Use Of Realism In Eudora Welty's A Worn Path

11. The human nature that is seen when Phoenix encounters the scarecrow is happiness. She is glad that is a scarecrow and begins to dance with it. It seems like it is demonstrating life and Phoenix is happy that she is still alive at her old age. The scarecrow also scares away crows that usually symbolize death, so the scarecrow is scaring death away and Phoenix is happy because she is old and she might die soon. Nobody wants to

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

"A Worn Path" is a story about a journey of an elderly black woman by the name of Phoenix Jackson. In this story Phoenix travels through woods, grasslands, farms, and hills. While facing many hardships and violence, Phoenix comes across the four major difficulties in this story being her age, blindness, vulnerability, and ethnicity during this time period. Phoenix is very elderly as the story shows very often revealing plainly to the reader that Phoenix is old, and that she has the difficulties that come with the elderly age. For example in the story the writer states "Her skin had a pattern all its own of numberless branching wrinkles" (Page 9). With Phoenix being most likely blind, as the writer states "Her eyes were blue with age," and

In “A Worn Path,” Eudora Welty uses setting, characterization, and tone to illustrate the progresses of Phoenix, in a physical and emotional sense. The author illustrates the progress of Phoenix’s social, physical, and emotional sense to describe changing times and social norms. This allows the reader to get a clear and vivid out reach of what they are going to read about phoenix journey.

Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path" is a story that emphasizes the natural symbolism of the

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.

“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.

In the short story, Phoenix, an old Negro woman almost in her late years, takes her last journey through the woods like she had done for the past years, since her grandson got really sick by swallowing lye. In this journey Phoenix phases difficulties. Her old age made her hallucinate about her getting a marble cake given by a young child. Her difficulties to walk and her poor eye sight made her striped dress get stuck in the branches. Even though she went through all of these obstacles she was determined to go get her grandson’s medicine. Once she got closer to her destination she came across this White Hunter, who points his gun at her. Phoenix gets scared because she thought he saw her get a nickel which had fallen out his pocket, while she distracted him. Then she continued her journey until she saw her destination. When she got there she asked a white lady that was carrying gifts, to tie her shoe laces because she was entering this big building. Once she tied her shoe laces Phoenix continued, until she

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

Realism and Naturalism are literary movements that appeared across America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The two are “sometimes used interchangeably, sometimes used as opposites” (Baym and Levine 902). Realism and Naturalism emerged in numerous aspects of life, but are most evident in literature. The purpose of realism is to demonstrate “idealistic views of life in favor of detailed, accurate descriptions of the everyday” (Baym and Levine 902). On the other hand, naturalism focuses on a “more romantic, view of human life than realism” (Baym and Levine 902). Authors that concentrated on realism include Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Within their stories, it becomes clear on which issues they are bringing to life. Chopin and Gilman discuss the harsh reality of women during their time in, “The Story of an Hour” and “The Yellow Wall-paper.” Alternatively, these authors were byproducts for women’s rights, as well as realism.

Realism and Naturalism are literary movements that appeared across America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The two are “sometimes used interchangeably, sometimes used as opposites” (902). Realism and Naturalism emerged in numerous aspects of life, but are most evident in literature. The purpose of realism is to demonstrate “idealistic views of life in favor of detailed, accurate descriptions of the everyday” (902). On the other hand, naturalism focuses on a “more romantic, view of human life than realism” (902). Authors that concentrated on realism and naturalism include Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Within their stories, it becomes clear on which issues they are bringing to life. As for Chopin and Gilman they discuss the harsh reality of women during their time in, “The Story of an Hour” and “The Yellow Wall-paper.”

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

Thesis: “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty is one of the best short stories to incorporate different

When Phoenix's dress is caught in the bush, "it was not possible to allow her dress to tear" (87). She wore this long dress with an equally long apron made of bleached sugar sacks. Phoenix values all of her possessions greatly, including her grandson. When Phoenix was knocked into a ditch by a dog, a hunter confronts her. "He lifted her up, gave her a swing in the air, and set her down" (89). The hunter wants to show off his strength from being young, and his power from being white. He discourages her to continue and treats her with great disrespect. Though, through all of this, old Phoenix keeps her conversation sensitive with sarcasm in her words. Phoenix shows her pride and courage when the hunter points his gun in her face. She remains calm and keeps control of the situation with such a clever response: "I seen plenty [guns] go off closer by, in my day, and for less than what I done" (89). This was obviously not the first time Phoenix was confronted with death and she refused to let the hunter think he was in control by making her afraid of him. She is full of inner power which consists of her love, experience and sacrificing nature.

Realism was a repercussion against Romanticism. Romantic writers often addressed their emotions and personal experiences in their writings. Realism emphasized the ordinary, day-to-day life that people lived. Realist writers, however, would write in a more symbolic and objective way. They stressed the idea of how life was structured in every aspect, such as, socially, politically, economically, and culturally in the 1800s. This movement is identified as the first modern movement that rejected traditional forms of literature as obsolete in the wake of Enlightenment. These are excerpts from Because I Could for Death is an example of Realism: