Character Analysis Of Phoenix Jackson

When Welty describes Old Phoenix it is very easy to see the similarities with the bird of Egyptian myth. Then after carefully describing Phoenix’s physical appearance, Welty incorporates the use of other senses as well. The sound of a bird that Welty uses is just one example of how subtle Welty can be when mixing the Egyptian bird into the story. These examples prove that Phoenix is not just an ordinary character but instead, Old Phoenix is a character with a higher meaning.

The analytical approach that was used to enhance this reading was the Reader Response Approach. While reading the story of Phoenix Jackson, a distinct emotional feeling engulfed me that something was not quite right, especially with Phoenix. I connected with her almost immediately and feared for

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.

Phoenix Jackson, the main character, is a small, old African American woman who goes on a journey for a purpose that is unknown at the beginning of the story. Although Phoenix has made this trip many times, something is different about this trip. Throughout her journey, Phoenix faces many obstacles and hardships. The author uses symbolism and, later, gives the reader awareness of Phoenix’s character while, hopefully, teaching a lesson about life. In “A Worn Path”, Eudora Welty uses the symbols of the name “Phoenix”, life and death, and the main characters’ age throughout the story.

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 mythological story "A Worn Path” is of tales and figures, the most considerable, being the legend of the phoenix. There are numerous symbols and allusions brought about in the story relating to the legend of the phoenix. The phoenix is a bird that comes from Egyptian mythology. The best analogy of the phoenix is a magnificent bird. The phoenix has astonishing powers. It has the knack to materialize and vanish in the blink of an eye. The myth states the phoenix travels to the sun. The sun gives the phoenix it powers. The heat incinerates the bird. The bird is reborn from the ashes. From her name along with appearance to her action and the symbolism throughout the story, Phoenix Jackson is the manifestation of the phoenix (bird).

“A Worn Path” is a short story written by Eudora Welty. It is based on an elderly African-American grandmother named Phoenix Jackson, who goes for a walk to the town of Natchez on a cold December morning to get some medicine for her ailing grandson. This story speaks of the obstacles Phoenix endured along the way and how she overcame them. The theme, central idea or message that the author wishes to convey to his or her readers, in “A Worn Path” is one of determination. Phoenix Jackson is determined to get to Natchez, in order to get medicine for her grandson; she does not let any obstacles get in her way. The theme of determination is shown in many ways throughout this short story.

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.

Through the character of Phoenix Jackson in “A Worn Path” Welty produces a picture of an aging African-American woman in the Jim Crow South. In “A Worn Path” we learn of the hardships Jackson faces on her weekly journey for medicine to sooth the pain of her grandson. Welty conveys this these hardships by giving the reader insight into the physical health, the mental health, and the socio-economic status of Jackson.

Phoenix Jackson is an older black woman, making a journey to the town of Natchez, Mississippi. The author portrays her as a woman having imaginations and seeing things that do not exist. Eudora Welty writes, “when a little boy brought her a plate with a slice of marble-cake on it she spoke to him. 'That would be acceptable,' she said. But when she went to take it there was just her own hand in the air (Welty 57). The author is swaying the reader into believing that Phoenix Jackson is envisioning that makes it look, as if she is crazy. Phoenix Jackson was in reality, envisioning her grandson who

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

Most fictional characters found in novels and short stories possess a characteristic that the reader also enjoys. In the case of Eudora Welty’s, “A Worn Path”, protagonist Phoenix Jackson has a few notable features that entice the reader. As the reader, I felt as if I possessed comparable traits to Ms. Jackson- the depth of her might captivated me as I have always been hardy too. Robert Saunders must have felt similarly when he read “A Worn Path” as he also highlights Phoenix’s strength in his article, albeit with different evidence than used in my unpublished paper “A Flame That Won’t Burn Out”. Phoenix’s toughness is something that every reader notices because it is such a predominant trait (as Welty desired). Consequently, my argument that Phoenix Jackson is a robust woman is supported by Saunder’s article, especially based on the ideas of similarity to the mythological phoenix, strength during adversity, and Phoenix Jackson’s connection with nature.

Have you ever loved someone so much that you would do anything in your power to help them in their time of need? In the short story “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, the reader witnesses the love and strength of a grandmother for her grandson. The protagonist, Phoenix Jackson, shows love, determination and self-sacrifice as she faces several obstacles while traveling by foot in the cold through the wilderness. She travels this path frequently, as the title suggests, to the city to get medicine needed for her grandson. Phoenix’s willpower to continue on her path through every hindrance that she faces is commendable.

Initially, Welty imprints Phoenix Jackson as an elderly lady who shows symptoms of an individual who could possibly be senile. As she traverses through the frozen earth, Jackson’s old age forces her to plan out her next course of action when she is required to accomplish a small feat such as walking up or down a hill. Phoenix Jackson also mistakes a thorny bush that became entangled in her dress for a “pretty little green bush”. As she continued, she sights a distant scarecrow and suspects it to be a ghost. These small details almost directly suggest that her eyesight is fading in correlation with her experience;

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.