The Hero Sojourner in A Worn Path by Eudora Welty
In A Worn Path by: Eudora Welty, the main character emulates the necessary nuts and bolts of the archetypal journey as it's hero; answers a call to an adventure, has to go through trials of fear, and ending with the retrieval of two prizes. Eudora Welty's short story "A
Worn Path" takes place on a "bright, frozen day" in December.
Representing a struggle, but most of all represents determination. Her name is Phoenix Jackson. This story is about sacrifice, Good versus
Evil, and overcoming obstacles. She shows all the qualities of the
Hero archetype and a Hero's journey.
"Fate can take control of humans lives and can help humans reach the end of the challenging path. The path is a journey
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Not only do these trees symbolizes the ups and downs but represent strengths and weaknesses. The oak is strong and not easily moved, meanwhile the Pine is more fragile and consistantly swaying. Illustrates how at first it seems as a lost cause turns into strength and will to go through this journey. "Virisque adquirit eundo"
(Virgil) At every step she gathers strength.
"Life is like an obstacle course, consisting of obstacles in which have to be overcomed." (unknown author) This element of the archetypal hero employ various situations, symbols and characters for the character to go through many obstacles and trials. She talks to the bush stating "Thorns, you doing your appointed work. Never want to let folks pass, no sir. Old eyes thought you was a pretty little green bush " However, she manages to free herself from the thorn bush. Soon after, she faces a barbed-wire fence, which is not easy for anyone, but she gets through, again telling herself that "she could not pay for having her arm or her leg sawed off." At one point, she is startled by a stray dog and falls into a ditch. Eventually, a hunter and his dog happen upon her and pull her out of the ditch. He also tries to prevent her from finishing her journey. He tells her that she is too old, and even tries to scare her with his gun. At that point the man says, "you must be a hundred years old, and scared of nothing...you take my advice and
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.
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.
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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.
Today we will be talking about the different literary references used throughout Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path”. I will explain and decode different techniques used by the author throughout her story. The story is of an old southern African American woman, named Phoenix Jackson, making her way into to town to pick up her grandsons medication from the doctor’s office. But this is no normal old woman. She cannot see and is picking her way with a cane to make her way across a barrage of obstacles. Throughout her journey she comes upon different characters and situations, from these events we will draw our interpretations of the symbolism embedded within the tale.
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.
Sometimes the most miniscule objects in a story can symbolize for something greater. Anything, from a character’s name to a single piece of money can symbolize something much bigger than what it really seems. Eudora Welty uses this kind of symbolism in her story “The Worn Path. The story uses symbolism not only to show Phoenix Jackson’s determination, but also to highlight how the social and political differences are used against her.
In an ever changing world , the evolution of man has been the most drastic in terms of technological, environmental, and emotional advancement. With great expansions in the various areas mentioned earlier the human being has ignored the very entity of there existence, and the power of reasoning, the ability to comprehend right from wrong without distortion. The Narrative of Sojourner Truth illustrates the hardships that were endured: enslavement, illiteracy, underclassing, brutal assaults, and murders. The African -American women were classed as third rate in the human scale that was implemented by the slaveowners; categorized under the whites, then under the African-American males. The African-American women were
1. The theme of the story is: Racism is an issue that never seems to disappear no matter how much people say it does.
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
Everyday people encounter challenges that stand in their way of achieving their goals, but with sheer determination most accomplish their mission. In the short story “A Worn Path” written by Eudora Welty, Phoenix Jackson, the main character, has a mission to complete while confronting many challenges. One way to convey this idea is with the literary use of theme. The theme of a literary work is defined as the central idea, concern or message about life that an author wishes to convey to his/her readers. There can be more than one theme in a literary work. One of the major themes in Eudora Welty’s short story “A Worn Path” is the sheer determination that Phoenix Jackson conveys via her actions. This short story centers on the
Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path" is a story that emphasizes the natural symbolism of the
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.