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A Worn Path
The story ³A Worn Path,² by Eudora Welty,
tells the journey on foot of an elderly black women,
Phoenix Jackson, from her home to the nearest town.
She makes the journey to go to the doctor to get medicine for
her sick grandson. On the trip, she runs into some
trouble here and there with her dress getting caught
in the underbrush and old age getting to her. She
encounters a big dog that knocks her over, but is soon
rescued by a passing hunter. As she gets to town,
Phoenix asks a woman to her to help her tie her shoes
then, proceeds to the doctor¹s office. When she
arrives there, her memory fails her and she forgets
what her long trip was for. The light comes on and
she remembers her grandson¹s medicine. She gets the
medicine and the money the nurse gives her, goes and
buys a gift for her grandson and sets off for home. In
this story, old age and class alienate Phoenix from
society.
Old age alienates Phoenix from a hunter she
encounters on the trail. Age alienates Phoenix from
the hunter when he assumes her age enables her to
continue her trip to town. The hunter states, ³Why,
that¹s too far! That¹s as far as I walk when I come
out myself and I get something for my trouble... Now
you go home, Granny!² (Welty, 215) By saying the trip
is too far, the hunter shows he does not believe
Phoenix can make it to town due her elderly age. When
he says ³... and I get something for my trouble²
(Welty, 215), the hunter infers that he feels Phoenix
has no business being out there making the long trip,
and there is no reason good enough for her to be
venturing that far. The hunter alienates Phoenix
because her age by telling her the trip is too far and
calling her Granny.
Class alienates Phoenix Jackson from the attendants
in the doctor¹s office. As Phoenix walks in the door
one attendant says, ³A charity case, I suppose²
(Welty, 216). Based on appearance alone, the
attendant makes the assumption that she was a charity
case. ³A poignant scene at the story¹s close confirms
the reader¹s suspicion of Phoenix¹s extreme
poverty...² (Magill, 2432). This scene proves to the
reader Phoenix is not very high class. She is
automatically assumed to be a charity case and then
asked what was wrong with her, implying she does not
look very good. Aldridge writes, ³[In Welty¹s
stories] [t]here are members of racial minorities, the
Phoenix Jackson's grandson needs medicine, and she is willing to walk through a frozen path with many obstacles for him. Phoenix Jackson came face to face with many dangerous situations. Such as falling in a ditch, being attacked by dogs, having a gun pointed at her, etc. “He not able to help himself. So the time came around and i go on another trip for the soothing medicine” (p.53) In this quote she is explaining to the secretaries how sick her grandson is and that she is willing to do anything to help him.
In A Worn Path by Eudora Welty an elderly African American woman named Phoenix Jackson picks a cold December day to make yet another perilous journey to a near by city to get medicine for her ailing grandson. On the way this old woman faces many obstacles, both natural and man-made. Phoenix draws upon her perseverance and willingness to sacrifice herself to help her throughout her journey, but it is the undying love for her grandson that truly guides and drives her to her final goal. She is described as being a very old woman. “Her eyes were blue with age. Her skin had a pattern all its own of numberless branching wrinkles and as though a whole little tree stood in the middle of her forehead, but a golden color run underneath, and the two knobs of her cheeks were illuminated by a yellow burning under the dark (Welty 386). These all show an indication of her old age. Also, her loss of memory indicates her old age. It was only until Phoenix reached the doctor’s office she remembered why she went on her journey. “My grandson. It was my memory had left me. There I sat and forgot why I made my trip”(Welty 394). Another character in the story was a white man who was a hunter. When Phoenix falls in the ditch, he helps her out of the ditch. Even though the hunter helps Phoenix, he still poses as a threat to her, because it seems he did not want her to finish her journey. This is made apparent when he states, “Why, that’s too far! That’s as far as I walk when I come out myself, and I get something for my trouble”(Welty 391). In addition, like her name, Phoenix seems ageless. When she stops to drink water from the spring she says, “Nobody know who made this well, for it was here when I was born”(Welty 391). When she encounters the hunter and he asks her how old she is she says, “There is no telling, mister, “said, “no telling” (Welty 392). Again her age is emphasized when she goes to the doctor’s office and the nurse ask her why she never went to school. “I never did go to school, I was too old a...
