Rhetorical Analysis Essay On A Worn Path

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is a government website that provides information about various diseases, disabilities, disorders, etc.. The CDC provides multiple webpages about Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) that list and provide information about causes, treatments, variations, and signs/symptoms of the disorder. On their informative pages, they use rhetorical devices to better portray their message. The CDC effectively uses the three rhetorical devices, pathos, ethos, and logos, to reach their goal of informing their target audience and providing a clear perspective on Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

I think the trip to the city to get the medicine represents the mythological trip that the Phoenix takes to the sun to die. I say this because by going on this journey Phoenix is using the last of her energy and will probably die soon after it. On her way to the city Phoenix faces many obstacles. One obstacle she faces is old age “Seems like there is chains about my feet “ she says this because her old age has left her almost immobile. The first actual obstacle she comes across is the scarecrow who represents death or the grim reaper because he is described as wearing all black and is trying to get her to come with him. Another thing that links the scarecrow to death is the simple fact that he is in a field. The next obstacle is the white hunter who tells her to go back and represents evil forces ” Well, granny you must be a hundred years old and scared of nuthin I’d give you a dime if I had any money with me. But you take my advice and stay home, and nothing will happen to you”. He is lying about having no money so she steals a nickel from him, a trivial amount of money for him that won’t be missed so we the readers find ourselves justifying the theft.

In Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path,” the character Phoenix Jackson is introduced. Phoenix Jackson is an uneducated, African-American woman without any family besides her sick grandson. Phoenix is the hero of this story and fits the role well by delivering much-needed medicine to her grandson. Phoenix shows many distinct traits that reveal her to be a hero to her grandson. The heroic feats she accomplishes pave a path that leads to her satisfaction as well as protection of her most beloved asset, her grandson. Throughout the story, Phoenix’s humble, caring, and determined character is displayed through her actions.

The mythological story "A Worn Path” is of tales and figures, the most considerable, being the legend of the phoenix. There are numerous symbols and allusions brought about in the story relating to the legend of the phoenix. The phoenix is a bird that comes from Egyptian mythology. The best analogy of the phoenix is a magnificent bird. The phoenix has astonishing powers. It has the knack to materialize and vanish in the blink of an eye. The myth states the phoenix travels to the sun. The sun gives the phoenix it powers. The heat incinerates the bird. The bird is reborn from the ashes. From her name along with appearance to her action and the symbolism throughout the story, Phoenix Jackson is the manifestation of the phoenix (bird).

In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah descriptively writes about his experience as a child soldier in the civil war in Sierra Leone. In his memoir he shows how everyday things can be seen in a hostile way from war. Beah uses rhetorical strategies such as characterization and imagery to help.

Thesis: Eudora Welty paints the picture of a life journey in the short story “A Worn Path” through the use of symbolism, imagery, and tone.

In the short story “A Worn Path,” the author, Eudora Welty uses mythical, religious, and spiritual symbols as well as the setting to help the reader understand an old African-American woman’s life. Welty also uses the symbolism to represent the hardships old woman has faced during the old woman’s life. The old African-American woman’s name is Phoenix and is on a journey to town as the readers are taken on journey through her life. Welty also uses fine details and sentence structure in addition to the symbolism and setting to increase the understanding of her story or change the meaning an object.

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

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 author uses her characters, both human and animal, to exhibit the obstacles blacks must face in everyday life. Dennis J. Sykes agrees in his article, “A Critical Analysis of the Worn Path” that “Phoenix Jackson’s … encounters with other characters illustrates the theme of impending black equality and amalgamation in the south after Civil War” (np). The characters,

“Life is about the journey and not the destination.” This oft, overused cliché has profound truth that is too often overlooked. The lessons learned along the way of reaching a destination are invaluable in how they shape, grow, and change a person. While reaching a destination brings a sense of accomplishment, if the journey towards the goal was without learning or growth, then the destination was not worth reaching. One of the lessons learned through traveling along life’s journey is pushing forward even when the way is difficult. In “A Worn Path” Eudora Welty shares through detailed imagery how Phoenix Jackson pushes through obstacles to reach her goal. In comparison, William Stafford’s poem, “Traveling through the Dark” shares how persistence is achieved even when making difficult decisions.

On the long road to town, Phoenix walks form the morning to the night; it is like that a human is on his/her way of life. The road has beauty, of course, danger. If you have a clear target, you will have the wheels of process. The walk was hard, just like what Phoenix says:  'Seem like there is chains about my feet, time I get this far. Something always take a hold of me on this hill—pleads I should stay.’

When she heads down the top of a hill she finds that a thorny bush caught her dress. “Her fingers were busy and intent, but her skirts were full and long, so that before she could pull them free in one place they were caught in another. It was not possible to allow the dress to tear.” Later on, when she has to go through a barbed wire fence, Welty states that, “she could not allow her dress to be torn now.” As we have already inferred that Phoenix is poverty-stricken, we can deduce that this dress is possibly the finest article of clothing that she owns. We see that Phoenix dresses just to go to the city and tries to avoid getting the skirt of the dress torn. From this, I believe that Welty uses Phoenix as a symbolism for sacrifices. While she is very proud of this dress, she was willing to sacrifice it’s condition just so she could go to the city for her ill grandson. Furthermore, Phoenix encounters a white male hunter whom points a gun at her. When he asks her if she is scared she replies, “No, sir, I seen plenty go off closer by, in my day, and for less than what I done.” It is important to remember that this story takes place approximately in the 40’s to 50’s, when African Americans were still being harshly treated and discriminated against. Phoenix had experienced such adversisties, and knew that she could encounter dangerous situations. Nonetheless, she was willing to take these risks in order help her grandson. This additionally serves as a display of the plentiful sacrifices that Phoenix

The story, "A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty is a standout amongst the most significant and oftentimes examined works of short fiction. This story is taken place in the South. This locale is frequently characterized by their discourse and habits. Eudora Welty's adroit utilization of tone and decent variety in the story adds action to make it appear to be all the more real. The imagery in "A Worn Path" demonstrates Phoenix Jackson experiencing a progression of obstacles that speak to her battles to achieve her goal.

In the beginning of the story, the reader is introduced to our main character Phoenix Jackson. She is described as a small, old Negro woman. The name Eudora Welty gives the main character is emblematic, it evokes images of the mythical bird which rises from the flames and regenerates. The story of the mythical creature is that it lives for five centuries before burning to ashes, and then afterward, it rises back up to life as a young bird from the ashes to complete a continuous cycle.(Butterworth) Phoenix, the women in the story, represents the myth of the bird on the grounds that she is described as being elderly and near the end of her life. Since she is of an advanced age, she can hardly walk and uses a cane made of an old umbrella to aid her, " ...moving a little from side to side in