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A Worn Path By Eudora Welty

Decent Essays

What reaches would you go to in order to aid the ones you love? In “A Worn Path,” by Eudora Welty, the reader is taken on Phoenix Jackson’s, the main character’s, journey to the doctor’s office to obtain the medications needed for her ill grandson. Having to commute in such difficult conditions, Phoenix endures through the dense and tiresome woods, stretching from the countryside to the town. After persevering through the long journey to her destination, Phoenix arrives at the building and receives the medication she needs. Welty concludes the story in neglect of a “resolution” by prolonging Phoenix’s journey to a store. In “Is Phoenix Jackson’s Grandson Really Dead?”, a literary analysis on “A Worn Path,” also by Eudora Welty, Welty responds to a common question that she receives regarding the status of the main character’s grandchild. In her essay, she argues that, in general, the focal point of the story is the grandmother’s journey, not whether or not the grandson is alive or deceased. When I first read the short story, I developed a basic understanding of what was being portrayed—the main character is on an errand to retrieve medicine needed for her grandson’s illness. However, after re-reading the story and identifying different components that acquired, not necessarily deeper, but more complex meanings, I was able to develop a more explicit understanding of theme within the piece, and recognize multiple literary devices used to establish it. I first acknowledge the

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