Rhonda Marshall Ashlyn Dugan English Composition II 21 March 2015 Eudora Welty: Characters with Mythical Themes Eudora Welty was an author who wrote short stories about the great south. She used mystical elements to compose her work. She wanted to give her readers something to compare her characters to in everyday life. In Eudora Welty’s stories, “The Worn Path” and “Death of a Traveling Salesman” these mythical themes are seen in her work. Her stories were written during a time when life wasn’t easy and times were hard in the South. As written in an online biography by Suzanne Marrs, Eudora Welty grew up in a close-knit and loving family. She inherited from her father, Christian Webb Welty, “a love for all instruments that …show more content…
She put focus on determination because Phoenix Jackson was determined to walk to the big city to get medicine for her grandson’s throat. Even though she encountered a few obstacles along the way she was determined to continue her journey. As stated from the online Collected Works of Eudora Welty, the path she was taking ran up a hill. “Seems like there is chains about my feet, time I get this far, she said, in the voice of argument old people keep to use with themselves.” “Something always takes a hold of me on this hill.” Phoenix was tired from climbing the hill, but relieved and felt accomplished that she made it. “At the foot of this hill was a place where a log was laid across the creek.” “Now comes the trial, said Phoenix”. Phoenix crossed over the log and made it across the creek. She replied, “I wasn’t as old as I thought.” That’s faith and determination that Eudora Welty had coming through the character …show more content…
As stated in Dictionary.com, Prometheus, in classical mythology, the Titan is the one who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans and also has become a symbol of lonely and valiant resistance to authority. Sonny comes home after a hard day from work fussing with his boss and he’s full of strength and endurance. Eudora Welty was influenced and wrote about the things she saw, read and heard about in everyday life. She grew up in the South during a time when desegregation was going on. In an online article by the ClarionLedger.com Eudora Welty was so angry about the Medgar Evers’ assassination in Jackson, MS. She wrote a short story titled, “Where Is the Voice Coming From? The story is about the life and events of Medgar Evers’ leading up to his death. His death had a real impact on Eudora Welty and she wanted to tell his story through this
Eudora Alice Welty practically spent her whole life living in Mississippi. Mississippi is the setting in a large portion of her short stories and books. Most of her stories take place in Mississippi because she focuses on the manners of people living in a small Mississippi town. Writing about the lives of Mississippi folk is one main reason Welty is a known author. Welty’s stories are based upon the way humans interact in social encounters. She focuses on women’s situations and consciousness. Another thing she mostly focuses on is isolation. In almost all of Welty’s earlier stories the main character is always being isolated. Throughout her short stories, a hidden message is always evident. Eudora Welty does a wonderful job of exposing social prejudices in the form of buried messages.
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
Granny was much like Phoenix Jackson, they both had to overcome obstacles or challenges in life that made them stronger. Granny had to deal with the heartache and pain of being deceived and disappointed by what she thought was love and Phoenix had to overcome the obstacles of traveling a difficult Journey because of the love she had for her grandson. Fate can control humans’ lives and can help humans reach the end of the challenging path. Phoenix’s and Granny Weatherall’s ability to withstand and overcome these challenges shows their strong determination, and the will power to endure hardship and continue to be strong.
During the time period this story was written was in 1941 WWII had just begun, but not only that, but also of poverty that was a reality to many—particularly to blacks and people in rural areas. The title itself, “A Worn Path,” refers to life as the journey 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 realities. The writer starts the story using racial description and symbolism to describe Phoenix Jackson.
Eudora Welty was born on April 13, 1909, Jackson, Mississippi. Her father's name is Christian Welty, and her mother's name was Chestina Welty. She has two brothers named Edward Welty and Walter Welty. Welty grew up in a house full of books. Her mother gave her the passion of reading and writing. Eudora went to Davis Elementary School. She attended and graduated from Jackson's Central High School. Eudora had graduated from the University of Wisconsin and studied business for a year at Columbia University. Eudora earned her Bachelors degree. She also attended Mississippi University for Women. Eudora was a short story writer, novelist, and photographer. Her major themes of her books extend beyond the south-loneliness, the pain of growing up, and the for people to understand themselves. Eudora Welty grew up during the Great Depression. She was able to travel around Mississippi taking pictures of people during the Great Deppression. " Endured series of misfortunes with stoicism and forbearance." (The New York Times, Prose, 2005). Eudora Welty faced several struggles in her life such as the lose of family and having a hard time finding a job.
“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.
Word Press editor. “An Analysis of Eudora Welty’s ‘A Worn Path’”. Word press. N.P., April 12,2013. Web. 17 Mar 2014.
...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.
One example of the theme of determination in this short story is all the obstacles that Phoenix Jackson encountered. Because Phoenix is so determined to get the medicine for her grandson, she goes through every obstacle with spirit. The following quote depicts many of the obstacles Phoenix encounters on her way:
Daniel Hawthorn’s “Young Goodman Brown,” Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path,” and Tim O’Brian’s “The Things They Carried” deal with very different subjects. While “Young Goodman Brown” deals with one man’s efforts to fight against the evils of his heart, “A Worn Path” outlines a determined woman struggling in cold-hearted and ignorant societies. From “The Thing They Carried” obsessive love to Martha, but Martha is focusing on becoming a missionary, Lt. Jimmy’s love for her it will never die. These stories thought seemingly unrelated, have one main thing in common: the writer’s employment of literary technique in different contexts to convey an idea to the reader. Though these literary techniques, between the three stories,
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.
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.
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.
Prometheus, the Titan of Greek mythology, was considered to be the most important Titan ever in all the myths. He helped the human race tremendously in his efforts to sustain an easier lifestyle. Mankind had great respect for him because of his advantages and gifts or abilities he gave them. Also, his battle against Zeus as a result of his love for man was very much appreciated. Prometheus was one of the most interesting Greek mythology figures in his time. He was a very kind, loving, generous, and courteous god to mankind. This can be seen through many events in his life including a particular myth that the reader will acknowledge in this research paper.
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