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The nature of heroism essay
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THE WORN PATH Name Professor’s Name Course number Date of the paper THE WORN PATH Sometimes, journey becomes the epitome of certain abstract ideas such as determination, boldness, and heroism. The story, “The Worn Path” by Eudora Welty is such a story of the journey of an African-American elderly woman, who is resolute in obtaining the medicine for her grandson, suffering from the swallowed lye in his throat (Kathleen 14). Eudora Welty has designed a story with an aim to show grandma’s persistence in perilous settings such as fear of animals, settings of woods, rivers, hills, rocky path and her journey towards the city on the cold winter day, far from her village and as a final point, her success to get a medicine from …show more content…
The story is all about her kindness, caring attitude, determination, heroism, cunning, and her tolerance strength, though having senile dementia, adulthood, and different dicey settings. Eudora Welty wants to depict the theme of willpower’s strength over dangerous settings and individual limitations. And Phoenix’s character effectively supports and hits the spot in strengthening the claim and theme, the author wants to dramatize in the story. Moreover, her soliloquy during the journey to boost her inner strength in her alone journey towards the city for the therapeutic help looks noteworthy and shows her determining nature. For instance, in the story, she said, “I wasn't as old as I though” (encouraging herself), “Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals!. . . Keep out from under these feet, little bob-whites” (soliloquy to get rid of fear), “I bound to go on my way, mister” (granny attitude while replying the white …show more content…
It includes extraordinary characterization, struggles, and determination and positive end in its theme. Eudora brilliantly incorporates act of resolution, in which problem is presented (grandson’s sickness and need of medicine), so the central character’s confronting efforts to resolve the problem (in spite of senile dementia, adulthood and other risks of wild animals, fear of the woods, uneven path and so on, and grandma’s efforts to struggle and survive in such menaces), and in the end, get the success in any case (her success to reach the town and get a medicine). But, in addition to this, Eudora radiantly also not strays from her theme, and keep engaging narration by including a couple of characters, granny’s mental process and her own shortcomings throughout the journey of her en route for medicine for her grandson. So, it can be said that the author has kept linear narration, but with the elements of thrill and chance, and
In the short story "A Worn Path," the message that Eudora Welty sends to the readers is one of love, endurance, persistence, and perseverance. Old Phoenix Jackson walks a long way to town, through obstacles of every sort, but no obstacle is bad enough to stop her from her main goal. She may be old and almost blind, but she knows what she has to do and won't give up on it. Her grandson has swallowed lye, and she has a holy duty of making her way to town in order to get medicine for him. The wilderness of the path does not scare her off. She stumbles over and over, but she talks herself through every obstacle. Undoubtedly, the theme of perseverance is what Eudora Welty wants to point out to her readers. Just like the name Phoenix suggests
“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.
“A Worn Path” is a story by Eudora Welty that narrates an elderly woman’s trip through the woods. Welty uses certain literary devices such as setting, symbolism, and characterization to convey the theme that with determination one can succeed despite physical setbacks such as old age.
“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.
Eudora Welty’s short story “A Worn Path” emphasizes the unselfish love that inspires courage, sacrifice, and love through her use of symbolism.
Welty, Eudora. "A Worn Path." The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980. 142-49.
Phoenix Jackson, in “A Worn Path”, written by Eudora Welty, is an old negro woman living in poverty. She lives a lonesome life with her ill grandson, fighting to keep him by her side. Ever-so-often Phoenix journeys out on an life or death path in order to obtain medicine for her grandson who has swallowed lye, which causes his throat to close up and prevents him swallowing anything. Although, as easy as it may sound to simply receive the medicine and return to her grandson, we must keep in mind that she has aged quite a bit and also that there are many occurrences in which impede Phoenix’s journey. Eudora Welty, in “A Worn Path” establishes characters such as The hunter, The nurse and Mother Nature, in order to interfere with Phoenix Jackson’s
In “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, an old grandma by the name of Phoenix, makes her way through the many hindrances opposing her from getting her sick grandson medicine. Throughout Phoenix’s journey, Welty covers the many obstacles facing women in the 1940’s. Something that I found interesting was how Welty emphasized the old age of Phoenix as something that she had to overcome to make her journey. In the beginning of this story, Welty starts off by telling us that “[h]er skin had a pattern all its own of numberless branching wrinkles as though a whole little tree stood in the middle of her forehead,” just to make that we could visualize how old Phoenix actually was (Welty 848). Besides old age, racism makes its way in the story as well. The
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.
It was the year World War Ⅱ started within the United States and the year the United states became involved in chaos. Welty’s short story, according to www.nps.org, is about the representation of Welty’s home town in Mississippi, specifically about the Natchez Trace, or the “Old Trace”, as known by Welty. This trail is represented in “A Worn Path” by the trail Phoenix Jackson travels along to get to town to get her grandson medicine for lye poisoning. Lye poisoning, however, was also “a common ailment in those days in that part of the country… Children would mistakenly drink lye dissolved in water (a cleaning agent)”. Welty wrote a story portraying the hardships of a person living during the 1900s and all they had to deal with. Living during that time was hard, and Welty recognized that without hesitation. Moreover, Welty wanted to display her recognition of the challenges these people faced, but she did not get the idea of “A Worn Path” until after witnessing a lone woman traveling along the Natchez Trace. She dreamed big for the woman, creating a story that would display all thoughts consumed within Welty as the years went along. Eudora Welty also wrote her story during a time of racism and inequality, which is also believed to be displayed within her works. However, Welty brought this issue about throughout her work and finally brought light to it through “A Worn Path”. In addition, the Natchez Trace
Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” features an old woman, Phoenix Jackson, who experiences mental lapses on her walk to the doctor’s office. While her bouts of memory loss and fantasies may seem typical of an elderly woman, the inherent forgetfulness, frequent delusion, and physical deterioration materialize incessantly throughout her daily routine and actions. This advanced degeneration of her weathered mind and the resulting dazed disposition reveal her personal battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Welty, Eudora. “A Worn Path.” Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts. 4th Compact Ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2008, pp. 95-100.
'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
Welty utilizes Phoenix’s character to explain that people go round and round trying to figure out what their purpose is on this earth when really their purpose is found in their relationships and the love and compassion they have for others. Phoenix’s purpose in the story was to get medicine for her grandson, who was counting on her. His life gave her purpose and vice versa. The moral of the story is that all the materialistic things people crave and all the “false appearances” people have symbolizes death, but relationships symbolizes life and Phoenix had a life and a purpose because she expressed love and compassion in serving her son (Welty 221).