Effects Of Alienation In A Worn Path By Eudora Welty

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Social status is a prominent component in defining an individual. Be it the luxurious life of the wealthy or the dismal scraping-by of the poor, first impressions and judgments are often always inadvertent. However, this inadvertence does not stop the manifesting of alienation that is sure to follow, as victims of poverty repeatedly suffer from alienation in society. Especially in societies filled with vain individuals, a society that is implied throughout the short story “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty. As a member of the lower class, Phoenix Jackson clearly embodies the constant effects that a life shaped by alienation beholds. Due to the social status intertwined with Phoenix Jackson, the main character in Welty’s short story, alienation from her society has matured into a prevalent element of Phoenix’s everyday life. …show more content…

Although not much is truly known regarding the upbringing of Phoenix, alienation due to her social class lies blatantly. Starting at a young age, poverty has always existed in Phoenix’s life, as Phoenix mentions, “I’m an old woman without an education.” By providing a time frame for the life of Phoenix, as Phoenix is clearly depicted as living at the time of “the Surrender” during the Civil War, Welty plainly reveals to readers the poorness of Phoenix’s childhood due to the absence of an education. Not to mention the fact that Phoenix is African American and poor in an era of American society when racial tensions were obtrusive and money was power.

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