Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” tells the story of an unlikely hero. The first thing that comes to mind when considering a heroic character is someone who faces great danger or adversity. This hero or heroine will accomplish amazing feats, go on extraordinary journeys and display exceptional bravery. These characteristics usually follow a certain image as well; a heroic figure is usually a knight in shining armor, a vigilante in a mask or someone with supernatural abilities. However, Welty’s character Phoenix breaks the stereotypical hero image, while still displaying all the characteristics of a true hero. There are many people who embody outstanding bravery, face difficult challenges, and accomplish amazing tasks, but are overlooked or judged …show more content…
Phoenix Jackson is traveling a long distance for the sake of her grandson and refuses to let the elements discourage or hinder her from her ultimate goal. She faces danger head on and at one point she blindly crosses a creek over an old log. Although these obstacles are putting her in danger she does not consider the consequences, because she is doing it to save her grandson. Phoenix’s long journey and struggle with the elements around her is an allusion to the mythological story of Odysseus. Like Phoenix, Odysseus’s journey is long and he faces many hardships for his family. His journey takes him across the sea, which Welty alludes to by making Phoenix cross over a creek: “Putting her foot out, she mounted the log and shut her eyes. Lifting her skirt, leveling her cane fiercely before her […] she began to march across. Then she opened her eyes and she was safe on the other side” (2). Phoenix fearlessly crosses the log, which can easily break and drop her into the creek, which would surely result in her breaking her hip or back. Also, in the story of Odysseus the sun is an obstacle he faces on his journey. After the sun god kills his men for disobeying, Odysseus must continue his journey alone. Likewise, Phoenix struggles with the sun. The sun is an obstacle for Phoenix because it reminds her that time is running out. The narrator states, “Sun so high!’ she cried, leaning back and looking, while …show more content…
Welty is trying to express the importance of the human spirit, which is the true make up of a person. Phoenix’s fiery and youthful spirit is what helps make her heroic. However, people cannot see beyond the exterior. Many of the characters who encounter Phoenix judge her by her outward appearance. They have no idea of the person she is on the inside. The nurses in the doctor’s office are an example of how poorly people treat Phoenix because of her appearance. They both refer to Phoenix as a charity case. The narrator states “A charity case, I suppose,’ said an attendant who sat at the desk before her. […] ‘Oh, that’s just old Aunt Phoenix,’ […]” (6). The women both display an arrogant attitude towards Phoenix because they see her as nothing more than a helpless, little old lady, who needs charity handouts: “All right.’ The nurse was trying to hush her now. She brought her a bottle of medicine. ‘Charity,’ she said, making a check in a book.” (7). The constant reference to Phoenix being a charity case is actually Welty using irony to build upon Phoenix’s character. The nurses use the word charity in context to a generous donation or an act to help someone in need. However, when considering Welty’s constant allusions to Phoenix’s heroism, it is possible Welty is alluding to the Bible’s definition of charity. In the King James Bible charity refers to an act of love or showing great
so she tried to be territorial around the person she loved, Clayton, which caused her to go to lengths in which she raped Emily. The third-person narrative of Phoenix highlights the extreme actions she takes to gain affection and approval. This helps readers understand the desperate desire of victims of intergenerational trauma to be loved as they were split apart and abandoned by their
Heroes are defined by many characteristics and experiences. Traits such as courage and selflessness, or the adventure he embarks on could show that one is a true hero. Rob Reiner’s movie “The Princess Bride” contains characters which possess qualities that are of an archetypal hero, such as Inigo Montoya. After his father’s brutal murder by the six-fingered man, Inigo spends his life searching for his killer so he may bring his father’s spirit to rest. Inigo Montoya’s experience with common archetypes, his quest along the Hero’s Journey, and the heroic qualities he possesses aids in portraying him as an archetypal hero.
Odysseus was an incredible hero who went on an incredible journey. He used his skills and strength to survive monsters, loneliness, and Poseidon's fury; though there were many like him in different stories. In the Odyssey by Homer and O’ Brother Where Art Thou by Ethan and Joel Coen shared an amazing hero, Odysseus and Ulysses. Though most importantly their journey and the challenges that came along with it, one being the temptress that could have cost them their lives. There were many comparisons between both of these fascinating stories, though the thing that captivates people the most is their incredible journeys.
