A Worn Path Phoenix Jackson Character Analysis

It is like a path. Phoenix’s path represents her life as an older woman with her life difficulties getting for her age. In the story, Phoenix has time to appreciate the beauty of the day and gives to herself some rest, but also she fights with her mind and her physical decadences that did not help her to finish her path. “Finally, trembling all over, she stood free, and after a moment dared to stoop for her cane. “Sun so high!"

In the short story, “A Worn Path,” Eudora Welty introduces an elderly, African American, woman named Phoenix Jackson, whom for two or three years has made a long quest to town to get medicine for her ill grandson. Initially, Phoenix must overcome many obstacles to reach climax of her journey. Eudora Welty uses these obstacles to demonstrate the theme of her story, which is that Phoenix’s ambition/hope was the leading role in her preserving. The first obstacle that displays Phoenix’s determination to succeed, was when she came to a hill during her quest to town.

The excerpt begins by stating, “It was December—a bright frozen day in the early morning.” This shows that Phoenix’s journey is not an easy one; it’s cold outside and early in the morning. Phoenix continues on the path up a hill. While she is walking along the path, she thinks, “There is chains about my feet, time I get this far.” These chains immediately portray thoughts of slavery, which would cause one to think of endurance.

In “A Worn Path”, enduring is the word that best describes Phoenix because she undergoes issues with her mind, an arduous journey, and a racist man. First of all, Phoenix perseveres through all of the mental problems that she has. The narrator says, “She did not dare to close her eyes, and when a little boy brought her a plate with a slice of marble-cake on it she spoke to him. " That would be acceptable," she said.

In the short story Welty’s want the reader to be comfortable with Phoenix as a character. Welty describes Phoenix wearing a long dress reaching her shoe top and a long apron of bleached sugar sacks. When Phoenix talks aloud to herself the author wants the reader to imagine an old woman with characteristics of a warm, comical, young spirited woman side of her. The short story also uses images which evoke from the biblical imagery. Phoenix’s uses biblical connection to show the reader how important her story and the

A Worn Path begins in a descriptive analysis of old woman Phoenix Jackson. The surrounding setting, nature sounds and details of Phoenix are described in great detail to portray the struggles an elderly

Given her grandson’s injuries that hope is as fragile as the paper windmill. This reminds us that hope is fragile, and is contingent on historical and civil efforts beyond Phoenix and her grandson.     Phoenix Jackson perseveres to achieve a purposeful goal. Phoenix Jackson stayed true to her faith in times of desperation. Against the obstacles, she was willing to reach her destination to provide her grandson with the medicine he is in need of.

In Eudora Welty's short story "A Worn Path," an elderly black woman named Phoenix Jackson treks through the hilly backcountry to receive medication for her ill grandson at the clinic in town. Despite facing incapacitating conflicts, Jackson is unrelenting and perseveres the arduous journey for her grandson’s sake, as she has many times before. Jackson's fiercely devoted and determined character is exposed as she faces the struggles of debilitating poverty, advanced age, and the rugged physical environment. The severity of Phoenix Jackson's jarring poverty is blatantly evident. She has to walk to town instead of using a car.

In “A Worn Path,” it is hypothesized that Phoenix was once a slave, as she mentioned to a hunter when he pulled a gun on her “I seen plenty of those go off, closer by in my day. ”(51) , and is now traveling through

In Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path,” Welty discusses the very lengths an individual is willing to go to in the name of love. The protagonist, Phoenix, an elderly black woman, takes a long and treacherous journey from the countryside to the nearest city, all in hopes of collecting medicine for her sick grandson. Welty’s characterization of Phoenix conveys a tone of perseverance; the character battles many negative forces of the wilderness throughout the story, but despite this, Phoenix’s reaction to her surroundings is one of a pleasant tone. In Welty’s “A Worn Path,” Welty uses contrasting diction and a lexicon that conveys layers of both dark and light storytelling, while Phoenix, a woman of great strength and tenacity, despite her age, defies all odds through her

Heroes put others before themselves and will do anything to ensure that thing’s safety. Many people have either risked their lives or have loss their lives due to trying to save others. An example of this would be the man in the red bandana or Welles Crowther. Crowther was working in the twin towers as planes were crashing into them. Crowther could have ran away from the other people when the planes hit, but he chose not to spare himself, but to save others and sacrifice his own life.

The recurring doubt that pervades the story due to Old Phoenix's questionable sanity demonstrates and is the result of the themes of uncertainty and bewilderment in the short

Jackson is an old and poor grandmother whose senses are beginning to fail her, but she goes through seemingly unbearable trials in order to get to town and pick up her grandson’s medicine that will keep him alive. In this heartwarming story, Welty uses symbolism and various conflicts to create the theme of sacrificial love. In A Worn Path, Welty uses symbolism to illustrate her theme by giving the protagonist the name Phoenix. A phoenix is often used as a symbol of death and resurrection from the ashes ("Ancient Symbolism of

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.

Beyond the Walk to Natchez A historical great piece of literary art, “A Worn Path” published in 1941, is a story of an old woman’s journey to town through the forest. The setting is rural Mississippi in the 1940’s, a time when racism was a way of life and a trip to town, especially for an old black woman, was often a long journey and thus a trip not often taken. The old woman’s name is Phoenix Jackson and she has quite an adventurous trip through the forest to town. One is made to believe this is just an average walk down the path for this old woman; however the reader is entertained by Phoenix’s mannerisms and realizes there is deeper meaning of the story.