their family comes about they manage to come together to stand up strong against it. In this novel the Fairchild family is standing up against the marriage of Troy and Dabney. Troy is not the ideal man that Dabneys family wants her to marry. He is the overseer of their cotton plantation. This making him of a different class than the family. Marrying someone who is considered beneath you is looked down upon by the Fairchild family. Even though Uncle George also married beneath him when he married his wife Robbie. At first the family disapproved of Robbie but eventually began to accept her. With the way that Welty depicts Troy in the novel, it is uncertain if he will ever truly be accepted into the Fairchild family.
At the beginning of the novel Troy comes up against the Fairchild family for the first time. He has worked as the overseer of their plantation for many years but could have never known that this is the way that the family felt about him. Being engaged to Dabney Fairchild is no small task in its own. But when you marry a Fairchild you marry the Fairchild family. As a true Southern family the Fairchilds do not take easy to people who are outside of their class and those outside of their family. welty uses the character of Aunt Mac to show her true feelings toward Troy Flavin. When Aunt Mac is talking about how she raised her grandchildren and is completely prepared to do it again if Ellen Died. While she was on this topic Aunt Mac states that “ God prevent it, happen to Ellen now, she was prepared to do it again, start in with young Battles children, and bring them up.She would start by throwing Troy Flavin in the bayou in front of the house and letting the minnows chew him up” (Welty 87). In other words, saying that if it was up to her and she was the one making the decision she would never let Troy and Dabney be married.
Tward the middle of the novel Troy has still yet to gain acceptance into the Fairchild family. From the beginning things have been on the edge between Troy and the Fairchild Family especially Dabneys parents. Troy tries again and again to prove himself to his soon to be family. For instance, when he presents his mother's quits to the family and says “ “Look,” he said “everybody look. Did you ever think your mother could make something like this? My mammy made these, I've seen her do it. A thousand stitches! Look-these are for us, Dabney.” (Welty 147). He tries to show that he came from a good background and is no different than the rest of them. Although the family is impressed by the quilts that Troy's mother has made they still do not think he is equal to them. They may be slowly coming around, but they still do not believe that he is the one for their own. At this point know one knows if Troy will ever fit into this soon to be family.
The Big day has almost arrived. The family can either put aside their feeling for the sake of Dabney and Troy or they can go on forever hating Troy. Which will it be? With the whole family against him Troy is still trying to give himself a fighting chance to be accepted into the Fairchild family. Although some feelings have been put aside with all of the wedding chaos, some of the Fairchild family members are still not for Troy marrying Dabney. Welty uses Shelley to express her feeling about Troy one last time before the wedding. ““Mamma, I think it's tacky the way Troy comes in from the side door,” said Shelley all at once. “It's like somebody just walks in the house from the fields and marries Dabney”” (Welty 270). This is a last ditch effort for the family to express how they feel about Troy. Dabney loves him and believes that the family will too, but neither of them really know that much about him. She believes that the family will eventually come around to love him as she does, but the family is not budging on their opinions of Troy.
The big day has arrived, it's the last chance. If the family could accept one outsider then they could accept Tory they just could not see his potential. He was soon to be married to their daughter they would have to accept him one way or another. In the novel, it is not made certain that if the family finally accepts Troy or not. Reisman thinks that the family has accepted Troy she states “Troy, who is socially and culturally inferior to the Fairchilds, should feel totally rejected. However, he does not. The Fairchilds have come to appreciate his virtues, his diligence, his love of the land, and his understanding of Dabney’s need to remain near her roots (Reisman Rosemary M. Canfield Delta Wedding par. 3). In other words the family finally comes around and see that Troy is a good person and can be good for Dabney. He has the right morals and understands that they want her to stay near their home. They have not totally accepted him, but they don't hate him either.
Like Reisman, Livingston also believes that Troy is accepted into the family. but only after he has fought a hard battle to prove himself to Dabneys family and most importantly her parents. Just as Welty has described how Troy battles with the family Livingston states that “it is clear that Dabney is flouting family protocol by giving herself to a mere overseer. Her father feels betrayed by Troy, who apparently insinuated his way into the house in order to subvert the family. Shelley believes that her sister is disgracing herself and defying her father. Yet Dabney sees in Troy what the family sees in George: character worth passionate attraction. Finally, on the eve of the wedding Shelley goes to the office to summon Troy to the rehearsal. There she stumbles into a knife fight between two field hands, which is broken up by Troy. At that moment Shelley recognizes the kind of mastery she had earlier noted in George. She no longer objects to the wedding” (Livingston James Delta Wedding par. 6 ).
Troy has finally proven himself to the family that he is worthy of their daughter. He might not be the man that they thought that they wanted to marry Dabney, but he is still a good man and she loves him. Troy and Dabney will be married with the approval of the family. Welty used Troy to show exactly how hard it is to be accepted into a true tight knit Southern family.
The family did not want Dabney to marry someone that was considered beneath her. They were not about to let her go to just anyone. Many times Troy had to try and prove himself to the family for Dabney. And many times the family did not care. No matter what he did it seemed as if the Fairchilds would always despise him. But as they did with Uncle George's wife Robbie they eventually would come around to the thought of letting Dabney get married to Troy. The wedding would go on and Troy and Dabney would get married, the family would finally accept Troy as part of their family. It might have been a very hard battle to be accepted into the Fairchild family, but Troy overcame the fact that they hated him and he married Dabney. He was now part of the family that in the beginning didn't want him but has learned to accept him for the sake of their daughter
Dabney.
