A Worn Path – An Analysis
The short story "A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty, is a descriptive story of a grandmother's difficult journey, for a grandson she loves. Her devotion to her grandson and wanting to provide him with a better lifestyle, was her motivation to overcome these trials. On this trip, Phoenix Jackson, the grandmother, struggles against old age, nature, and reality.
Phoenix Jackson was certainly a dedicated old lady. She refused to give up, despite the odds against her, to help her grandson. Her grandson was very sick, and needed certain medication to live. After traveling miles through wilderness, barbed wire, thorn bushes, and being confronted by a white man with a gun, she still persisted on her path. She didn't care about the consequences to her self on her journey. Her only concern was that little boy, who was sick at home, waiting for her. In a time period when whites had the say over blacks, she took a great risk in disobeying the white hunter, he told her "Now you go on home, Granny"(215). To which she replied, "I bound to go to town mister"(215), and belligerently ignored him. She even risked her life in stealing 5 cents that the man had dropped, all for the sake of giving her grandson a gift.
On her weary voyage, Phoenix Jackson had to overcome the hardships that her old age brought. As she traveled miles as she was "moving a little from side to side" (212). Her speaking to the animals in saying, "Keep out from under these feet little bobwhite"(213), is possibly an example of her being senile. Another example of her seeming senile is when she sees a little boy bringing her marble cake; not realizing it's just an illusion. An example of her determination in overc...
... middle of paper ...
.... The moral may lie beneath the actual story, because the grandson's livelihood may not be the only one at stake through this journey. The woman, being old, may represent death. And the trip is her voyage to find life, or preserve what little life she has life. If she gives up, she loses that life, which is what the grandson is symbolic of. Her devotion to her grandson and her love for him, may be her motivation. But, her devotion to life is another. She accomplishes her goals by overcoming the struggles that old age and nature brought against her. By doing so, she's regained the life she loves, at least, until next year, when she travels that worn path again.
Works Cited
Welty, Eudora. "A Worn path." Literature for Composition. Ed. Sylvan Barnet, Morton Berman, William Burto, William E. Cain, Marcia Stubbs.
5th ed. New York: Longman, 2000. 212-218
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
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.
22). The imagery of the clock gives a visual image of Phoenix unsteady walk and partial reasons why she carries a cane. After reading the first two paragraphs of A Worn Path one might wonder why is an elderly woman in such conditions out in the cold. Not until further along in the story does the author go into depth of the character’s reasoning for traveling out in the cold. In spite of Phoenix’s condition and old age you see her determination in paragraph three. In paragraph three she demands any obstacles or troubles that may try to come along her path to move out of her way because she has a long ways to go. The story goes into description of the pathway the woman is following; along the way she may have had little hope or faith until, “Down in the hollow was the mourning dove-it was not to late for him.” (Weltz, 1941, p. 22). Doves have many significant symbols and in paragraph four the dove symbolized hope for Phoenix. This symbol may have encouraged the woman that she still has time. We also learn in this paragraph that the reason Phoenix is traveling this pathway is to help someone she cares
“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.
ideal distance from where we are based to where we have to travel in a
...f questions and she answers all of them respectfully and honestly. Phoenix cleverly distracts the man, with the two dogs that are fighting and he goes off to scare the big black one away by shooting at it. It is when he comes back and points his gun at her, that Phoenix shows no fear if it. When she is asked if she is afraid of it, her reply is, “No sir, I seen plenty go off closer by, in my day, and for less than what I done” (Welty 58). Her unusual courage shows just how far racism stretches. Normally a human being would show fear when staring a gun down, but with years of white people making slaves out of them; black people had learn to face persecution head on. Therefore, Phoenix faced her trial head on, and the white hunter left with a little more respect for her than before. Which in the society she lived in respect was a gift and to be cherished.
...ation. As Phoenix continues down her path, she runs into many hindrances that must be overcome. Sykes believes“Phoenix [considers racial] conflicts are just stones in the road, obstacles in the path” (np). Eudora Welty writes this story to tell of the maltreatment of blacks and to bring this issue into the light. She uses subtle and obvious symbols to prove how blacks have been treated throughout life and how many have just considered the obstacles in their path of life just like pebbles they need to pass on the road.
“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.
One of the main hindrances that stand in her way is the physical aspect of her age as well as the journey. Phoenix Jackson is very weak and feeble because of her old age so that makes her long journey very strenuous. Another physical obstacle is that she has to weave and duck under a barbwire fence. Her feeble body cannot handle such tasks at her age. The third hindrance she must defeat is that she must cross over a log that lay across a creek. This requires concentration, skill, and patients. Even people whom are twice as young as Phoenix have trouble doing such things. Not many other emotional force other then love is strong enough to give power to an old woman who is living only for one reason. She realizes that if she were to die then the fate of her grandson would be damned.
The Effect of Temperature of Hydrochloric Acid on the Rate of Reaction Between Hydrochloric Acid and Magnesium
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.
Welty, Eudora. ?The Worn Path.? Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: PH, 2001. 150-155.
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
Investigating the Effects of Temperature on the Rate of Reaction between Magnesium and Hydrochloric Acid