A Breakdown Of A Worn Path By Eudora Welty

In the article “Toward the North Star: Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” and the slave narrative” by Kevin Moberly, the author Kevin Moberly connects the obstacles that appear in the path to the slave narrative and argues that the journey Phoenix Jackson makes is a journey that does not lead to freedom, but it leads into successive stages of bondage. He also argues that Phoenix’s crossing also suggests a descent into slavery and bondage. For example, the tapping of Phoenix Jackson’ cane links her to a symbol of freedom and voice “the chirping of a solitary little bird” (142). Throughout the journey she encounters different obstacles the first ones are the “woods” and “hills”. She is struggling up the hills, but she maintains her balance. While walking, she complains about how difficult it has become to walk this path, no doubt that she has traveled this path so many times. Climbing the hills, it gives an illusion to bondage. On the way she encounters “thorn bushes”, she struggles to release herself, but gets caught into another “Thorns, you doing your appointed work. Never want to let folks pass, no sir. Old eyes, though you were a pretty little green bush” Phoenix says while feeling a sense of deception. When one examines the first incident that undoubtedly recalls a trope of a slave narrative tradition, Phoenix says, “Now comes the trails,” she then proceeds to cross the log with her eyes shut “like a festival figure in some parade” (143). Phoenix actions, recalls the suffering

People in the story seem to have a reverence for the Phoenix which is shown when a white woman stops to help her tie her shoe which would be highly unlikely in the south at the time. Another incident is when the women at the drugstore in town gives her money for no reason.

Phoenix Jackson, the main character, is a small, old African American woman who goes on a journey for a purpose that is unknown at the beginning of the story. Although Phoenix has made this trip many times, something is different about this trip. Throughout her journey, Phoenix faces many obstacles and hardships. The author uses symbolism and, later, gives the reader awareness of Phoenix’s character while, hopefully, teaching a lesson about life. In “A Worn Path”, Eudora Welty uses the symbols of the name “Phoenix”, life and death, and the main characters’ age throughout the story.

In Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path,” the character Phoenix Jackson is introduced. Phoenix Jackson is an uneducated, African-American woman without any family besides her sick grandson. Phoenix is the hero of this story and fits the role well by delivering much-needed medicine to her grandson. Phoenix shows many distinct traits that reveal her to be a hero to her grandson. The heroic feats she accomplishes pave a path that leads to her satisfaction as well as protection of her most beloved asset, her grandson. Throughout the story, Phoenix’s humble, caring, and determined character is displayed through her actions.

In the short story ‘a worn path’ by Eudora Welty she uses symbolism to describe many of the characters and objects that are given in the short story. Symbolism is to use symbols to represent ideas and qualities. In ‘a worn path’ Eudora does so she uses manifolds of characters and objects to express the way the story is being told in her own way. As doing so she helps the reader understand it more sufficiently and to show that what is going on is still happening today.

Phoenix lived in a society where racism was still running strong. Yet she faced and dealt with that every day of her life. As an African-American slave, she would have toil in the fields, wondering if she would still be alive by the time the sun was setting. Phoenix is visible shaken with a run a scarecrow she believed to be a ghost. She says to image, "'Ghost,' she said sharply, 'who be you the ghost of? For I have heard of nary death close by” (Welty 24).Slave mothers would often show that same fear as they watched the shadows return from the field; wondering if their loved ones were still alive or was going to come home unharmed. Phoenix faced those same fears as a mother and grandmother. If Phoenix was caught in the

Through the character of Phoenix Jackson in “A Worn Path” Welty produces a picture of an aging African-American woman in the Jim Crow South. In “A Worn Path” we learn of the hardships Jackson faces on her weekly journey for medicine to sooth the pain of her grandson. Welty conveys this these hardships by giving the reader insight into the physical health, the mental health, and the socio-economic status of Jackson.

