The Tribulation In Eudora Welty's A Worn Path

In the short story “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, the main character, Phoenix Jackson sets out on a quest to obtain medication for her ailing grandson. Although she faces physical infirmity and blatant racism, she demonstrates courage and dignity.

In the article “Toward the North Star: Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” and the slave narrative” by Kevin Moberly, the author Kevin Moberly connects the obstacles that appear in the path to the slave narrative and argues that the journey Phoenix Jackson makes is a journey that does not lead to freedom, but it leads into successive stages of bondage. He also argues that Phoenix’s crossing also suggests a descent into slavery and bondage. For example, the tapping of Phoenix Jackson’ cane links her to a symbol of freedom and voice “the chirping of a solitary little bird” (142). Throughout the journey she encounters different obstacles the first ones are the “woods” and “hills”. She is struggling up the hills, but she maintains her balance. While walking, she complains about how difficult it has become to walk this path, no doubt that she has traveled this path so many times. Climbing the hills, it gives an illusion to bondage. On the way she encounters “thorn bushes”, she struggles to release herself, but gets caught into another “Thorns, you doing your appointed work. Never want to let folks pass, no sir. Old eyes, though you were a pretty little green bush” Phoenix says while feeling a sense of deception. When one examines the first incident that undoubtedly recalls a trope of a slave narrative tradition, Phoenix says, “Now comes the trails,” she then proceeds to cross the log with her eyes shut “like a festival figure in some parade” (143). Phoenix actions, recalls the suffering

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 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).

“A Worn Path” is a short story written by Eudora Welty. It is based on an elderly African-American grandmother named Phoenix Jackson, who goes for a walk to the town of Natchez on a cold December morning to get some medicine for her ailing grandson. This story speaks of the obstacles Phoenix endured along the way and how she overcame them. The theme, central idea or message that the author wishes to convey to his or her readers, in “A Worn Path” is one of determination. Phoenix Jackson is determined to get to Natchez, in order to get medicine for her grandson; she does not let any obstacles get in her way. The theme of determination is shown in many ways throughout this short story.

“A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty portrays an elderly, southern, African American woman’s endurance through a lengthy journey from her home to Natchez, Mississippi to obtain medicine for her ill grandson. Throughout the journey, the protagonist, Phoenix Jackson, confronts several conflicts. The tale describes the encounters of Phoenix Jackson during her travels using literary devices such as symbolism, conflict, and allusion to detail Jackson’s experiences as she overcomes the physical, psychological, and social obstacles she faces that ultimately emphasize her character.

The story “A Worn Path,” by Eudora Welty tells the story of a woman named Phoenix Jackson, who lives in Natchez Mississippi. Phoenix has a grandson that she cares for that has swallowed a chemical called lye, that was in many households back when Welty wrote this story. Lye poisoning was common in rural areas. Welty is writing about this problem the hardship Phoenix Jackson went through to receive medical treatment at that time. Without the name Phoenix Jackson and the characteristics, she possesses there is no way she could overcome the obstacles that stood in her way.

In A Worn Path by Eudora Welty an elderly African American woman named Phoenix Jackson picks a cold December day to make yet another perilous journey to a near by city to get medicine for her ailing grandson. On the way this old woman faces many obstacles, both natural and man-made. Phoenix draws upon her perseverance and willingness to sacrifice herself to help her

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

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.

Although Phoenix Jackson is old, tired, dirty, and poor, nothing can stand in her way. In Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path,” Phoenix jumps off the page as a vibrant protagonist full of surprises as she embarks on a long, arduous journey to

Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” is a short story about an elderly woman who shows the qualities of a hero. Phoenix Jackson’s call to adventure was that she needed to get medication for her grandson who swallowed lye.

        Phoenix Jackson was certainly a dedicated old lady. She refused to give up, despite the odds against her, to help her grandson. Her grandson was very sick, and needed certain medication to live. After traveling miles through wilderness, barbed wire, thorn bushes, and being confronted by a white man with a gun, she still persisted on her