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Symbolism in eudora welty a worn path
Symbolism in eudora welty a worn path
Narrative description about poverty
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Eudora Weltys A Worn Path is a story that emphasizes the natural symbolism of the surroundings. The main character in the story, Phoenix Jackson, is an old black woman who seeks out to find medicine for her sick nephew. This story contains a motif, which is the continuous walking of Phoenix Jackson throughout her journey. She lives in the pinewoods and faces the challenging experience of walking through the snowy, frozen earth to get to the hospital in the city of Natchez. Phoenix Jackson is a very caring person, and is in love with life. Although she is very old, it seems that she has many years ahead of her. Eudora Welty brings realism into the story describing the realities of being old. It is Christmas, and Phoenix Jackson has to head out to the city to obtain the medicine for her nephew. A long time ago, her nephew swallowed lye that burned his throat, and the medicine is the only thing that relieves his pain. The woods are filled with pine trees that cast dark shadows throughout the terrain. The darkness that surrounds Phoenix is the total opposite of her. She is a poor woman, but is very neat and tidy. She appreciates her the small things in life and respects what she has. Although she is old, she has extremely dark hair, wears a red bandana, and has much life within her: Her skin had a pattern all its own of numberless branching wrinkles and as though a whole little tree stood in the middle of her forehead, but a golden color ran underneath, and the two knobs of her cheeks were illumined by a yellow burning under the bark. (87) It is almost as if she is a part of nature herself, when Eudora Welty describes her as having a tree within her forehead. She is a very lively person, and is willing to go through this obstacle course of vicissitudes of the cold earth: Under the red rag her hair came down on her neck in the frailest of ringlets, still black, and with an odor like copper (87). The copper smell of her hair brings more realism of old age. When she stops to sit down under a tree, she dazes off and thinks that a little boy is giving her a piece of marble cake. She then snaps out of her trance and sees only her hand waiving in the air. This shows that very old people hallucinate sometimes, which is completely natural. The name Phoenix, is the name of an ancient Egyptian bird that regenerates itself after 500 years and lives on for another 500 years. This old woman represents the phoenix, which lives on in her old age. Phoenix Jackson demonstrates her love of life as she talks to all of the animals within the forest: Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animal! Keep out from under these feet, little bob-whites. Keep the big wild hogs out of my path. Dont let none of those come running my direction. I got a long way (87). She realizes she has a long journey ahead of her, but will do whatever it takes to help her nephew. Phoenix Jackson seems to be one with nature and brings peace and harmony to everything living in the forest. However, the forest has the aura of death. For instance, Phoenix spots a buzzard sitting upon an old, dead tree that resembled a black man. The buzzard represents death, but the old women made her way through the furrow and left death. She then comes upon a field of dead corn, which stood a scarecrow. The job of the scarecrow is to scare away the black crows, which also symbolize death. Phoenix Jackson dances with the scarecrow, as if they are celebrating the departure of death. She then came upon a spring, and starts to drink from the well. The water in the spring represents longevity, and Phoenix drank it as a sign of her long life. Suddenly, a black dog crept out of a ditch and approached Phoenix with its drooling tongue. Phoenix hit the dog lightly with a stick and it fled. She walked into the ditch where her senses drifted away: A dream visited her, and she reached her hand up, but nothing reached down and gave her a pull (89). The dream could have been God looking down at her, but she is not ready to enter heaven, which is why nothing reached down to get her. Phoenix still has many years to live and must complete her journey. Just before the city, Phoenix stumbles upon a white hunter, accompanied by two growling dogs. After a brief conversation with the man, she quickly noticed a nickel that fell out of the mans pocket: Then she slowly straightened up, she stood erect, and the nickel was in her apron pocket (90). Phoenix is not the type of lady to steal things, but she wants to purchase a gift for her nephew for Christmas. She feels somewhat guilty and speaks to herself: God watching me the whole time. I come to stealing (90). Before the hunters departure, he lied and told Phoenix that he would give her a dime if he had any money. Phoenix finally reaches Natchez, which is decorated with luminous red and green lights. The city is full of paved roads, which is the opposite of the snowy, rough landscape of the pinewoods. The citys atmosphere is bright and merry, and symbolizes the celebration of Phoenixs journey. Phoenix reaches the hospital and quickly forgets why she had come. Phoenix remembers when the nurse asks how her nephew is doing. This is another example of realism of old age affecting Phoenix Jacksons memory. The nurse and the doctor agree to give the medicine to Phoenix at no charge. In addition, the nurse gives Phoenix a nickel for Christmas spirit. Phoenix is going to use her ten cents to buy her nephew a paper windmill. The windmill represents the circle of life, and Phoenix will live on for many more years. A Worn Path ends with her slow step down the hospital stairs. A Worn Path emphasizes natural symbolism, and Phoenix Jackson seems to be part of the nature that surrounds her. Phoenix Jackson is full of life, and respects all of the wildlife in the forest. Although Phoenix is poor, she is neat and tidy and appreciates her life. She loves her nephew, and is willing to travel through the rugged pinewoods to get the medicine that cures his illness. All of the things included in the forest represent natural symbolism that is directly related to the realism of Phoenix Jackson. The windmill is a perfect representation of the circle of life, and Phoenix has many more years to live. When Phoenix dies, her spirit of the Phoenix bird will live on in her nephew who most likely will live a long, happy life.