The Delta: a place where you are either in or you're out. Welty uses the minor character Troy to portray how tight-knit and unaccepting the Fairchild family is to those who are not their own. Although the family does not seem close with how much they bicker and fight with …show more content…
each other. When a conflict such as accepting another into their family comes about they manage to come together to stand up strong against it. In this novel the Fairchild family is standing up against the marriage of Troy and Dabney. Troy is not the ideal man that Dabneys family wants her to marry. He is the overseer of their cotton plantation. This making him of a different class than the family. Marrying someone who is considered beneath you is looked down upon by the Fairchild family. Even though Uncle George also married beneath him when he married his wife Robbie. At first the family disapproved of Robbie but eventually began to accept her. With the way that Welty depicts Troy in the novel, it is uncertain if he will ever truly be accepted into the Fairchild family.
At the beginning of the novel Troy comes up against the Fairchild family for the first time. He has worked as the overseer of their plantation for many years but could have never known that this is the way that the family felt about him. Being engaged to Dabney Fairchild is no small task in its own. But when you marry a Fairchild you marry the Fairchild family. As a true Southern family the Fairchilds do not take easy to people who are outside of their class and those outside of their family. welty uses the character of Aunt Mac to show her true feelings toward Troy Flavin. When Aunt Mac is talking about how she raised her grandchildren and is completely prepared to do it again if Ellen Died. While she was on this topic Aunt Mac states that “ God prevent it, happen to Ellen now, she was prepared to do it again, start in with young Battles children, and bring them up.She would start by throwing Troy Flavin in the bayou in front of the house and letting the minnows chew him up” (Welty 87). In other words, saying that if it was up to her and she was the one making the decision she would never let Troy and Dabney be married.
Tward the middle of the novel Troy has still yet to gain acceptance into the Fairchild family. From the beginning things have been on the edge between Troy and the Fairchild Family especially Dabneys parents. Troy tries again and again to prove himself to his soon to be family. For instance, when he presents his mother's quits to the family and says “ “Look,” he said “everybody look. Did you ever think your mother could make something like this? My mammy made these, I've seen her do it. A thousand stitches! Look-these are for us, Dabney.” (Welty 147). He tries to show that he came from a good background and is no different than the rest of them. Although the family is impressed by the quilts that Troy's mother has made they still do not think he is equal to them. They may be slowly coming around, but they still do not believe that he is the one for their own. At this point know one knows if Troy will ever fit into this soon to be family.
The Big day has almost arrived. The family can either put aside their feeling for the sake of Dabney and Troy or they can go on forever hating Troy. Which will it be? With the whole family against him Troy is still trying to give himself a fighting chance to be accepted into the Fairchild family. Although some feelings have been put aside with all of the wedding chaos, some of the Fairchild family members are still not for Troy marrying Dabney. Welty uses Shelley to express her feeling about Troy one last time before the wedding. ““Mamma, I think it's tacky the way Troy comes in from the side door,” said Shelley all at once. “It's like somebody just walks in the house from the fields and marries Dabney”” (Welty 270). This is a last ditch effort for the family to express how they feel about Troy. Dabney loves him and believes that the family will too, but neither of them really know that much about him. She believes that the family will eventually come around to love him as she does, but the family is not budging on their opinions of Troy.
The big day has arrived, it's the last chance. If the family could accept one outsider then they could accept Tory they just could not see his potential. He was soon to be married to their daughter they would have to accept him one way or another. In the novel, it is not made certain that if the family finally accepts Troy or not. Reisman thinks that the family has accepted Troy she states “Troy, who is socially and culturally inferior to the Fairchilds, should feel totally rejected. However, he does not. The Fairchilds have come to appreciate his virtues, his diligence, his love of the land, and his understanding of Dabney’s need to remain near her roots (Reisman Rosemary M. Canfield Delta Wedding par. 3). In other words the family finally comes around and see that Troy is a good person and can be good for Dabney. He has the right morals and understands that they want her to stay near their home. They have not totally accepted him, but they don't hate him either.
Like Reisman, Livingston also believes that Troy is accepted into the family. but only after he has fought a hard battle to prove himself to Dabneys family and most importantly her parents. Just as Welty has described how Troy battles with the family Livingston states that “it is clear that Dabney is flouting family protocol by giving herself to a mere overseer. Her father feels betrayed by Troy, who apparently insinuated his way into the house in order to subvert the family. Shelley believes that her sister is disgracing herself and defying her father. Yet Dabney sees in Troy what the family sees in George: character worth passionate attraction. Finally, on the eve of the wedding Shelley goes to the office to summon Troy to the rehearsal. There she stumbles into a knife fight between two field hands, which is broken up by Troy. At that moment Shelley recognizes the kind of mastery she had earlier noted in George. She no longer objects to the wedding” (Livingston James Delta Wedding par. 6 ).
Troy has finally proven himself to the family that he is worthy of their daughter. He might not be the man that they thought that they wanted to marry Dabney, but he is still a good man and she loves him. Troy and Dabney will be married with the approval of the family. Welty used Troy to show exactly how hard it is to be accepted into a true tight knit Southern family.
The family did not want Dabney to marry someone that was considered beneath her. They were not about to let her go to just anyone. Many times Troy had to try and prove himself to the family for Dabney. And many times the family did not care. No matter what he did it seemed as if the Fairchilds would always despise him. But as they did with Uncle George's wife Robbie they eventually would come around to the thought of letting Dabney get married to Troy. The wedding would go on and Troy and Dabney would get married, the family would finally accept Troy as part of their family. It might have been a very hard battle to be accepted into the Fairchild family, but Troy overcame the fact that they hated him and he married Dabney. He was now part of the family that in the beginning didn't want him but has learned to accept him for the sake of their daughter
Dabney.