This story is so simple but tells more than just an old African American trip to town for medicine for her grandson. But from a great insight, Phoenix Jackson developed a sense of responsibility toward her grandson, who actually might be the only person in her life. The moral of the story tells about an old African American woman named Phoenix Jackson who was taking a journey from her home into town to seek some medication for her ill grandson. During this journey, the story describes Phoenix Jackson facing struggles and obstacles against her eye sight and old age, as well as nature’s obstacles, thorn bushes and barbed wire. Through these obstacles, Phoenix Jackson is able to depict her poetic view of the world through symbolism.
She has to go on a path, a worn path. Phoenix's path is worn not only because she herself has had to travel it so many times, but because it symbolizes the path traveled by poor and oppressed people everywhere. These elements of the archetypal hero employ various situations, symbols and characters for the character to go through a long journey. The story is a large metaphor for the path through life. Phoenix, the main character of the story, follows the long, well-used path, and defeats many odds.
We know this because the hunter states, “I know you old colored people! Wouldn’t miss going to town to see Santa Claus!”(Welty, 1941, p.22). On this chilly morning, an elderly black woman named Phoenix Jackson was making her way into town to get medicine for her grandson who swallowed lye. She was walking slowly but surely, tapping along with a cane in her hand. While she was on the Natchez Trace in the forest, she would talk to the animals and the thorny bushes telling them to stay out her way. The story begins to get more interesting after she crosses the stream. When she sits down to rest under the tree, she tries to take the slice of cake from a boy, but when she opens her eyes she finds her hand stretched out, taking nothing. The terrain gets so difficult, that Phoenix mistakes the crow for a ghost. She blames these mistakes on her eyesight and her old age. The climax of the story is when she encounters the hunter and his dogs. The hunter draws and points his gun at the old woman. While pointing his gun at her he asked if she was afraid to which she answered no. After this encounter, Phoenix reaches the town where everything is decorated for Christmas. Her journey ends with her getting the medicine for her grandson and nickel to buy a present for her
Phoenix is a very old woman whose aged, fragile body isn't suited to make such a long journey. At one point when she is climbing up a hill, she states that it seems like "there is chains about my feet, time I get this far." And yet she still trudges onward, stopping only once for a short break. On the way down the hill she gets caught in a bush, its thorns tearing at her finest dress. "I in a thorny bush," she exclaims. But she doesn't give up; she stands there untangling herself from the bush, "her fingers busy and intent." After she has overcome this obstacle she faces yet another trial. Across Phoenix's path lies a creek and across the creek lies a log, which substitutes as a bridge. It is hard enough for Phoenix to walk on flat and stable ground, so walking across the log is a dangerous challenge for her. Even though there is a large threat of her falling and badly hurting herself, "she mounted the log and shut her eyes" and crosses to the other side. Next she comes across a barbwire fence, and once again without showing any signs of fear she fords ahea!
It’s December when Phoenix starts on her journey to Natchez and it is a journey she has taken many times before. This journey is no journey an elderly and weaken person should have to make by themselves, yet Phoenix does. She does not allow her age or her condition to keep her from it. Deep through the pines, the path takes her, and her first task would be to make it over a hill that seems to take all her energy and strength. “Seems like there is chains around my feet, time I get this far…” (Welty 5), here the reader can tell Phoenix does not have the strength that she really needs to make it up the hill. Yet somewhere she finds the will to keep pushing on and moving forward. This same type of spirit that allows Phoenix to keep pushing forward in society, and not to back down. Showing the younger generation that you have to fight your way through to a brighter day. It is later down the path that Phoenix comes to a creek and the only way to get across, is by walking on a log. Phoenix walks across this log with her eyes close. Once across she opens her eyes and says, “I wasn’t as old as I ...
In the modern short story, Eudora Welty clearly develops Phoenix Jackson as a main character who indirectly manipulates other people. Phoenix, as the speaker in “A Worn Path” holds the status of an old Negro woman who continues the everyday cycle of life. Although, in reality, Phoenix is an average human being, who feels she must be rewarded for living. Phoenix believes that humanity owes her something for the troubles she encounters throughout her lifetime. When Phoenix says to the hunter, “that’s as far as I walk when I come out myself, and I get something for my trouble” (paragraph 46).
Welty uses her main character, Phoenix, to portray colored people who represent the fight for freedom. When Phoenix is described in the beginning, she is wearing a “red rag” and a “dark striped” dress (Welty 212). The red rag represents...
“A Worn Path” is a short story written by Eudora Welty. It is based on an elderly African-American grandmother named Phoenix Jackson, who goes for a walk to the town of Natchez on a cold December morning to get some medicine for her ailing grandson. This story speaks of the obstacles Phoenix endured along the way and how she overcame them. The theme, central idea or message that the author wishes to convey to his or her readers, in “A Worn Path” is one of determination. Phoenix Jackson is determined to get to Natchez, in order to get medicine for her grandson; she does not let any obstacles get in her way. The theme of determination is shown in many ways throughout this short story.
Although I feel as though there are many literary elements throughout this short story such as characterization and theme, I also feel as though symbolism is very important as well. First of all, I believe that the name Phoenix in itself is symbolic for the type of person the old woman truly is. A Phoenix is a mythological creature who dies in fire and rises from ashes only to be stronger. It is as though all of these hardships only make the old woman more determined to complete her journey successfully.
Her trip is full of obstacles, from bushes of thorns that get caught in her dress, to her crossing of a creek. These elements complicate the conflict and increase the readers' curiosity about the plot. Phoenix can't trust her eyes, choosing instead to walk along with her eyes closed and sense her way with the help of her cane. While needed rest forces her to stop for a while, she has a vision of a little boy handing her a slice of marble cake. So many questions arise in the minds of the readers. Who was the little boy? Is she halluci...
There are also mental obstacles that obstruct Phoenix’s journey. She has to triumph over her weariness because of her old age and her mental fatigue. As she is walking her mind plays tricks on her, such as the time when she is in the field and mistakes the scarecrow for a dark mysterious figure that she is frightened of. Another time is when she talks to herself and the animals in the woods. She tells them not to get in her way because she has a long trip ahead of her. The love that one person gives to another is never truly appreciated until the recipient realizes what that person has actually done. The grandson may be too ill or even too young to realize what his grandmother is doing for his safety.
Phoenix's precarious journey may seem dangerous, but her determination is what carries her through the obstacles she faces as she makes her way through the woods. Phoenix makes her way across the worn path and discovers many active opponents. She continues forward over barriers that would not even be considered a hindrance for the young. The long hill that she takes tires her, the thornbrush attempts to catch her clothes, the log that Phoenix goes across endangers her balance as she walks across it, and the barbed-wire fence threatens to puncture her skin. All of these impediments that Phoenix endures apparently do not affect her because she is determined that nothing will stop her on her journey. She keeps proceeding onward letting nothing deter her determination. ?The hunter(tm)s attempt to instill fear in Phoenix, a fear she disposed of years ago as she came to terms with her plight in society, fail (Sykes 151). She ?realizes that the importance of the trip far exceeds the possible harm that can be done to her brittle ...
In Eudora Welty’s, “A Worn Path” Phoenix Jackson went great lengths risking her own life for her grandson, who couldn’t help himself. On her worn path she faced the world with courage. Although she faced difficulty in her early life, her faith remained the same to help those who were dear to her heart. She walk a worn path relentlessly facing obstacles along the way with a mind that is diminishing overtime. Through the problems that she is faced with, she remains humble. She is admirable because considering her old age, weakness and loss of memory, she is determined. Welty’s details of character, symbolism, conflict and theme creates a compelling and fierce Phoenix Jackson. The moral message in this short story is to show the setting and characterizations