Conflicts In Eudora Welty's A Worn Path
The short story, “A worn Path” by Eudora Wetly, is about an old African American Woman named Phoenix Jackson who is traveling through harsh terrains in the winter that test the strength and endurance of her old body. The purpose of the trip is to go into town and get more medicine for her grandson who was poisoned by drinking lye, three years prior. There are many obstacles she is faced with that could easy influence her to turn around and go home; however, she keeps going. Throughout the story, Phoenix is faced with many different conflicts like old age, racism, and memory loss that nearly stop her from completing what she has started.
To begin, one of the biggest conflicts that Jackson is faced with is her old age. She has to walk with a cane made from an
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As she makes it into town, she enters a building and walks up to a desk with an attendant stationed behind it. The attendant asks her various questions; however, Jackson does not answer any of them. A nurse comes up and explains the situation to the attendant and then asks Phoenix to take a seat. She also begins to talk to Phoenix but is ignored until she asks her is her grandson dead. At that moment Phoenix comes to her senses and says “My grandson. It was my memory had left me. There I sat and forgot why I made my long trip.” This part shows that Phoenix has trouble with her memory and it is possible that she may have forgotten that she grandson has been dead all along.
To conclude, in the short story, “A worn Path” Phoenix Jackson is an old African American Woman that is making a long trip into town in order to get medicine for her grandson who was poisoned by drinking lye. Throughout the story, she is faced with many obstacles that could easily make her give up; however, she always finds a way to overcome those obstacles. Conflicts like old age, racism, and memory loss delay her journey and nearly stop her from completing
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1083 Words | 5 PagesThis exemplifies how intergenerational trauma has left victims desiring to be loved. Phoenix leaves the St. Vital Center and makes her way across town to her uncle's house. Phoenix decides to walk in the cold for hours until she has "lost feeling in her legs" (Vermette 25), all to impress her uncle. Phoenix’s decision to walk to her uncle’s house instead of asking for help continues to reveal to the reader how Phoenix has adopted a mindset of not showing weakness by asking for help, all while trying to gain admiration from her uncle. Additionally, as soon as she arrives at her uncle's house, she begins to plan ways to make her uncle happy.
Phoenix Jackson Archetypes
1718 Words | 7 Pages“The saddest journey in the world is the one that follows a precise itinerary,” which has not been more so than for Phoenix Jackson whom every year due to her love for her grandson embarks on a dangerous one-day journey to the city of Natchez. In this 1941 short story, “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, protagonist Phoenix Jackson, an elderly African-American women, whom despite her visual impairment, old age, memory loss and senility determines to procure medicine for her sickly grandson. Regardless of Phoenix Jackson’s limitations and negative experiences, she continues her journey undeterred. In order to characterize Jackson, Welty utilizes symbolic and situational archetypes to portray her as a strong, persevering, courageous, and loving women throughout her journey.
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.
Three Artistic Tools Used In Eudora Welty's A Worn Path
488 Words | 2 PagesPhoenix encounters several obstacles in order to achieve her goal. The path she walks in represents her life, with the obstacle she faces new one appears and through her perseverance she slowly conquers each one of them. At the end Phoenix buy a paper windmill for her grandson. The paper windmill represents the nature into the energy that her grandson can use his natural abilities since they are both free, to something
African American Women In A Lesson Before Dying
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Obstacles In Eudora Welty's A Worn Path
539 Words | 3 PagesIn 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.
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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
Summary Of The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls
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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 PagesLiterary Analysis: “A Worn Path” Eudora Welty uses many literary elements in her short story, “A Worn Path,” to allow the reader to stay engaged throughout its entirety. Although there are many literary elements present in this story, there are three that Welty focuses intently on. She uses elements such as imagery, symbolism, and motifs to draw the reader’s attention. It is important for an author to write their story in a way that can be understood but also enjoyed. In “A Worn Path”, Welty focuses in on the elements, such as, symbolism, motifs, and imagery and writes a story that has great meaning and can be discovered by the reader when looked at carefully.
A Literary Analysis Of Eudora Welty's A Worn Path
678 Words | 3 PagesLiterary Analysis on “A Worn Path” The short story “A Worn Path,” written by Eudora Welty, depicts the journey of an elderly black woman named Phoenix Jackson who walks from her home to the city of Natchez in need of medicine for her sick grandson. Phoenix experiences many obstacles that do not interrupt her trip, but rather make her a stronger woman for overcoming them. In A Worn Path, Welty illustrates her journey through several key symbols: the name Phoenix, the path, and the windmill. Phoenix shares a name with a creature which reflects her indefatigable nature, her constant striving towards her goal, as well as her unflagging optimism and high spirits (Goodman).
Freedom In Eudora Welty's A Worn Path
810 Words | 4 PagesWhile 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.
Racism In A Worn Path
883 Words | 4 PagesBeyond 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.
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.
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