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Rhetorical Analysis Essay On A Worn Path

Decent Essays

A Worn Path – Allegorical Reflections of Life
The short story A Worn Path is literally a story about an old woman taking a walk during the winter over a path she has known so well in order to get medicine for her grandson. When we magnify this story takimg a much closer look through an allegorical lens, we find this path to be representational of the old woman’s life. This paper will aim to provide symbolic references in order to support my reading that the path represents Phoenix Jackson’s memories throughout her life. This includes the trials and tribulations she encountered from slavery to freedom which she is now reflecting on while actively dying.
At the beginning of her journey down the path she is dressed in a dark striped dress and …show more content…

This portion of her life symbolizes the trek she has made in order to escape the clutches of slavery. Prior to making her acsent up the long hill toward freedom she encounters a mourning Dove in the hollow. If we look closer at this the mourning Dove it can be simply taken for the bird that it is however if we look at the word mourning it can also signify her mourning husband as she ascends toward her dying moment. As doves meet for life I believe this to be a crucial symbol in Phoenix Jackson’s journey through dying, heaven and freedom. When Phoenix states “Seem like there is chains about my feet, time I get this far,” we are presented with another emblem of slavery that has not only held her back in life, but impedes progress. It is here that she attempts to escape this life heading up the hill stating “Up through pines” and “Now down through Oaks.” These statements are indicative of the terrain she would have encountered when travelling through the Underground Railroad in order to find freedom. As she continued along the path she became entangled in thorns. These thorns provide a notion that people are holding her back from escaping or that as she continues on the road to dying, but family members do not want to see her leave. This can be supported when she finally reaches the top of the hill

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