Analysis Of A Worn Path By Eudora Welty

In “A Worn Path”, Phoenix Jackson’s name symbolizes the mythological bird “Phoenix.” In mythology, the story of the Phoenix is about a large, magical bird that lived for centuries, created a fire for itself, and rose up out of the ashes renewed again. The bird’s color is described as shimmering red and golden/yellow. Eudora describes Phoenix’s skin as “a golden color” and her cheeks “illuminated by a yellow burning in the dark,” and the red bandana she wears around her head also symbolises the colors of the bird. The idea of Phoenix persevering, like the bird, despite what many would see as insurmountable odds is best seen through her meeting with the hunter. Even when the hunter points out how far the journey is to town for Phoenix, she simply answers, “I bound to go to town, mister. The time come around.” She answers without hesitation, showing that the idea of giving up never entered her mind. It is this resilience in the face of adversity that further ties Phoenix to her namesake.

Most people accomplish difficult tasks with support systems such as family or friends. Phoenix knows she is alone in the world to care for her grandson. This knowledge of solitude makes Phoenix’s mission all the more difficult. The incident with the white hunter along her travel also demonstrates Jackson’s determination. As stated by Dennis Sykes, “Phoenix realizes that the importance of the trip far exceeds the possible harm that can be done to her brittle frame”(151). Phoenix’s ability to stare down possible bodily harm all for the sake of her grandson’s wellbeing demonstrates her heroic determination. By overcoming adversity, Phoenix’s determined character is revealed very well.

In the end we figure that Phoenix may be on a journey that really does not exist. We find out that maybe the grandson isn’t alive and that he has been dead for weeks. Whether or not Phoenix was aware she did not let life bring her down, whatever she was set to do she did and with great perseverance she has achieved her goal.

Phoenix shows determination by getting by all of these obstacles and getting to town. Her determination to get to town shows that she would not let anything get in the way of something she knows she must do.

In “A Worn Path,” Eudora Welty uses setting, characterization, and tone to illustrate the progresses of Phoenix, in a physical and emotional sense. The author illustrates the progress of Phoenix’s social, physical, and emotional sense to describe changing times and social norms. This allows the reader to get a clear and vivid out reach of what they are going to read about phoenix journey.

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.

His grandmother is the only relative he has left, and she makes the trip to town to receive medicine that soothes the pain. There has been no change in his condition, Phoenix tells the nurse, he sits with his "mouth open like a little bird." She also says that though he suffers, he has "a sweet look." Though Phoenix says he is not dead, some critics have theorized that he is. The Hunter The hunter encounters Phoenix after she has fallen into a ditch, the unfortunate result of an encounter with one of his dogs. He helps her up, demonstrating his willingness to assist a person in need. But his subsequent conversation with her reveals his disrespect for her and biased attitudes towards African Americans in general. When he learns that she intends to walk to town, he assumes Phoenix is not able to make the long journey and he tells her to go home; he has no qualms about issuing the order. But when she persists, he relents, assuming that the only reason "old colored people" would embark on such a long trail would be to see Santa Claus. In a second instance of disrespect, he tells Phoenix that he would give her a dime if he had one, unaware that Phoenix has already picked up the nickel that fell out of his pocket. In a third example, he points a gun at her face and asks if it scares her. He is amused by the fact that it does not, further emphasizing his insensitivity. Throughout the conversation, he refers to her as "Granny," as the other

The story revolves around the main character, Phoenix Jackson. Jackson, an older woman with “numberless of branching wrinkles” that form a “whole little tree in the middle of her forehead,” encounters many setbacks, including poor eyesight, fatigue, multiple falls, thorn bushes, and barbed wire. In Saralyn R. Daly’s, “‘A Worn Path’ Retrod”, it is stated that “Phoenix encounters not mere difficulty on her path, but evil,” (Paragraph 1). Although the obstacles seem as though they will get the best of her, she perseveres through each like the ancient mythical bird, the phoenix. Ancient Greek mythology says the long-lived phoenix bird cyclically regenerated from its predecessor’s ashes after being engulfed in flames to burn to ash. After every fall, akin to a phoenix dying, she rose again, stronger, persevering as a phoenix does through its death.

In paragraph 5 Welty said, “Seem like there is chains about my feet…” This is symbolic to Phoenix being a slave in her younger days. In the story Phoenix never reveals her age but it is known that she is old. She was most likely old enough to have been born as a slave and then freed as a young woman. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln enforced the Emancipation Proclamation which freed nearly three million slaves throughout the South.

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

With this statement, the author clearly depicts Phoenix’s determination to continue down this path despite the challenges of the wild animals. She is determined not to let anything come between her and getting to town for her grandson’s medication. Phoenix may be old and worn, but her determination motivates her to continue.

Phoenix also encounters numerous physical obstacles between her and her goal. Shortly after setting out, she becomes entangled in an obstinate bush. She fights what appears to be a losing battle. As Welty describes it, “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” (315; 8). Phoenix seems to maintain a good attitude as she begins to talk to the bush: “Thorns, you doing your appointed work. Never want to let folks pass, no sir. Old eyes thought you was a pretty little green bush” (315; 8). As she does with all of her other challenges, she

Phoenix Jackson endures many obstacles along her journey through the worn path. When faced with hardship, she persevered regardless of her difficult circumstances. The reader watches her climb up and down a steep hill that was hard on her feeble body. Then, she comes to a creek with a log lying across it. The reader is aware that Phoenix has a hard time walking, but instead of giving up she faces this extremely dangerous and challenging situation as “…she mounted the log and shut her eyes” (Welty 645). When she gets to the other side she opens her eyes. Welty uses this challenge to show the reader that sometime one must rely on faith to get through trials. Next a barbed wire fence challenges her but she meets it without fear. Eventually, Phoenix encounters a white hunter who tries to persuade her to turn around by pointing his gun at her asking, “Doesn’t the gun

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.