Analysis of a Short Story a Worn Path by Eudora Welty

I think the trip to the city to get the medicine represents the mythological trip that the Phoenix takes to the sun to die. I say this because by going on this journey Phoenix is using the last of her energy and will probably die soon after it. On her way to the city Phoenix faces many obstacles. One obstacle she faces is old age “Seems like there is chains about my feet “ she says this because her old age has left her almost immobile. The first actual obstacle she comes across is the scarecrow who represents death or the grim reaper because he is described as wearing all black and is trying to get her to come with him. Another thing that links the scarecrow to death is the simple fact that he is in a field. The next obstacle is the white hunter who tells her to go back and represents evil forces ” Well, granny you must be a hundred years old and scared of nuthin I’d give you a dime if I had any money with me. But you take my advice and stay home, and nothing will happen to you”. He is lying about having no money so she steals a nickel from him, a trivial amount of money for him that won’t be missed so we the readers find ourselves justifying the theft.

for her grand child with lye poisoning. Along the way she encounters several obstacles. Welty throughout the story the author makes several points to connect this work to other famous works of literature to strengthen her character without directly doing so. The author uses imagery to recreate famous parts of The Bible also the main character's name, Phoenix Jackson is a reference to the mystical bird the phoenix which is a symbol for rebirth. Phoenix Jackson symbolically is reborn several times throughout the story. The stories title and main plot point is the path she walks which holds many similarities to the path of life.

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.

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.

The setting of this story describes to be in “December a bright frozen early morning, far out in the country” (Welty 418). Introducing the story with a vivid description of where it’s going to take place. Welty introduces the setting in an easy manner for the readers to learn where it takes place. In the setting, throughout the story we know that Phoenix, travels through the woods tell their own stories of human intervention. Phoenix walks "along a path through the pine woods" (Welty 419). She comments later, '"Up through pines,' she said at length. “Now down through oaks” (Welty 420). Welty gives you a vivid prospective of where she is leading Phoenix in the story as she describes the paths and what she sees. Welty also elaborates on the time of day, keeping you in mind of how clear, the sun is beating on the old woman’s faces as she is walking in the same path she takes all the time to go to the city. Also the setting is in the depression era. In the source it says “Phoenix journeys through the forest to Natchez, her path takes her from a nonhuman natural world into a space impacted by

In the short story, “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, the story's protagonist Phoenix Jackson travels from her home through the forest, to town where she goes to retrieve a remedy for her grandson's throat. Phoenix Jackson is an elderly black woman on a difficult, dangerous journey through the cold winter to reach the city. To maintain her balance through this journey and to ward off wild animals slinking through the woods, Phoenix walks with a thin cane made from an umbrella. She has made this trip many times before, however, this time around is much more difficult due to her aging body and fragile bones.

Phoenix Jackson is an elderly, African American women who makes her way to town to pick up medicine for her grandson. Along the way, she encounters difficulties that she overcomes in order to reach her destination. Welty uses the south’s view of African Americans to inspire Jackson’s journey. She meets up with a young, white man who is hunting while walking through the woods. He condescends her because of her old age and the color of her skin. He even, at one point, aims his gun at her as a joke. She never falters, and even ends up stealing a nickel from him. Also, when she enters the clinic where she needs to pick up the medicine, the receptionist thinks she is merely lost and unintelligent. She talks to Jackson as if she is less than her until a nurse, who knows Jackson, steps in. These things are southern aspects that can only be so accurately depicted if the writer is a southerner

With the first name of Phoenix, Ms. Welty is showing the symbol of a Greek mythological bird that could live to be one hundred to one thousand years. The old phoenix dies in a pile of ashes, much like the ashes used to make lye, only to reemerge a new magnificent, colorful bird, to live another cycle of life (Wikipedia). Much like the bird, Phoenix Jackson has a red rag around her head, a wrinkled face with yellow illuminating skin, ringlets hanging from her hair, a striped dress, and a bleached sugar sack apron (Welty). In addition, similar, her age, like the bird, Phoenix is aged but wise, likely close to one hundred years, reemerges back to life once she received the medicine her grandson needed. Even the last name of Jackson is likely to be a symbol of a Doctor, who according to an essay by Melisa D. Stang, “Parting the Curtain on Lye Poisoning in “A Worn Path,”” was named Chevalier

Phoenix Jackson and The Young Man embarked on their journeys for different reasons. Phoenix’s journey was a necessary journey; her grandson needed the medicine in order to be healthy. She took the journey because of her sense of responsibility and love for her grandson. Like any grandmother,

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

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

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