Eudora Welty 's A Worn Path

Welty is known as the American literary world Chekhov, Eudora Welty (1909-2001) was one of the most famous short story writers in the south of America. Welty was born in 1909, died in 2001, has gone through nearly a century, experienced two world wars, the Cold War, the American civil rights movement and so on. However, Welty did not show too much political topic in her work, did not criticize(kritəˌsīz) the war too much, she described daily life to reflect the real themes of life, expressed her view point of how we live. Welty won the European Henry novel award by (-- removed HTML --) . The novel is mainly through the description of a negro grandmother Phoenix, struggling to travel to the clinic in the city for her sick little grandson take the drug’s story, basically all descriptions about is a journey, no exciting plot, no dramatic scenes, no Fierce contradictions and conflicts, but it contains a profound meaning, highlighting the profound theme.We gonna through the main 6 elements, others good points, language style and ‘colour’ words four ways on the “worn path" analysis.

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.

“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.

On an everyday basis people are encountering challenges that stand in their way of them achieving their set goals. However, with determination the vast majority will accomplish the mission they have set out to conquer. In the short story “A Worn Path” written by Eudora Welty in 1940, Phoenix Jackson, the main character has a mission in which she is trying to complete when she is faced with many challenges. This short story is centered on the challenges that are faced by an elderly African-American grandmother as she continues on her long journey from the secluded pinewoods into the town nearby of Natchez. She has one intention in mind when she begins, to get a medicine for her chronically ill grandson no matter what the challenges are that she encounters. The one way to convey this idea to the readers is with the literary use of theme. Some of the major themes in Eudora Welty’s short story is the determination that Jackson conveys with her actions, the aspect of agism, and racism. The most important theme in this story is the emotional and spiritual strength of Jackson which enables her to continue her 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.

The sun pounding down, the cramp creeping up from deep inside the calf muscle, the extreme fatigue sinking in; yet just ahead, he can make out the banner flying in the barely-there-breeze. He may have made a wrong turn at mile 8, started getting cramps at mile 17, and twisted his ankle when he fell at mile 23, but he keeps limping forward. Phoenix Jackson, the elderly woman in Eudora Welty’s, “A Worn Path”, is a lot like the injured runner. It is her astounding bravery and her innate cunning, along with her eternal love for her grandson, which gives her the ability to endure the hardships of her journey to get her grandson’s medicine. Phoenix Jackson is able to overcome each obstacle and adversity she encounters along the path due to her unending perseverance.

While a narrative voice that is non-participating character, Eudora Welty is able to characterize the protagonist, Phoenix Jackson in “A Worn Path” to explain the importance of perseverance. Phoenix Jackson is an “old negro woman” (page 1; line 2) line who is traveling on a long trek through thick to receive a medicine for her ill grandson. Throughout her treacherous journey, she encounters a young white male who threatens her by “lifting his gun” (5;7) and pointing it at Phoenix. The narrator’s initial characterization and interaction of Phoenix, allows her to demonstrate perseverance later in the story. Within the first few paragraphs the narrator describes Phoenix as an “old negro woman” (1;3) who is also “very old and small” (1;3).

At first glance, Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” leaves the reader with a sense of uncertainty and dissatisfaction. It is only after taking a historical approach to the story when the mood, setting, and theme becomes vivid and insightful. Welty describes Phoenix Jackson, the protagonist, as a humble Negro woman, immediately setting the tone by the matching the language of the segregation era of the mid-twentieth century. Then, the reader learns that the story takes place in the Old Natchez Trace, further solidifying the setting in what is usually referred to as the Deep South. So, it is no surprise that the imagery found in the story also corresponds to the time-period; e.g. the humble clothes made from sugar sacks, the fields of cotton and corn, and the lye swallowed by the grandson. These items would have been common in a time when most African Americans were found in the humble rural areas of the state due to the social inequalities at the time. With the setting in mind, it then becomes evident that Welty creates Jackson as the embodiment of the hopes and struggles African Americans experienced in a post-Civil War era.

Thesis statement: In “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, Phoenix Jackson displays extraordinary perseverance in the face of difficulty, which ultimately allows her to accomplish her goal.

By implementing a narrative voice that is a non-participating factor in “A Worn Path,” Eudora Welty dispassionately characterizes her protagonist, Phoenix Jackson, to suggest the incentive based power of true love. While pleading for medicine for an unwell grandson at the city hospital (her ultimate destination), a nurse calls the protagonist “an obstinate case.” The perverse denial to adapt her love-inspired, duty-bound course of action, advocated as it is at the story’s end, is a critical characterization. Nonetheless, it is the non-participating narrator’s initial characterization of phoenix jackson that allows this obstinate nature to emerge from the story.

In “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, the use of third person limited point of view occurs on many occasions throughout the story. The author’s utilization of this common literary technique allows the reader to become more involved on a personal level with the main character, Phoenix Jackson. It also allows for a deeper understanding of her perspective of the world around her as seen and experienced by an old, uneducated, woman who wishes to do nothing more than to care for her ailing grandson, even though the time for his care and concern is long since passed. The author’s adherence to this presentational format allows the artistic freedom to express to the reader the inner thoughts of the main character. Her illusions and delusional episodes

Is it true that younger people in better health and conditions will always complete a task better than an older not so well fit person? In these two short stories “A Worn Path”, by Eudora Welty, and “To Build a Fire”, by Jack London, shows us how true that is. The protagonists in “A Worn Path” is named Phoenix Jackson who is an older black women living in Natchez, Mississippi in the 1930s. The protagonists is a man unnamed in “To Build a Fire” traveling in the Yukon. In both of these short stories both protagonists faces a journey that will bring them different obstacles, but only the strongest will survive!

Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path" is a story that emphasizes the natural symbolism of the

Eudora Welty was born April 13, 1909, in Jackson, Mississippi she was an American author of both short stories and novels including one short story that will be discussed in this paper “A Worn Path”. “A Worn Path” was written in the south around the early 1940s 1941 during the time when African Americans were still being treated as if they were not as important as any other white person of the same age, gender in the south. A Worn Path” may seem like just a story about a loving old grandmother trying to take care of her grandson by taking a long journey to receive his medicine but the surface it is truly about not matter what was done in the past to reach equality we have reached not progress so the future and the past are the identical but

  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.