Symbolism In A Worn Path

A worn path is a story about a woman named Phoenix Jackson who needs to go a journey to town to get medicine for her sick grandson. It is a trip she has made before many times before (hence the title A worn Path) but there is something special about this trip, something different. In this paper I plan to dwell into the symbolism behind the Legend of the Phoenix and its relationship to her journey in the story. The legend of the Phoenix is about a fabled sacred bird of ancient Egyptians, said to come out of Arabia every 500 years to Heliopolis, where it burned itself on altar and rose again from its ashes young and beautiful; symbol of immortality. I think this story also represents Christian beliefs because the setting is

No one would leave a child unattended in this condition. If Phoenix actually left the child at home alone, this is definitely criteria that could be utilized to challenge her mental acumen.

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.

The title of the story, “A Worn Path,” is foreshadowing something coming to an end. In Phoenix Jackson's case, it could mean the last time she walks the path or it could even very well be her life. Eudora Welty describes Phoenix walking slowly in the dark pine shadows with a cane, indicating the rough journey ahead. Early on in the story, she encounters a thorn patch. In this story, it states,“Thorns, you doing your appointed work. Never want to let old folks pass, no sir. Old eyes thought you was a pretty little green bush.” The thorns represent some of the hurdles that hinder you if you are born black in America, especially in Jackson's time. The author uses imagery in the story to make the reader feel as if they know her. “God watching me the whole time. I come to stealing.” When Jackson talks to herself aloud the reader imagines the young spirited side of her.

The story “A Worn Path,” by Eudora Welty tells the story of a woman named Phoenix Jackson, who lives in Natchez Mississippi. Phoenix has a grandson that she cares for that has swallowed a chemical called lye, that was in many households back when Welty wrote this story. Lye poisoning was common in rural areas. Welty is writing about this problem the hardship Phoenix Jackson went through to receive medical treatment at that time. Without the name Phoenix Jackson and the characteristics, she possesses there is no way she could overcome the obstacles that stood in her way.

“A Worn Path” tells of an elderly and frail black woman and of the hardships that she must overcome. Upon reading the story, you realize that there is more to the story than meets the eye. She faces many roadblocks along her way. Phoenix faces many dangerous obstacles along her way, for a person of her age. She faces racism from some of characters she meets along the way. Phoenix faces inferior treatment, as though she is nothing more than some insect to squash. This story is about not only her ‘journey’ to Natchez, but also about her journey through society and the struggle to overcome the dangers, being treated inferior, and the racism.

In addition to her physical deterioration, Phoenix Jackson is struggling with senility and mental fatigue. The round character is fatigued by life. The protagonist is consumed with grief regarding her economic hardship, grandson’s failing health and the blatant racism. All of these social factors are eroding her mind. Jackson has lost her perception and memory. She is easily fooled and mistaken. For example, in the woods, the elderly woman approaches an ominous figure that she is unable to identify. As she continues to approach the unknown object, she realizes that she encountered a scarecrow. Upon this realization, the aged woman acknowledges her decreasing mental capabilities. “My senses is gone. I too old, I the oldest people I ever know” (117). Phoenix Jackson, in Welty’s “A Worn Path” must battle the physical and mental challenges as she travels to Natchez to obtain medicine for her beloved grandson.

Phoenix Jackson in Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path" has been compared to the mythological phoenix because of her birdlike qualities, and it's also been noticed that Phoenix possesses many of the same characteristics as Christ. But, what hasn't been addressed is the fact that Eudora Welty didn't just leave the symbolism to Christ alone. Welty also included many biblical allusions as well. Phoenix Jackson is not only symbolic of the mythological bird that rose from the ashes of its own demise or simply a Christ figure comparable to the Son of God, but she is also a biblical hero facing temptation and trials along her journey and succeeds unharmed and steadfast in her faith.

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

Thesis: “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty is one of the best short stories to incorporate different

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 by Eudora Welty, “The Worn Path” Phoenix Jackson is a complex character who defies a stereotype in a symbolic way. Welty's story describe Phoenix as the o;d lady who had to travel miles a day in order to prove to the other characters that her grandson was not dead. Having to prove that her grandson was not dead Phoenix had three traits of characteristics. She was loving, determined, and persistent. These traits help her to overcome being stereotyped and ultimately her overcoming these stereotype made her symbolic in the journey, her name, and the time frame in which the event happen.

In her article “Welty's 'The Worn Path,'” Dennis Sykes mentions that Phoenix Jackson lived in a time after the Reconstruction Era when she states that “Phoenix Jackson witnesses the Southern black’s transformation from slave to citizen” (151). At the same time, the author emphasizes that the obstacles Jackson had to face in her journey are a reflection of the struggles African American people faced before the establishment of the amendments that protect their rights. Sykes sees Phoenix as a symbol of the strength and perseverance that African Americans had in order to achieve integration and equality in the south. Furthermore, the writer demonstrates that there is no difference between the old woman’s journey and the mission to social transformation.

A Worn Path is a great short story because it expresses what Africa Americans went through back in the 1940’s. The main character of the story is Phoenix Jackson; she went through many hardships but never gave up. Ms. Jackson is a very determined, strong-willed woman that has endured a lot of pain. She really loves her grandson and wants to do anything that would make him healthy.

Phoenix Jackson lived back in the country past the pines. She lived a lifetime of hardship. Her role in society is an old black woman in a white world, though she is not ashamed of her inferior position. She has walked a path periodically to get medicine for her chronically ill grandson who drank lye. On a cold December day, she shares one of her journeys to the hospital in Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path." This specific journey is examined closely of an old woman full of dedication, dignity and high morale.