The name Phoenix Jackson is obviously a huge indication of what she is trying to symbolize.... ... middle of paper ... ... Another instance was guilt, which was shown when the clinic attendant gave Phoenix another nickel; although it was kind, this seems to be her way of compensating for an earlier offensive statement “Are you deaf?” to Phoenix. What she chose to do was not come from being kind, but because it was a sense of duty.
The protagonist of this short story is Phoenix Jackson. She is portrayed as a lively person because of the vivid color descriptions given by the author. Her complexion is described to have yellow, golden and copper colors. This colors state she is a black woman. The author uses imagery to shows us that Phoenix is
Phoenix Jackson was a very brave woman; there are two examples from the story that displays her courage. “Now and then there was a quivering in the thicket. Old Phoenix said, "Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals!. . . Keep out from under these feet, little bob-whites.... Keep the big wild hogs out of my path. Don 't let none of those come running my direction. I got a long way." Although she was old and fragile, she was not scared of any animal that may have came her way while walking alone
It’s December when Phoenix starts on her journey to Natchez and it is a journey she has taken many times before. This journey is no journey an elderly and weaken person should have to make by themselves, yet Phoenix does. She does not allow her age or her condition to keep her from it. Deep through the pines, the path takes her, and her first task would be to make it over a hill that seems to take all her energy and strength. “Seems like there is chains around my feet, time I get this far…” (Welty 5), here the reader can tell Phoenix does not have the strength that she really needs to make it up the hill. Yet somewhere she finds the will to keep pushing on and moving forward. This same type of spirit that allows Phoenix to keep pushing forward in society, and not to back down. Showing the younger generation that you have to fight your way through to a brighter day. It is later down the path that Phoenix comes to a creek and the only way to get across, is by walking on a log. Phoenix walks across this log with her eyes close. Once across she opens her eyes and says, “I wasn’t as old as I ...
The title, "A Worn Path," is not only the actual path Phoenix travels throughout the story, but it also stands for the road blacks have walked on in order to reach freedom. Slaves had to walk many paths in order to escape their owners and the paths led to the freedom away from their plantations. Many slaves escaped plantations by walking all day and all night in wretched
“A Worn Path” is a short story written by Eudora Welty. It is based on an elderly African-American grandmother named Phoenix Jackson, who goes for a walk to the town of Natchez on a cold December morning to get some medicine for her ailing grandson. This story speaks of the obstacles Phoenix endured along the way and how she overcame them. The theme, central idea or message that the author wishes to convey to his or her readers, in “A Worn Path” is one of determination. Phoenix Jackson is determined to get to Natchez, in order to get medicine for her grandson; she does not let any obstacles get in her way. The theme of determination is shown in many ways throughout this short story.
When Phoenix’s “fingers slid down and along the ground under the piece of money” (4), she shows the reader how desperate she is to get the medicine for her grandson.
