At the end of Welty's story "A Visit of Charity," Marian retrieves a red apple she has hidden in the bushes. She then jumps on the bus and takes a big bite out of the apple. This is an interesting moment in the story. At the start, she stops by the bush, but Welty never reveals what she does there. After stopping, she goes into the nursing home. However, when she leaves, she gets the apple out, so the reader knows then that she hid it there upon her arrival.
The apple is red and the girl's coat is also red, so this is a significant color. As she spends time in the nursing home with the objectified, animal-like old women, Marian just wants to escape and to thrive. Red, then, symbolizes life in this story. By running out of the nursing home and taking a big bite out of the apple, Marian shows that she rejects old age and death, and chooses youth and life. She will not think of the old women anymore and will go on living a vibrant life.
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