A Memory

by

Eudora Welty

The man is part of a family of bathers that have settled close to the narrator’s spot on the beach. There is the man, two women (the older woman and the younger woman), and two young boys in the group. The man is most likely the father, though that is never specified. They are described as “common” people and wear old, faded bathing suits. He has flabby arms and is lying on his side, scooping sand into a pile on the legs of the older woman. He is squinting and smiling in amusement. At one point, the man places a fistful of wet sand into the bathing suit top of the older woman, causing everyone he is with to burst into laughter. Pleased with himself, he shoots a complicit smile at the narrator. This shocks the narrator and fills her with contempt.

The Man Quotes in A Memory

The A Memory quotes below are all either spoken by The Man or refer to The Man. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Memory and Meaning Theme Icon
).
A Memory Quotes

The man smiled, the way panting dogs seem to be smiling, and gazed about carelessly at them all and out over the water. He even looked at me, and included me. Looking back, stunned, I wished that they all were dead.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), The Man, The Older Woman
Page Number: 73
Explanation and Analysis:

I felt a peak of horror, as though her breasts themselves had turned to sand, as though they were of no importance at all and she did not care.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), The Man, The Older Woman
Page Number: 74
Explanation and Analysis:
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A Memory PDF

The Man Quotes in A Memory

The A Memory quotes below are all either spoken by The Man or refer to The Man. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Memory and Meaning Theme Icon
).
A Memory Quotes

The man smiled, the way panting dogs seem to be smiling, and gazed about carelessly at them all and out over the water. He even looked at me, and included me. Looking back, stunned, I wished that they all were dead.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), The Man, The Older Woman
Page Number: 73
Explanation and Analysis:

I felt a peak of horror, as though her breasts themselves had turned to sand, as though they were of no importance at all and she did not care.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), The Man, The Older Woman
Page Number: 74
Explanation and Analysis: