Some people say that when telling a story individuals reference experiences that they have gone through in their lives. However, this idea of writing may be difficult if the writer is describing a person completely different from themselves. Although personal experiences may help a writer, an open mind with an imagination and allowing the story to tell itself are qualities which are what helps writers create great stories. Eudora Welty, who wrote “A Worn Path”, and Nadine Gordimer, with “A Chip of Glass Ruby”, were able to depict and describe women from different ethnic backgrounds from themselves. I believe that they were able to accomplish this gracefully by describing both physical and mental traits of the characters and giving the reader …show more content…
The writing of Welty has many instances of reading between the lines. For example when Phoenix is climbing a hill she states “seem like there is chains about my feet” (Welty 234) which hint back to the fact that Phoenix was born a slave. The tone of “A Worn Path” is airy and full of life and nature. Welty sets the scene of the journey in such a way that intrigues the five senses and allows the reader to go on this voyage with Phoenix Jackson. This could be the result of their only being one substantial character. Therefore, this allows for more time inside one character’s mind and to get a sense of what the character is experiencing. On the other hand, Gordimer’s writing in “A Chip of Glass Ruby” is straight forward with its words. This story is more engaged with the characters and their actions. There is more dialog in this narrative which is crucial to the flow of the story. And this flow could have been disrupted if the author tried to spend a lot of time setting the scene. The tone of this story is hard and dark, which matches the emotion that Yusuf has during the span of the tale. Nonetheless, both authors and their stories were able to incorporate a character who was different from the author and still represent the character in a fashion that allowed the story to come across as convincing and
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In this short story “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, I will be analyzing symbolism. In the story “A Worn Path” the author uses symbolism to create a figurative explanation of the occurrences in her journey. This story has distinct symbols from myths, historical, and biblical events. The character Phoenix Jackson has various trials to go through on her way to town to get more medicine for her ill grandson.
A person’s journey can have symbols that come through everyone’s life. Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. In “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, Eudora describes symbols by using people that come through Phoenix’s path while she’s in her journey to Natchez. Eudora uses a nickel, marble cake, big dead trees, mistletoe, and a white hunter to symbolize Phoenix’s difficulties and obstacles that she had to go through in order to get to her destination.
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.
Different readers sometimes see different aspects of a story. As the rReaders, you learn about the different lives of the characters and how they fit into the story. In the novel Silver Sparrow and the short story “A Worn Path,” the reader you learns of two African American women, Dana Yarboro and Phoenix Jackson. These two women are the protagonists, and . Iin the stories, these women both overcome tremendous greatest obstacles. Through the women’s lives, their African American heritage, and symbolistic items the theme of Silver Sparrow and A Worn Path is truly brought to life.
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.
In "A Worn Path", Eudora Wetly uses the setting to drive the story. The setting of "A Worn Path" is specifically in a southern town during the nineteen hundreds. This place and time in history affects the terminology used in the story, along with the actions of the characters and in Phoenix Jackson’s case, their intellect. Wetly also uses the natural geography of the path Jackson follows as the story’s closest comparisons to an antagonist.
Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path" is a story that emphasizes the natural symbolism of the
Everyday people encounter challenges that stand in their way of achieving their goals, but with sheer determination most accomplish their mission. In the short story “A Worn Path” written by Eudora Welty, Phoenix Jackson, the main character, has a mission to complete while confronting many challenges. One way to convey this idea is with the literary use of theme. The theme of a literary work is defined as the central idea, concern or message about life that an author wishes to convey to his/her readers. There can be more than one theme in a literary work. One of the major themes in Eudora Welty’s short story “A Worn Path” is the sheer determination that Phoenix Jackson conveys via her actions. This short story centers on the
Eudora Welty’s A Worn Path is a short story about a very old African-American woman who courageously goes the distance in unyielding circumstances. In the 1940s, in Mississippi, Phoenix Jackson walks all alone to Natchez for half a day in December to reach the medical clinic. At the clinic she receives medicine for her grandson, who swallowed lye several years ago. She makes this trip twice a year. Phoenix has made this journey so many time that her path to Natchez is like a worn path. "Seem like there is chains about my feet, time I get this far.... Something always take a hold of me on this hill ..." The story follows the old woman as she struggles and fights her way down that path to get to the clinic.
Symbolism is the practice or art of using an object or a word to represent an abstract idea. When an author wants to suggest a certain mood or emotion, they can use symbolism to hint at what they are trying to say rather than just saying it. There are many things that symbolize something, even in our everyday life. For example, a dove is a symbol of peace, a red rose or red color stands for love or romance, and the color black is a symbol of evil or death. This literary technique helps the reader understand a deeper meaning of the central message that the author is trying to portray. In this case, Eudora Welty uses symbolism like a powerful tool. A manifold of symbolic connotations can be made in “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty.
We all have experienced different things in life, whether it was losing a pet or taking care of a sick child. In most cases, what we go through is always possible to overcome and push us to become better people. In the short story, “A Worn Path”, it shows us how someone who was possibly five times our age has been faced with different obstacles and has remained humble throughout it
The short story "A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty, is a descriptive story of a grandmother's difficult journey, for a grandson she loves. Her devotion to her grandson and wanting to provide him with a better lifestyle, was her motivation to overcome these trials. On this trip, Phoenix Jackson, the grandmother, struggles against old age, nature, and reality.
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
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” Lao Tzu Human history has been shaped by the two most powerful forces of nature: love and hate. There are plenty of real or fictional stories written about them. But love has had the most remarkable and positive impact on our history, because love represents kindness and compassion towards others. When we analyze the following quote: “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage,” it tells us that love fuels determination, selflessness, bravery, and perseverance.