Comparing Death in The Jilting of Granny Weatherall and A Worn Path

Welcome to “Life and Death in Eudora Welty’s ‘A Worn Path’” an article written by Ronald Bartel. In his article, Bartel analyzes the character of Phoenix Jackson from Eudora Welty’s short story “A Worn Path”. Due to the limitation of time, we will be focusing on one major key in Bartel’s article. Today we will discuss Bartel’s view on how Phoenix Jackson’s journey to the city helps her prepare herself for her own death.

Porter's "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" depicts the story of a dying woman's life. Throughout her eighty years of life Mrs. Weatherall has had her fair share of disappointments, heartaches, and unfavorable outcomes. This short story is written in a manner that allows the reader to get an outside view looking in; similar to looking at the story through a window as if being acted out in front of you in the theater. The story is eloquently written and leaves the reader with a sense of familiarity towards the family. The populations of readers who have had the pleasure of experiencing this pathetic story have come to relate their own experiences and disappointments towards the story and have empathetic feelings towards the main

In the short story, “ A Worn Path “ written by Eudora Welty it can be interpreted that Phoenix Jackson is suffering from dementia or some other form of mental illness, and that her grandson that she so lovingly speaks of has been deceased for some time.

Sixty years prior her ex- fiancé George left her at the altar without an explanation. This led to Granny wanting to prove that she could be a good wife. Bitterness crept in and she let it eat at her for the rest of her life.

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 story of A Worn Path goes perfectly with the title; it is a slow paced mood with lots of symbolic messages associated with life. Phoenix Jackson is just representation of one person reaching a simple goal but for her may take a little more effort. Bound by her physical ailments of being old, slow, and brittle she never turns back giving up her goal. Through the symbolic obstacles that author Eudora Welty so cleverly puts together, puts a sense of what everyone goes through in life. Eudora Welty brings forth a theme; with enough persistence and boldness we can overcome any obstacle that we face and reach our goal. As we go through our life no matter what circumstances we may be in, there should be nothing that keeps us from achieving. Just like Phoenix Jackson she works towards a goal so important to her heart; she doesn’t let any obstacle come in her way.

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” is a short story written by Katherine Anne Portier about an elderly woman on her deathbed. Granny Weatherall is a very interesting character and the story describes her last thoughts and memories as she lies there taking her last breaths. Granny Weatherall is perceived as an independent and strong-willed character that has lived a full life. As she lies on her deathbed, she drifts in and out of consciousness and seems to not have a full grasp on reality. As she nears the end of her life, the reader is able to understand her thoughts and feelings, and feels how the elderly woman is struggling with coming to terms with dying. The themes in this

Figurative language is very important within a piece of writing, but specifically in this passage imagery creates so much more detail within the character’s emotions. The first big piece of imagery would be when Granny thinks about all the time and work she has put in with the upbringing of her children and how they resemble her in many ways. Later on in the passage, the author talks about when Granny worked digging post holes and the hardships women had to face. This brings out the overwhelming emotion given off by Granny of all the hardwork she has given within her life and the fact she feels confident and wanting to show off all the work if she had a chance. We see how Granny really feels about John and how she wants to “brag” about her life and all the good things that she accomplished. Even at the end of the passage when she says “It made her feel like rolling up her sleeves and putting the whole

The short stories, “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” by Catherine Anne Porter and “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, have many similarities as well as differences. Both stories have a simple plot with a theme that is symbolic of their lives. These stories include great characterization, description of elements in the stories, and the point of view.

She chances her life and difficulties the quality of her body to enable her grandson to recuperate. All through her trip to the town of Natchez, she battled over the slopes and hedges that took a stab at backing her off, and the spring that was a diversion to her goal. Phoenix had slithered through a security barrier and even got thumped around a pooch all through her voyage. "So she cleared out that tree, and needed to experience a spiked metal perimeter. There she needed to crawl and creep, spreading her knees and extending her fingers like a child endeavoring to climb the means." (Welty 388) Phoenix Jackson cherished her grandson so much that she went an "additional mile" to ensure he would get his prescription. Phoenix demonstrated that she was resolved in light of the fact that she remained solid disapproved and steady all through her

The short story “A Worn Path” is about an elderly woman on a quest to a village far away from her home in the country. Although the path is difficult and has many obstacles, the elderly lady perseveres until she gets to her destination. The beginning paragraph sets the scene for the entire story and introduces the readers to Phoenix Jackson. Phoenix is described as a very old and frail woman that walks with a cane out in front of her, indicating poor vision. The story begins on a cold morning in December on a path in the woods. The use of imagery foreshadows the difficult path that Phoenix must take. The beginning paragraph also reiterates that Phoenix is ill but persistent by comparing the tapping of her cane on the earth to the sound of

“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.

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.

In “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” by Katherine Anne Porter, Granny started thinking a lot. As she nears death, she thinks about all the stuff she wants to do the next day, she thinks about death, and recollects important events in her life. Granny wished that the old days were back again with the children, young and everything to be done all over again. Sometimes she wanted to see John again. She also remembers George, he left her at the wedding, with the cake and the guest, and Granny decided to let go of the memory.

Phoenix Jackson is an “old Negro” woman that is making a difficult journey including both physical and mental challenges; she overcomes these trials as a result of her unconditional love for her grandson (Welty 314). She has a similar physical appearance to the mystical phoenix with a “red rag” tied around her head and, “a golden color ran