In the story “A Worn Path” uses a continuous number of literary techniques and there is an overflow of symbolism. In the story everything symbolizes an object symbolism is when an object in the story can relate to something. Symbolism is a literary technique that adds meaning to a story by using an event or object as a symbol to represent something else. Phoenix Jackson represents the most important thing in the story the ancient Egyptian bird the Phoenix. The story “A Worn Path” takes place in December 1941. It’s about an old lady named Phoenix Jackson that goes to town in Natchez, Mississippi to get some medicine for her grandson who had swallowed lye many years back. Phoenix faces some obstacles on her way to town that try to keep her

At the beginning of the story, Phoenix is described as “Her eyes were blue with age. Her skin has a pattern all of its own numberless branching wrinkles…” (1). This description helps to verify that Phoenix is very old and this will be a difficult trip for a woman of her age. Therefore it is with sheer determination that Phoenix faces another challenge--having to cross a creek by walking over a log. This activity is a difficult

Although Phoenix Jackson is old, tired, dirty, and poor, nothing can stand in her way. In Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path,” Phoenix jumps off the page as a vibrant protagonist full of surprises as she embarks on a long, arduous journey to

In the story “A Worn Path” by Eudora Wetly, an elderly woman goes to Natchez, Mississippi in order to get medicine for her sick grandson. As she travels, she comes across many difficulties, including a young hunter with a gun and two howling dogs. Despite her age and frailty, she makes it to Natchez to get the medicine that her grandson needs. Although she receives condescending looks and impatient glances, she continues on and reaches her goal. The story states, “Then she gave a tap with her cane on the floor. ’This is what come to me to do,' she said. 'I going to the store and buy my child a little windmill they sells, made out of paper. He going to find it hard to believe there such a thing in the world. I'll march myself back where he waiting,

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,

Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path" is a story that emphasizes the natural symbolism of the

A Worn Path: Literary Analysis EssayEvery individual has a story. Some are long, some are short. In A Worn Path by Eudora Welty, the author tells a small part of Phoenix Jackson’s story. Phoenix is an African-American woman on a mission, trekking through the post-Civil War Mississippi backwoods on her way to town to retrieve medicine for her sick grandson. On the way, she comes across several obstacles standing in her way and overcomes them. Some obstacles are conquered easily, and some take some perseverance. If you look closely, however, you can see a pattern in the story’s progression. If Phoenix’s whole life were scaled down to fit in that single afternoon, each event could represent a different phase. The story represents Phoenix’s journey through life, with elements representing a youth in slavery, when the country was divided by war, and when she accepted freedom and old age with dignity.The first few paragraphs begin with a metaphor for youth, but transition in to a harsher metaphor for slavery. At the beginning, the pace moves along swiftly, and nowhere to be found are the hardships to come. The author soon draws attention to the beasts that hide in the woods. Phoenix doesn’t seem to be bothered at all though, and even yells goadingly at the unseen animals. The author intended this scene to convey a carefree tone, to contrast with the next obstacle, a steep hill. Phoenix struggles her way up after remarking, “Seem like there is chains about my feet, time I get this far.” ([1], pg. 1) It’s clear this sequence and quote represent the part of Phoenix’s life that was a hard transition. She went from a child to grown adult, put to work for her master. The author intentionally chose that heavy-handed quote to drive the point home. Additionally, the hill looming large is a metaphor for the uphill battle that was the life of a slave. Later while she was on the hill, a bush caught her dress. The author specifically chose wording to invoke the unending cycle of work that slaves of the era were forced to do. “Her fingers were busy and intent, but her skirts were full and long, so that before she could pull them free in one place they were caught in another.” ([1], pg. 2) This passage is the epitome of Phoenix’s

On Phoenix’s journey to obtain relief for her grandson, the white hunter is the only character that she meets before she gets to Natchez. The hunter finds Phoenix laying on the ground and he helps her get up. Later, the hunter asks her why she needs to go to town and tries to convince her to go home and give up. Welty includes this character in the story to represent the whites who repressed blacks. After helping Phoenix to her feet, the hunter immediately starts trying to get her to go home and give up on her journey towards true freedom for blacks. Phoenix tells him that “I bound to go to town, mister. The time come around,” (Welty 145) showing that she feels that African Americans have been oppressed for too long and it’s her task to help get it for the next generation of blacks in America. But, after she tells the hunter