Zachary Zeitzmann Professor Orsini ENC 1102 March 29, 2011 An Obligation Is Not A Choice What defines an obligation? Is it defined as something that one has to do because it is necessary for their living or is it something that one has to do because someone says they have to? I would define an obligation as something that one has to do because it is necessary for their living. What I do not understand is how one person can dodge their obligations. I see people choose to live a life where their obligations are pushed aside as if they were choices. Obligations are not choices, but yet something that needs to be taken care of. In many situations people tend to take care of their obligations because they know that it is a …show more content…
Looking at Phoenix’s actions I can see how she was able to understand the severity of this obligation and the responsibility that was needed to make sure that it was her duty to make sure this obligation was met. I notice how people do not understand that an obligation is not a choice. I see these people choosing to party it up or live an extravagant life, while forgetting to provide a safe, living environment, putting food on their table, or taking care of their loved ones. Providing a safe, living environment allows one to feel safe from harm, putting food on one’s table allows for them to maintain life from death, and taking care of one’s loved ones shows the responsibility needed throughout life. Without these obligations being taken care of, how can one live life fully? Sure, it is fun to go out and party and live an extravagant life, but what comes from that when one pushes their obligations aside? Nothing really comes from pushing obligations aside except instant gratification. A great example of being able to juggle both obligations and partying is shown in Theodore Roethke’s My Papa’s Waltz. The poem explains how a young boy dances the waltz with his father before being sent off to bed. The father comes home with whiskey in his breath so much that could make a small boy dizzy (Roethke 647). Obviously with this statement, it shows that the father must have
She had to be very careful at this point because one wrong move could cause her a limb such as an arm or a leg and she was not going to let that happen. She had to do many things such as creep, crawl, and stretch along with other things in order to make it through this fence. Once she made it safely through the fence she was able to continue on with her journey. From this situation in the text Phoenix seems like the type of woman who will face anything no matter how big or small the obstacle is and will not think twice about it. Once she starts a task she has to complete it. She refuses to turn back especially if it is for her family. Family (meaning her grandson) is of high importance to her and she will not let anything stop her from getting what he needs.
Phoenix also brought back memories of my deceased great-grandmother who suffered from a severe form of dementia. The emotion that I felt from the comparison involved a desire to escape the past association with my great-grandmother’s illness and on the same token it caused me to want to finish the story and to find that
Also during Phoenix’s encounter with the hunter, the reader and Phoenix face the possibility of her death at the hands of the hunter. Yet, even as the hunter tries to exercise his racial superiority and intimidation over Phoenix, she again never hesitates. When the hunter points his gun into Phoenix’s face her response is simply, “...I seen plenty go off closer by, in my day, and for less than what I done.” The hunter even threatens, “But you take my advice and stay home, and nothing will happen to you.” Phoenix’s answer is simply an unflinching, “I bound to go on my way, mister.” Again Phoenix symbolises the bird as she refuses to give in to even the
Most people accomplish difficult tasks with support systems such as family or friends. Phoenix knows she is alone in the world to care for her grandson. This knowledge of solitude makes Phoenix’s mission all the more difficult. The incident with the white hunter along her travel also demonstrates Jackson’s determination. As stated by Dennis Sykes, “Phoenix realizes that the importance of the trip far exceeds the possible harm that can be done to her brittle frame”(151). Phoenix’s ability to stare down possible bodily harm all for the sake of her grandson’s wellbeing demonstrates her heroic determination. By overcoming adversity, Phoenix’s determined character is revealed very well.
Not only is Phoenix selflessness she has endurance, in the article “A Worn Path” Analysis at Yahoo Inc. it explains that “she falls, gets back up and keeps on toward the goal of getting her grandson’ medicine”, even though she could have gotten killed she knew that her grandson needed her and she was the only one that could care for him. Nothing was going to stop her from getting to where she was going.
In the end we figure that Phoenix may be on a journey that really does not exist. We find out that maybe the grandson isn’t alive and that he has been dead for weeks. Whether or not Phoenix was aware she did not let life bring her down, whatever she was set to do she did and with great perseverance she has achieved her goal.
Phoenix shows determination by getting by all of these obstacles and getting to town. Her determination to get to town shows that she would not let anything get in the way of something she knows she must do.
They both had a different financial status and family upbringing but there mental state is the same. In A Worn Path, Phoenix was faced with several problems but she still managed to get the medicine for her grandchild no matter problems she faced along the way.
Phoenix, on the other hand, was a selfish manipulative old woman who had an obsession with power. She was on a journey through the woods to the city, where she had many encounters. When Phoenix encounters the hunter she steals the money that falls out of his pockets. She always seems to want something for her troubles. However, later in the story while in the hospital, Phoenix has a totally different personality. She seems to have no guilt for the actions she makes.
Phoenix Jackson and The Young Man embarked on their journeys for different reasons. Phoenix’s journey was a necessary journey; her grandson needed the medicine in order to be healthy. She took the journey because of her sense of responsibility and love for her grandson. Like any grandmother,
Phoenix lived in a society where racism was still running strong. Yet she faced and dealt with that every day of her life. As an African-American slave, she would have toil in the fields, wondering if she would still be alive by the time the sun was setting. Phoenix is visible shaken with a run a scarecrow she believed to be a ghost. She says to image, "'Ghost,' she said sharply, 'who be you the ghost of? For I have heard of nary death close by” (Welty 24).Slave mothers would often show that same fear as they watched the shadows return from the field; wondering if their loved ones were still alive or was going to come home unharmed. Phoenix faced those same fears as a mother and grandmother. If Phoenix was caught in the
Set during the Klondike Gold Rush, Rex Beach’s short story The Weight of Obligation, is based on the connection between two men, Johnny and Mort. Together they were partners, brothers, best friends who would do anything for each other since they are practically family at this point and nothing would get in their way. A story told about a friendship slowly coming to an end and the setting only makes the division between the two worse. Gold has struck, so they headed out on a long adventure for many months going through the wilderness, deep snow and end up having issues finding drinkable water. They go through a rough patch in their friendship because Mort has to save Johnny’s life causing a rift in their friendship. This unbalance between them,
With this statement, the author clearly depicts Phoenix’s determination to continue down this path despite the challenges of the wild animals. She is determined not to let anything come between her and getting to town for her grandson’s medication. Phoenix may be old and worn, but her determination motivates her to continue.
Phoenix Jackson endures many obstacles along her journey through the worn path. When faced with hardship, she persevered regardless of her difficult circumstances. The reader watches her climb up and down a steep hill that was hard on her feeble body. Then, she comes to a creek with a log lying across it. The reader is aware that Phoenix has a hard time walking, but instead of giving up she faces this extremely dangerous and challenging situation as “…she mounted the log and shut her eyes” (Welty 645). When she gets to the other side she opens her eyes. Welty uses this challenge to show the reader that sometime one must rely on faith to get through trials. Next a barbed wire fence challenges her but she meets it without fear. Eventually, Phoenix encounters a white hunter who tries to persuade her to turn around by pointing his gun at her asking, “Doesn’t the gun
The terms obligatio and obligation are similar in nature as they both refer to the legal bond between two parties, the one having a right and the other, a duty. Although they are used interchangeably, as Professor Reinhard Zimmerman pointed out, these terms are not exactly the same. The term obligation is defined as the “legal relationship that existed between two persons in terms of which one person was obliged toward the other to carry out a certain duty or duties”. Although the term does recognise both the right of the creditor and the duty of the debtor, the basis of this legal bond is the duty to perform. However, the legal bond or vinculum iuris, can be looked at from either side . ????