Eudora Welty's Short Story 'A Worn Path'
A Worn Path
In Eudora Welty's short story "A Worn Path" the character Phoenix Jackson is an “elderly woman “who shows great courage to travel through the woods to get medicine for her grandson. Jackson’s grandson unintentionally swallowed lye some years ago which burned his throat, and he needs the medicine to heal him. During her journey, Jackson encounters several obstacles that she face that remind me of my grandmother who would do anything to help us. The character journey shows her strength to overcome many physical obstacle by presents of courage, strength, and love.
Phoenix’s courage underlined by her encounters with the young hunter and the clinic employees. On the trace, a dog knocks her off her path, leaving her unable to rise until she is rescued by a young hunter. Though he helps her, she is also somewhat scare of him. The hunter belittles her and boasts of himself because he walks as far as she does when he hunts little birds. She divert the hunter attention by getting him to chase off the strange dog, so she can retrieve his nickel to buy her
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Thorn bushes and barbed-wire fences, log bridges and hills are major barriers for her. The cornfield she must cross from her initial path to a wagon road is a maze, haunted to her nearsightedness by a ghost that turns out to be a scarecrow. She must also struggle against her tendency to slip into a dream and forget her task, as when she stops for a rest and dreams of a boy offering her a piece of cake. Despite the difficulty of her trip, she clearly enjoys her adventure. She talks happily to the landscape, warning the small animals to stay safely out of her way and showing patience with the thorn bush, which behaves naturally in catching her dress. Her perception of these obstacles emphasizes her strength to complete to continue her journey to get to the
Intergenerational Trauma In The Break
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 PagesWhether Phoenix makes the journey because of the trauma causing her to relive experience, or because she is in denial, or if she does it to honor him, it does not change the fact that Phoenix persevered in order to reach the goal of acquiring the medicine. Phoenix makes it to her destination despite having to walk through a dead and dangerous land in order to keep the memory of her grandson alive because she is a strong and courageous women with a deep love for her grandson that was not altered simply because he is gone from the physical
Symbolism In A Worn Path By Eudora Welty
292 Words | 2 PagesOne could assume that symbolism is the backbone to all literature. Without symbolism the piece of literature is inadequate, lacking representations of objects, people, and situations. However Eudora Welty’s work “A Worn Path” proves the prominence of symbolism in any prose. The short story about a woman’s ability to face nature, mankind, and one’s own self. The protagonist is an woman named Phoenix Jackson who has an unforgettable nature.
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
Mary Rowlandson A Narrative Of The Captivity Summary
661 Words | 3 PagesHer strength to carry on is directly responsible for her eventual
Obstacles In Eudora Welty's A Worn Path
539 Words | 3 PagesPhoenix insisted, “No sir, I going to town” (Welty 466). Phoenix continually displays the will to get her grandson’s medicine and not letting anything or anyone stand in the way of achieving that goal. The hunter even pointed his gun at Phoenix but she showed no fear. She put her life at jeopardy, yet again, for the sake of her grandson. The hunter said, “Doesn’t the gun scare you” (Welty 467), Phoenix replies, “No sir, I seen plenty go off closer by, in my day, and for far less than what I’ve done” (467).
Intergenerational Trauma In The Break By Katherena Vermette
2075 Words | 9 PagesThis serves as an example of how a lack of familial ties can prevent an individual from overcoming intergenerational trauma. The relationship between Phoenix and her mother Elsie is portrayed as distant and estranged. This is exemplified in a scene where Phoenix is going to prison and Elsie attempts to reach out to her, but she rejects the gesture by moving away and refusing to touch her mother. Phoenix also expressed disdain for her mother's weakness, “she does not want to look at her, does not want to see Elsie groveling in her Elsie way, being weak. She does not want to feel sorry for her, or feel anything for her” (Vermette 323).
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
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.
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.
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 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 PagesPhoenix is doing this out of her selfless and kind heart for her loved ones. If she never cared and was selfish then she would never be making these difficult journeys and wasting her time for someone
Phoenix Jackson Obstacles
507 Words | 3 PagesShe stood straight and faced him. ”(para 55) This scene shows how Phoenix is forceful when the hunter hold the gun right at her face and she does not move. She is a strong woman and her character proves that with
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