Literary Analysis Of A Worn Path By Eudora Welty

In “A Worn Path” colors are used to emphasize the depth and breadth of the story, and to reinforce the parallel images of the mythical phoenix and the protagonist Phoenix Jackson. Eudora Welty’s story is rich with references to colors that are both illustrative and perceptive, drawing us in to investigate an additional historical facet of the story.

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 “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.

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.

In the stories “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty and “The First Seven Years” by Bernard Malamud characters persevere for love. In “A Worn Path” Phoenix Jackson, an old grandmother, goes through a long journey and overcomes multiple obstacles to get medicine for her sick grandson. Phoenix perseveres through emotional and physical trials because of her love for her grandson. Likewise in the story “The First Seven Years” Sobel perseveres for seven years of unfair pay to try and marry his love, while Feld perseveres to make his daughter's life better than his own. Both of these stories exemplify that humans will go to great lengths for the ones that they love.

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.

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.

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.

Within every person lies a will and a flame of strength to achieve any goal, or conquer any obstacle in life. In Eudora Welty 's "A Worn Path", her main protagonist, Mrs. Phoenix Jackson, perfectly displays the strength that a human possess. Despite being of old age, poor and out of shape, Mrs. Jackson 's strength defies these odds on the worn path that she walks daily. Human strength is abundant in "A Worn Path", as the author shows the reader the reason why mankind is so strong. Welty demonstrates that love is what makes Mrs. Jackson, and everyone else, strong enough to move mountains. The strength of Mrs. Jackson exceeds more than normal, due to the condition of her beloved grandson, so much that not pain, death, or pride can kindle the fire of her strength.

In Eudora Welty ‘A Worn Path’ is a short story where symbols are found everywhere throughout many places where you read. This short story is about an old woman named Phoenix Jackson whom was a black African American that was compared to a mythical Arabian bird, and actually that bird lived up to five centuries in desserts and after living those five centuries it would burn up; and then from those same ashes it would then be reborn and it would start from the

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 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

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

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.

  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.