Stermination And Love In Eudora Welty's A Worn Path
I believe that in Eudora Welty’s short story, “A Worn Path,” she successfully employs her main character, Phoenix Jackson, to represent the powerful force of determination, sacrifice, and love. Welty, the Mississippian author, uses a tone of admiration in portraying Phoenix, a grandmother who showcases the depths of her will and devotion to her sick grandson. Welty begins to represent determination by depicting Phoenix. In the beginning of the story, Welty describes Phoenix by saying that, “She was very old and small and she walked slowly in the dark pine shadows, moving a little from side to side in her steps, with the balanced heaviness and lightness of a pendulum in a grand-father clock.” She also describes how Phoenix walks in the frigid cold day in December with a cane which is made from an umbrella, which also hints at her …show more content…
When the nurse explains to the attendant that Phoenix, “doesn’t come for herself- she has a little grandson.” This is when the reader discovers Phoenix’s motivation for traveling to the city in the first place. As no other family members are ever mentioned, Welty hints that the two only have each other. I believe that Welty represented how much the tired and old grandmother loved her sick grandson. Despite the tedious journey, she continuously travels to retrieve his medicine. By the end of the story, Phoenix has acquired a total of ten cents; five from the hunter and five from the attendant. She says that she is,”going to the store and buy my child a little windmill they sells, made out of paper. He going to find it hard to believe there such a thing in the world.” Even after Phoenix’s tiring journey to retrieve her grandson’s medicine, she decides to take one step further to buy him a toy. She could have perhaps used the money on herself, but instead, she uses it for her grandson. This truly showcases how much Phoenix loves and cares for her
Intergenerational Trauma In The Break
1083 Words | 5 PagesWhen Phoenix notices her uncle's house is filthy, she decides to clean it up because her uncle likes it "when she does girl things like that" (Vermette 25). Phoenix is portrayed in the text as harsh and commanding, but in reality, all she wants is to be liked, which demonstrates how victims of intergenerational trauma desire to be loved. Phoenix is also seen to be jealous and go to extreme lengths when Emily receives affection instead of her. Phoenix has been pregnant for “seven months” with Clayton’s child (Vermette 320) and now is in prison for raping a girl, Emily, who Clayton was hanging out with. Readers understand that Phoenix has never received a lot of affection when she was younger
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
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).
Summary Of The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls
638 Words | 3 PagesIn phoenix, everything looks stable for the time being. They had a huge house with multiple rooms. Her mother used some of the rooms for her artwork and Rex-the dad got a job as an electrician. Rex’s drinking becomes the focal point of the section. For her birthday, Jeannette asked her dad to quit drinking and he stops for a while until one night he broke wild and grabbles with his wife and breaks down.
Repressed Memories In Toni Morrison's Beloved
1334 Words | 6 Pages1. Beloved, the novel by African-American writer Toni Morrison is a collection of memories of the characters presented in the novel. Most characters in the novel are living with repressed painful memories and hence they are not able to move ahead in their lives and are somewhere stuck. The novel, in a way, becomes a guide for people with painful memories because it is in a way providing solutions to get rid of those memories and move ahead in life. The novel is divided into three parts; each part becomes a step in the healing ritual of painful repressed memories.
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.
A Literary Analysis Of Eudora Welty's A Worn Path
678 Words | 3 PagesPhoenix says, “I going to the store and buy my child a little windmill they sells, made out of paper” (Welty). Windmills have no beginning or end points on them, like Phoenix’s continuous journey. She goes into town to retrieve her grandson’s medicine, returns home, then sets off again when the time is needed. No matter the conditions, Phoneix keeps on going, just like a windmill. The windmill equips nature into energy, and represents the hope that her grandson may use his innate skills to push on and extend the worn path further.
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 PagesSo the time come around. And I go on another trip for the soothing medicine.” Phoenix is willing to risk her own health and energy to go out and get things for others. From the insight of the nurse she comes on a regular basis. She is constant on coming because she gets the medicine to try and help her grandson get better.
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