One 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.
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.
Literary 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.
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 story “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty is about a woman named Phoenix Jackson on a long journey into town, but it 's much more than a regular walk into town. There are obstacles and struggle, but she never stops and lets no one get in the way. That journey represent the way she has lived her life. The way she fought for where she is today. Phoenix Jackson is the major in this story, and she is also the protagonist.
In “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, many hero qualities are displayed by the main character, Phoenix Jackson. She is a strong-willed and brave old lady who is going from her home out in the country to the city to get her grandson medicine her needs. Even though she does not physically look like a typical hero, her emotions are at the same level as any superhero. Phoenix may seem as though she doesn’t have everything together a lot of the time, but she gets the job done. She also falls under the category of hero due to the many qualities she portrays.
Eudora Welty is a renowned author who primarily writes about the American South. Her short story, “A Worn Path,” uses narrative techniques to develop a theme of the social discriminations of racism and classism. Racism is abundant in this story through symbolism. To begin with, the symbolism of the title, “A Worn Path,” represents the obstacles of African Americans when overcoming slavery and segregation. Also, the black dog attacking the white man portrays the ongoing rivalry between African American and White humans.
“A Worn Path” is a story that shows the struggling life of Phoenix Jackson. Phoenix Jackson is an elderly black woman that is nearly blind. She is experiencing many difficulties in life but she still manages to be very courageous throughout the story. Since Phoenix Jackson is an elderly black woman who is nearly blind that lives in an older time period, she is often disrespected and faces many discriminatory actions but she never looses her courage and her bravery. Race is one of the major struggles that Eudora Welty writes about Phoenix Jackson.
Journey of Phoenix Jackson In the story, ”A Worn Path,” a lesson is taught that when life gets hard and tries to stop you from doing what you need to or wish to do you can not give up. Phoenix Jackson shows her triumphant personality and she pushes through the problems, along with that she does not let people put her down. She is a proud independent woman, who needs no one’s help or opinion in her life to know what is right. Phoenix Jackson is bound and determined to go to town. She starts on her way and teaches the reader that just because life throws obstacles at you does not mean you can just quit and go home.
In “The Journey” by Mary Oliver, she uses the repetition of the phrase “you finally knew what you had to do” (92:1-2). She uses the phrase throughout three parts of the poem. Each phrase goes with the beginning, middle, and end. In the beginning of the poem, the phrase is used to convey the feeling that the individual is having this awakening in his or her life of what they finally need to go out and do. Oliver uses the words “one day” that tell us that the individual is getting this feeling to go on the journey all of a sudden (92:1).
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
An American pantomime actor, Danny Kaye, once said that “To travel is to take a journey into yourself.” In literature, moreover, the journey can be used as an effective tool to progress the main story and imply the main themes. Through dividing the journey into the purpose, process, and result, one can see how the authors used the theme of “journey” in their stories such as “Araby,” “Young Goodman Brown,” and “A worn Path.” In purpose wise, the goals of three stories’ protagonists are all different. In Araby, the nameless boy’s goal is to buy something from Araby for Mangan’s sister, but in Young Goodman brown, his purpose of the journey is not explicit in the story.
Overcoming obstacles In the short story “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty the protagonist Phoenix must overcome many different types of obstacles in order to obtain the medicine that is needed for her grandson. She must overcome physical, emotional, and mental obstacles on her long journey into town. These obstacles all hindered her progress, but in the end she was able to prevail due to her perseverance and determination. On her journey into town Phoenix must overcome many physical obstacles.