The theme of the welcome table is the racism that the elderly woman had to endure. The symbolism was her courage, faith and belief in God. The welcome table tells the story of an elderly black woman who tries to attend the worship service in an all-white church. The story was told in the third person, but the narrator also tells of the thoughts of the onlookers who are watching the woman and are unable know what her intentions are. They felt as if there was nothing to read “in that old tight face”. After indicating that the onlookers have a general feeling of fear “A fear of the black and the old, a terror of the unknown as well as of the deeply known,” the all-knowing narrator reveals other feelings that some of them have: “some felt vague stirrings of pity, small and persistent and hazy” (Clugston, 2010). The narrator also speaks about the inner thoughts and feelings of the elderly woman as well. This gives you the opportunity to insert yourself into the story to feel and see what the elderly woman did.
The description of the character outer appearance and her beliefs contributes to the theme in this story. The author starts by telling you how the woman was dressed “in her Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes: high shoes polished about the tops and toes, a long rusty dress adorned with an old corsage, long withered, and the remnants of an elegant silk scarf as head rag stained with grease from the many oily pigtails underneath”. And of the dazed and sleepy look in her aged blue-brown eyes (Clugston, 2010). And the fact that she is able to see Christ as he approaches her from the distance show her spiritual beliefs.
According to Bauer, Walker provides a more positive view of salvation in “The Welcome Table.” But Bauer believes there is a troubling tone to the story because the woman is allowed to tell Christ her grievances without castigation, but his silence as they walk together is somewhat disconcerting to the reader (Bauer, 1992)....