The author chooses a name that represents something meaningful for the main charter. A Phoenix is a mythological bird that recycles its own life. When it perceives its impending death, the phoenix ignites itself into a magnificent fire. In time, it reemerges from its own ashes - reborn, renewed, and very much alive. The title of the story also symbolizes the event in the story.
In his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell discovered a basic pattern that can be found in all stories portraying a hero. In his hero’s monomyth, the main character is called to an adventure into a foreign land and the skills obtained during the journey are later tested to defeat their toughest challenge. An example of a heroic monomyth can be illustrated in Marissa Meyer’s fantasy novel, Cinder, because the heroine is called to an adventure that she at first refuses, explores an unfamiliar landscape, the castle, where she learns more about her tragic past, and soon comes face to face with her greatest adversary. The events of Cinder follow a linear story that begins in New Beijing, China.
Phoenix said, “Seem like there is chains about my feet, time I get this far” (Welty 464). This was the first occurrence were Eudora shows the strong desire that Phoenix has to persevere.
In the epic story the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is returning from the Trojan war, and on his way home he finds many obstacles ahead of him. Odysseus is the ruler of Ithaca and he is trying to return home to his land. Many creatures try and stop him from achieving his goal of returning home, but he and his crew have to push through and get home. Odysseus portrays bravery and courage leading his crew through these tough challenges. Odysseus heroically leads his crew and himself through dangerous obstacles, but also foolishly endangers them during the journey home.
Throughout the book Odysseus would undergo many challenges as well as life threatening situations in order to achieve his quest. He is a man who was both loved and hated by the god of Mt. Olympus. While others used their powers in his favor, some used them to hinder and if possible stop him from going home. For example due to his both his arrogance and conceitedness, the god Poseidon would cause for a rough voyage that would push him further from Ithaca and at one point cause a shipwreck that drowns his crew. One other notable trial of his journey was the encounter with the sirens.
She exemplifies Christ along her journey when she stops under a mistletoe tree; the same type of tree in which the cross was made. The thorns she encounters also relate to Christ’s death on the cross, the crown of thorns he wears on his head. The journey she takes to get her grandson’s medicine, is considered to be an example of self-sacrifice. Phoenix gives others the opportunity to help her and accomplish good things. One example is when the hunter helps her out of the ditch.
The Phoenix is a mythological creature that lives for five centuries
Odysseus encounters many monsters and immortals throughout his homecoming journey. He faces everything from Sea Nymphs to Sirens, from Lotus Eaters to Cyclopes, and from Enchantresses to even the Gods themselves. Because Odysseus stuck through and pursued on, he finally returned to his wife and child. When Odysseus arrives in his homeland, Athena directs him to Eumaeus’ hut where he meets his son. At first, his son refuses to believe his father has come back, but eventually convinces himself his father has truly returned.
While walking up the path, Phoenix has had to overcome obstacles while it seems like death is in the form of chains around her feet. Even so, she continues onward to freedom. The scene continues while Phoenix passes trees and birds and animals, and suddenly she is crawling through a barbed-wire fence. The change in scenery indicates how Phoenix might be somewhat confused, especially because she is old. It also indicates how Phoenix’s journey was not one of peacefulness, rather, it was one of survival.
The concept of “The Hero’s Journey” plays a major role in nearly every piece of fiction humanity has created since its inception, from epic poems to blockbuster movies. In many ways, works of fiction and some pieces of nonfiction could not exist and would not make sense without the concept of a Hero’s Journey; it allows the reader to comprehend and follow the progression of characters over the course of the story. While Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road may not display most of the archetypal qualities found in classic Hero’s Journeys such as J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit or Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad, it most clearly exemplifies the qualities of a Hero’s Journey through the Boy’s character in relation to the mentor, tests and enemies, and the
Some references even suggest Phoenix may have once been a slave; such as the chains the old woman feels on her feet as she climbs the path uphill. Racial inequality is unmistakably clear when the old woman falls in the ditch and is confronted by the white hunter. One would believe the hunter calling Phoenix Granny to be a harmless reference to her age; however, Granny is a term coined by southern whites in the thirties and forties and refers to a single elderly black woman: a granny is an old black woman who takes care of the white
She is an interesting character because she can have characteristics that are good and bad. The two characteristics that are related to her the most was she can be delusional but yet a heroic person. Phoenix was an old lady so she could have had many medical problems we don’t know about. The most noticeable symptoms