Literary Analysis
Theresa Duarte
ENG 125 Introductions to Literature
Jill Mountain
January 26 2015
Literary Analysis
In literary work conflict is the theme that carries the story through. It is conflict that makes literal work bring forth its meaning to the readers or to the audience. Every literal work has some sense of conflict and "A Worn Path" is no exception, as seen in Phoenix 's conflict with nature and the landscape. How phoenix handles the hardship encountered on the way help the author to define his character. There are also outward conflicts manifested in the story through the interaction between the actor and the hunter and his encounter with the attendant in doctor’s office. The hunter is astonished by the fact that
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Phoenix an elderly African American woman is walking through the woods slowly with an umbrella on her hand. She is wearing loose shoes. Throughout her journey she is talking with animals telling them to keep off her way. She complains on the steepness of the hill along her way. It appears that she had been on the similar journey before because she is familiar with all the twists and turns along the way. She also has poor eyesight.
In the story “a worn path” the main character phoenix an African American woman, is on a journey to the city to get medicine for her grandson. At the onset of the journey it seems simple but as the journey progress there emerge several obstacles along the way that brought conflict with her. The challenges along the way include her age, her socio economic status, and others, all these challenges are the example of conflicts she faces during the entire story.
The story setting is harsh with a rough terrain and in the middle of the gold December, however these is the path phoenix have to follow. The name of the story itself symbolizes the physical terrain and its roughness. The path is seen by the hunter who is still energetic young man as strenuous. When she told the hunter that she is going to the city the hunter was worried and told her that it was too far. Her age is very critical in her
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Similes use direct words e.g. like in comparison. Simile is seen in the description of phoenix Jacksons face: "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. “Her cane is described by the narrator as "limber as a buggy whip." Phoenix also while walking across the log looks "like a festival figure in some parade." The threes she encounters also look "like black men with one arm." Another simile touches on the sense: "she gave off perfume like the red roses in the summer. “A Worn Path" is told from a third−person limited point of view. This allows the reader to empathize with Phoenix, because her thoughts and actions are shown. Yet, in third−person, the reader is allowed to view Phoenix from a distance, and thereby see her as others to see her. This is individual versus Nature and Individual versus self-conflict because of the obstacles she faced with the bridge for example. She also faced conflict with her age and with her health to be traveling alone so far
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...
An example is, when Grummore makes reference to the heir the nurse tearfully said, “never had no hair. Anybody that studied the the loyal family knowed that.” This is funny because the nurse says hair instead of heir and loyal not royal.To support his purpose and tone, the author uses literary devices such as simile and personification. Simile uses like or as to compare unrelated items. When Kay was trying to convince Sir Ector to go to London, White uses the phrase “eyes like marbles” to describe Grummore’s eyes. He also uses simile during the scene where Merlin is giving up his position as tutor and is leaving the household. White describes Archimedes as “spinning like a top” when he disappears from Merlyn's shoulder. Also, in the scene where Wart pulled the sword from the stone, thousands
The title itself, “A Worn Path,” referred to life as the journey itself through a worn path. Obstacles that Phoenix Jackson faced shows the real-life hardships, lies, and aggressions, that minorities face. Despite its simplicity, Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” does show us some of the greatest of life’s reality.
“A Worn Path” is a short story written by Eudora Welty. It is a story of an elderly black woman’s journey into town for her grandson’s medicine. Using lots of imagery throughout the story, the narrator tells us that the woman, Phoenix Jackson takes this dangerous journey out of love for her grandson who is in need of medicine. Throughout her journey, she encounters many people who are of great importance to the story.
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 city to get medicine for her ailing grandson. On the way this ninety-year-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. Phoenix Jackson has a seemingly inexhaustible amount of determination. From the moment that she sets out on her trek, she must fight all the challenges that nature has made for her. From the very beginning there is the threat of attack by wild animals and Phoenix shouts "out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals!" undauntingly challenging them.
“A Worn Path” tells of an elderly and frail black woman and of the hardships that she must overcome. Upon reading the story, you realize that there is more to the story than meets the eye. She faces many roadblocks along her way. Phoenix faces many dangerous obstacles along her way, for a person of her age. She faces racism from some of characters she meets along the way. Phoenix faces inferior treatment, as though she is nothing more than some insect to squash. This story is about not only her ‘journey’ to Natchez, but also about her journey through society and the struggle to overcome the dangers, being treated inferior, and the racism.
In Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path”, an elderly woman goes through trial for the greater good. Ms. Phoenix Jackson goes on a journey, most people could not take, to save her grandson’s life. Rachel Lister, an author of Literary Context in Short Stories Collections: Eudora Welty’s ‘A Worn Path’, states what kind of person Phoenix is: “[A] female subject [that] makes her way through a wood on a mission to help the afflicted” (par. 5). She goes through obstacles to get to her destination: she is attacked by a black dog, she goes through a barbed wire fence, she encounters a white hunter, and etc. Rachel Lister implies, “She faces a series of challenges and temptations” (par. 5). Nevertheless she is ambitious to finish her journey, although it is a cold winter day. “A Worn Path” is full of symbolism. Rachel Lister asserts, “The chains …, the thorns, and the barbed wire symbolizes the continuing oppression which restricts the social mobility of the African American people in the south” (par. 5). Ms. Phoenix is just not a character but she is a symbol for hope. Her character is portrayed as a Christ-like figure. She goes these trials to save her grandson from death...
In "A Worn Path", a short story by Eudora Welty, the main character, an old colored woman named Phoenix, slowly but surely makes her way down a "worn path" through the woods. Throughout her journey, she runs into many obstacles such as a thorny bush and a hunter. She overcomes these obstacles and continues with her travels. She finally reaches her destination, the doctor’s office, where she gets medicine for her sick grandson back home. Many critics have speculated that this short story represents the love a grandmother shows for her grandson. Others say this story represents life and death, where Phoenix represents an immortal figure. Dennis J. Sykes disagrees with the other critics by saying, "A parallel exists between the journey described and the plight of the Southern blacks after the Civil War" (Sykes). Ultimately, Eudora Welty demonstrates how blacks have been persecuted in a white world.
“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.
"A Worn Path," by Eudora Welty is a heartbreaking story about the heroic trip of an old African American woman, Phoenix. The readers won't find out right away the plot of the story or why Phoenix won't give up her exhausting trip to town-the conflict of this story-especially on a very cold day. The title, "A Worn Path," indicates that Phoenix has obviously walked down this path many times before-also the fact that she can cross a creek with her eyes closed confirms the title's message.
Eudora Welty presents the short story “A Worn Path” in a remarkable way, revealing a lot of symbolism. It travels around multiple themes throughout the story about an old aged woman walking through a grueling trail to a town to gather medicine for her grandson in Mississippi. This short story takes places in December on a “bright frozen day” where an old Negro woman arises by the name of Phoenix Jackson. I believe she signifies a struggle, but when looking at her a bit deeper, she mostly signifies willpower (Welty, 502). As she goes towards the town on the path, she appears to have walked numerous times before; she has to overcome many problems. What’s important is that with each move she takes it looks to be pretty sluggish, but yet a steady move in the direction of her goal. The story gives an understanding to the determination and confidence of Phoenix Jackson to point out the belief of people in identical lives of endless struggle. In “A Worn Path,” Eudora Welty reveals the idea that sometimes our lives can be a lot like an obstacles course, which are made up of difficulties that we have to overcome somehow.
In the story A Worn Path, Eudora Welty shows an old woman living in a time period where racial prejudice is rampant and out of control. Phoenix Jackson is a grandmother whose only motivation for living is to nurture her grandson back to health. The strength of love may make people do or say unusual and implausible things. The central idea of this story is that love can empower someone to over come many life-threatening obstacles. The idea is shown when an old woman conquers all odds against her to show her everlasting love for her grandson. Throughout the story Phoenix Jackson has to overcome many types of obstacles that hinder her in her devotion to help her grandson.
The surface story is a poor black grandma’s journey with an errand; to get medicine for her grandchild burned by lye. The colors used apprise the reader of another story. This parallel story uses color to tell us of a journey taken by a poor, black, disenfranchised people to completely own their legal and civil rights; they have been burned by lies. “A Worn Path” uses the journey of this one remarkable woman to serve as a lens to view the hardships of the African American people.
'A Worn Path' is the tale of the unstoppable love and care of a grandmother for her grandchild. Phoenix Jackson is Eudora Welty's main character and protagonist in A Worn Path.? Phoenix is an old, frail woman who attempts to proceed on a long and treacherous journey through the woods to Natchez. Phoenix strives forward despite frequent obstacles in her way that include her own failing health and her grandchild's slim chance of survival. As she takes this prolonged trek across the woods, many of her characteristics are revealed. Her tenacity, senility, and consideration that she displays throughout her long worn path emphasize her character.
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