A Worn Path By Eudora Welty Essay

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

Symbolism plays a large part within the telling of this story. Symbolism can be found starting with Phoenix Jackson’s name to the small toy she buys her grandson. The name Phoenix is referencing a mythical bird that is said to live out in the desert and capable of living up to around 600 years. The mythical Phoenix is believed to set itself on fire only to rise once again from its ashes. The symbol of the Phoenix expresses the endurance and resilience of Phoenix Jackson. As she makes her way down the path she is embodying the long lasting characteristic of the Phoenix. In addition, Jackson is constantly picking herself back up, and keeping herself together. Just like the mythical bird, Jackson manages to continue on the harsh and tortuous path, rising from her own ashes, so to speak, all to retrieve the necessary medicine for her grandson. While

Overall, Phoenix Jackson’s character adds to the story through her humble, maternal strength. Phoenix’s love for her grandchild brought her through many challenges, but year after year as she completes her trek, she keeps her grandson as her top priority. This overwhelming level of determination allows her to keep hold of her most valuable possession. Through her actions she reveals to the reader that her humble, caring, determined nature allows her to overcome the odds and provide for her family as well as maintain a simple Southern elegance.

In the stories “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty and “The First Seven Years” by Bernard Malamud characters persevere for love. In “A Worn Path” Phoenix Jackson, an old grandmother, goes through a long journey and overcomes multiple obstacles to get medicine for her sick grandson. Phoenix perseveres through emotional and physical trials because of her love for her grandson. Likewise in the story “The First Seven Years” Sobel perseveres for seven years of unfair pay to try and marry his love, while Feld perseveres to make his daughter's life better than his own. Both of these stories exemplify that humans will go to great lengths for the ones that they love.

In the short story, Phoenix, an old Negro woman almost in her late years, takes her last journey through the woods like she had done for the past years, since her grandson got really sick by swallowing lye. In this journey Phoenix phases difficulties. Her old age made her hallucinate about her getting a marble cake given by a young child. Her difficulties to walk and her poor eye sight made her striped dress get stuck in the branches. Even though she went through all of these obstacles she was determined to go get her grandson’s medicine. Once she got closer to her destination she came across this White Hunter, who points his gun at her. Phoenix gets scared because she thought he saw her get a nickel which had fallen out his pocket, while she distracted him. Then she continued her journey until she saw her destination. When she got there she asked a white lady that was carrying gifts, to tie her shoe laces because she was entering this big building. Once she tied her shoe laces Phoenix continued, until she

A phoenix is a bird that lives to symbolize rebirth at its finest. A phoenix goes through the many stages of life, to get to the very moment where it burns itself up and becomes reborn once more. The phoenix comes from greek mythology and is used as the reincarnation symbol in most stories. In the story “Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, the main character’s name is Phoenix. Although I will touch more on this specific meaning, but the story has an incredible amount of hidden meanings that touch on even the most sensitive discussion topics of the modern age. Whether it is about racism, internal conflict, or natural conflict there is always a lesson to learn from this story. Eudora Welty clearly wants to make it known that even as her main character goes through a simple task of walking from her home to the town, she discovers many issues along her journey.

In the short story ‘a worn pass’ by Eudora Welty she uses several of characters for specific reasons and various objects as well.The short story tells use about an old lady name phoenix Jackson she is a blind elderly women and she has to go on a far journey through the

“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.

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.

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

Welty writes, “With her hands on her knees, the old woman waited, silent, erect, and motionless, just as if she were in armor” (318; 85). However, Phoenix manages to regain her senses after a few minutes, explaining to the nurses, “It was my memory had left me. There I sat and forgot why I made my long trip” (318; 88). She continually takes her personal shortcomings in stride and has an obvious wit about her, which she uses to her advantage. When she is offered some pennies by an attendant, Phoenix instantly replies, “[f]ive pennies is a nickel” (319; 100). The quick thinking earns her some additional money and allows her to purchase a gift for her grandson. Despite being elderly and often forgetful, Phoenix persists in her journey with experienced fortitude.

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

Before the journey even begins, we come to an understanding that this journey is going to be a struggle for Phoenix. She is described as "very old and small" (86) and walks carefully with her "thin, small cane made from an

        Along with struggling against her old age Phoenix Jackson had many elements of nature holding her back from helping her grandson. She had to travel very far to reach the hospital for his medicine. On her way she encountered many elements of wildlife, of which she scared out of her path. Her dress was constantly caught in the brush and was in danger of being ruined as she passed a barbed wire fence. This also took place during Christmas time when it more than likely was extremely cold out side. But Phoenix's desire to help her grandson, and save his life, while also preserving some life of her own, helped her strive in completing this trip.

In a world that is so diverse, social discrimination is an issue that many have to face everyday. Discrimination can be used by an individual's: race, age, religion, and even one's class. A Worn Path, written by Eudora Welty is about a woman by the name of Phoenix who goes on a long journey to get medication for her grandson. On her journey she comes in contact with a hunter, and many other complications. In the short story, an overall theme of social discrimination is shown through the use of Racism, Ageism and Classism.