Her trip is full of obstacles, from bushes of thorns that get caught in her dress, to her crossing of a creek. These elements complicate the conflict and increase the readers' curiosity about the plot. Phoenix can't trust her eyes, choosing instead to walk along with her eyes closed and sense her way with the help of her cane. While needed rest forces her to stop for a while, she has a vision of a little boy handing her a slice of marble cake. So many questions arise in the minds of the readers. Who was the little boy? Is she halluci...
We are told of Phoenix?s journey into the woods on a cold December morning. Although we are know that she is traveling through woodland, the author refrains from telling us the reason for this journey. In the midst of Phoenix?s travels, Eudora Welty describes the scene: ?Deep, deep the road went down between the high green-colored banks. Overhead the live-oaks met, and it was as dark as a cave? (Welty 55). The gloomy darkness that the author has created to surround Phoenix in this scene is quite a contrast to the small Negro woman?s positive outlook; Phoenix is a very determined person who is full of life. As Phoenix begins to walk down the dark path, a black dog approaches her from a patch of weeds near a ditch. As he comes toward her, Phoenix is startled and compelled to defend herself: ?she only hit him a little with her cane. Over she went in the ditch, like a little puff of milk-weed? (55). Here, the author contrasts the main character?s strong will with her small, frail phys...
... on foot and that alone is hard as it is. Eudora Welty shows her theme that with an adequate amount of determination and confidence we can tackle any problem or obstacle that is thrown our way and go the extra mile to reach our objective that we had set. Of course being restrained by time and age, Phoenix still fights and steps forward to a goal which is very significant to her heart; she doesn’t allow any barrier get in her way. Phoenix Jackson being the main character of “A Worn Path” is clear
...t leading him to the heron. Sylvia eventually resolves her conflict as she climbs the big pine tree with the heron’s nest it; “For her, the pine tree becomes a tree of knowledge;”(Griffith). Sylvia defies both her grandmother’s common sense and the hunter’s ignorance about nature, but she makes she makes her decision based on her own appreciation of nature.
There are also mental obstacles that obstruct Phoenix’s journey. She has to triumph over her weariness because of her old age and her mental fatigue. As she is walking her mind plays tricks on her, such as the time when she is in the field and mistakes the scarecrow for a dark mysterious figure that she is frightened of. Another time is when she talks to herself and the animals in the woods. She tells them not to get in her way because she has a long trip ahead of her. The love that one person gives to another is never truly appreciated until the recipient realizes what that person has actually done. The grandson may be too ill or even too young to realize what his grandmother is doing for his safety.
In “A Worn Path” colors are used to emphasize the depth and breadth of the story, and to reinforce the parallel images of the mythical phoenix and the protagonist Phoenix Jackson. Eudora Welty’s story is rich with references to colors that are both illustrative and perceptive, drawing us in to investigate an additional historical facet of the story.
Phoenix's precarious journey may seem dangerous, but her determination is what carries her through the obstacles she faces as she makes her way through the woods. Phoenix makes her way across the worn path and discovers many active opponents. She continues forward over barriers that would not even be considered a hindrance for the young. The long hill that she takes tires her, the thornbrush attempts to catch her clothes, the log that Phoenix goes across endangers her balance as she walks across it, and the barbed-wire fence threatens to puncture her skin. All of these impediments that Phoenix endures apparently do not affect her because she is determined that nothing will stop her on her journey. She keeps proceeding onward letting nothing deter her determination. ?The hunter(tm)s attempt to instill fear in Phoenix, a fear she disposed of years ago as she came to terms with her plight in society, fail (Sykes 151). She ?realizes that the importance of the trip far exceeds the possible harm that can be done to her brittle ...
In Eudora Welty’s, “A Worn Path” Phoenix Jackson went great lengths risking her own life for her grandson, who couldn’t help himself. On her worn path she faced the world with courage. Although she faced difficulty in her early life, her faith remained the same to help those who were dear to her heart. She walk a worn path relentlessly facing obstacles along the way with a mind that is diminishing overtime. Through the problems that she is faced with, she remains humble. She is admirable because considering her old age, weakness and loss of memory, she is determined. Welty’s details of character, symbolism, conflict and theme creates a compelling and fierce Phoenix Jackson. The moral message in this short story is to show the setting and characterizations