Allusions In A Worn Path
“A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty is a story about an old woman who goes above and beyond for her grandson. Phoenix makes an annual trip to get medicine so that her sickly grandson can stay alive. This journey may have more meaning to it than meets the eye. There are many things in this short story that deserves a second look and more thought. Phoenix Jackson is a bird like spirit, who keeps herself alive, and keeps herself sane all while saving her grandson. First, in the short story, A Worn Path, the woman’s name is Phoenix Jackson which is an allusion of the mythological bird. The phoenix is a mythological bird that burns itself up and then rises from its on ashes. As Phoenix Jackson takes the trip through the woods to get her grandson’s medicine the journey kills her every time. “She is very old and small and she walked slowly in the dark pine shadows…” (Welty 464). The journey is a very difficult path to travel and Phoenix is in her late ages, but she rises from the ashes and makes the trip multiple times. Secondly, looking from a different perspective, Phoenix Jackson makes that annual trip not to kill herself but to keep herself alive. Every year she makes this trip for her grandson who could possibly be dead. She does this to cope with the loss of her entire family and being alone for miles in every direction around her. “The journey …show more content…
This may be an allusion of Phoenix “achieving her destination” (Bartel 289) in life. Now that Phoenix has made then trip she has been taking to stay alive, now she can die. Phoenix imagines a boy offering her cake, “and when a little boy brought her a plate with a marble-cake on it she spoke to him” (Welty 465). This boy could quite possibly be her grandson and by her having this vision it shows how much she imagines and her “desperate need for companionship” (Bartel 290). This shows that she could very easily be imaging that her grandson is alive when he is
Everyday Use By Eudora Welty Compare And Contrast
485 Words | 2 PagesAlso like Everyday Use, A Worn Path takes place at a time in the 1900s when racism existed. Just like Mama, Phoenix also takes care and protects a child. However, the child she takes care of is her grandson. Many years ago, her grandson swallowed lye. This is a strong substance which is used in making soap.
Phoenix Jackson's Short Story 'A Worn Path'
641 Words | 3 PagesA Worn Path is a short story about Phoenix Jackson and her danger filled journey to town to get medicine for her sick grandson. She faces discrimination, bitter cold, nature, wild animals, and exhaustion. All the while battling the effect that old age wreaks upon her mind and body. The journey combined with the challenges and the motivation to cure her grandson makes this short story a romance. Although it is not the typical romance of a brave knight battling a dragon to save the princess, it is a story of a woman taking on danger in order to help her grandson.
Three Artistic Tools Used In Eudora Welty's A Worn Path
488 Words | 2 PagesIn 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
Obstacles In Eudora Welty's A Worn Path
539 Words | 3 PagesYes, the journey is a great risk especially in her condition but Eudora shows how Phoenix’s spirit causes her to persevere in the face of adversity. In the end, Phoenix Jackson reached her destination and received the medicine for her grandchild. What starts out as a long quest filled with dangerous obstacles ends in a meaningful lesson for the readers’. Eudora Welty short story, “A Worn Path,” exemplifies what it means to persevere through any tribulations that stand in the way of your goals.
How Far She Went Short Story
885 Words | 4 PagesThe Tragedy Within: Analyzing “How Far She Went” The dog wouldn’t hush, even then; never had yet, and there wasn’t time to teach him. When the woman realized that, she did what she had to do.
A Worn Path Theme Essay
740 Words | 3 PagesJackson 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
Phoenix Jackson And The Narrator Analysis
339 Words | 2 PagesThe story of Phoenix Jackson and the Narrator are based on the point of view of both the writers. “A Worn Path” is a story of a small, old, African American woman with wrinkles, who wore an apron bleached sugar sacks, hold a cane made from umbrella and shoe laces that are dragging, walking down the winter landscapes and describing everything she notices. While, “The Lone Ranger” is a story of a typical Native American youth, who is recounting his view of his society and struggles with identity, alcohol, and family relationships. The two characters have a few things in common and are opposite from each other. Even though staying in a marginalized environment, she is determined to do miles of walking to the urban area where she have to face
Pheonix Jackson's Dementia In A Worn Path
328 Words | 2 PagesPheonix Jackson’s grandson is dead because she shows signs of dementia, she hesitates when asked about how the boy is doing, and she says words that imply the boy isn’t changing. The story “ A Worn Path” follows the difficult trip routinely made by Pheonix on foot to a nearby town for her grandson’s medicine which he needs for his swollen throat. Pheonix shows signs of dementia which would affect her perception of reality and her grandson being alive or dead. In the line, “At first she took it as a man,” referring to her encountering a scarecrow, Pheonix shows that her senses are inadequate enough to believe a scarecrow is a man dancing in a field (762). Pheonix is more reliant on her body remembering the trail than her sense of sight
Literary Elements In Eudora Welty's A Worn Path
526 Words | 3 PagesShe 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.
Allusions Analysis: Into The Wild
1365 Words | 6 PagesInto the Wild- Allusions Analysis Analyze 7 Literary Allusions from the entire book (choose from any of the epigraphs) Quote (page #) Author’s name and brief bio Connection to McCandless (1-2 sentences) (at least 4 sentences) “Greetings from Fairbanks! This is the last you shall hear from me… I now walk into the wild,” (3).
A Literary Analysis Of Eudora Welty's A Worn Path
678 Words | 3 PagesGiven 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.
Allusion In The Matrix
1623 Words | 7 PagesThe Matrix is packed full of interesting allusions. References to mind-altering literature and a variety of different beliefs and philosophies, both western, and eastern, are represented. One of these philosophies is Zen Buddhism. The Matrix, through the characters of Morpheus, Cypher and Neo, as well as their journeys, fully demonstrates and supports the Buddhist ideals of the pure vs the impure heart as well as separation of consciousness, and acts as an allegory for enlightenment through meditation.
Racism In A Worn Path
883 Words | 4 PagesSome 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
A Worn Path Phoenix Jackson Character Analysis
738 Words | 3 PagesIn the story “A Worn Path” Phoenix Jackson was an old African American women. She takes a small journey that can be an allegory of someone's whole life. The journey had hard and easy parts, beauty, danger, and confusion. But her quest was to get the medicine for her sick grandson who laid at home waiting for her return. Phoenix was a delusional yet heroic, caring grandmother who would stop at nothing to get what she needed.
Phoenix Jackson: A Heroine Analysis
389 Words | 2 PagesTraveling by foot through a pine thicket, tenacious Phoenix Jackson resists wild animals, physical challenges, and a male hunter carrying a gun, on her journey to retrieve medicine to sooth her grandson (Kirszner & Mandell, 2012). The heroine of the story, Phoenix Jackson, is a petit, old, black woman that is dressed in ragged clothing and uses an old umbrella to steady her journey (Kirszner & Mandell, 2012). This frail image is in direct contrast to the name Phoenix, however, just as the mythical Phoenix bird rises from the flame with a burning desire, our heroine is determined to complete her mission (Dilworth, & Keating, 2007). The name Phoenix is also symbolic of the determined nature of the individual as she makes the trek to secure medicine
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