Ageism through Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” Analysis Since her story was published in the early 1940s, Eudora Welty’s essay, “A Worn Path,” has generated a number of discussions. Many of them have to do with Phoenix Jackson’s tenacity, strength, determination, and age. In her article on the subject, Professor Regina Dilgen underlines the importance of Phoenix Jackson’s age, and how it affects the outcome of the story. “Age is an important component of Phoenix’s identity as she makes her journey of love for her grandson, and she is of an older generation than all the other character in the work” (Dilgen, 2014). As I read the story of Phoenix Jackson, I sympathize with her hardship. My compassion for Phoenix also helps me to understand Professor …show more content…
Dilgen when she said, “I have found my classes deeply responsive to Eudora Welty’s 1941s, “A Worn Path,” (Dilgen, 2014).
The reason is that many of us have (or had in my case) in our lives an elderly parent. When I tried to think of Phoenix’s face, I see no other than my grandmother’s, an eighty years old black woman, who passed away in 2009. Having lost my mother at an early age, like Phoenix to her grandson, my grandma was the only mother figure I knew. Also like Phoenix, her love and devotion toward my brothers and me were without boundaries. My personal story gives me a better comprehension of the Phoenix’s struggle and helps to sympathize with her. Instead of being cared for at her age, she is harassed and neglected. The author describes her as a very frail African-American woman whose eyes are blue with age. In my opinion, Phoenix’s age is experience endurance. As Professor Dilgen noted, “Although she will not give up, Phoenix acknowledges the very real challenge she faces as an elderly person” (Dilgen, 2014). She has lived long enough to understand the danger she faces taking this road alone; however, she counts on her wisdom to guide her throughout the way. She continues the road relying on her own perseverance, willing to sacrifice her health throughout the road. The weakness of her body, the
cold weather, and her frozen and slippery path put her in direct conflict with nature; however, she is bound to her destination, continuing walking uphill, through thorny bushes, and wire fences. Even the white hunter, despite pointing a loaded gun at her face, is not able to stop her from heading downtown. She had no fear of him. Maybe a younger person would be scared and cried for her life, but at her age, Phoenix has experienced this before. This is clear when the hunter asks why she shows no fear and she answers, “No, sir, I see plenty go off closer by, in my day, and for less than what I done” (Welty, 1941). She is in a life saving mission. This not only shows she determined but also how she is responsible. She knows no one else will help her grandson. She has significant strength and dignity that help her to thrive above the adversity she encounters. She also meets some acts of kindness along the way. The woman is kind enough to lace her shoe. Professor Dilgen also noted, “A form of prejudice that is pervasive in America is Ageism. And yet it is invisible to many, seeming naturally existing, and thus normalized” (Dilgen, 2014). The elderly population is rising considerably, and it becomes a heavy weight on the family to care for them. These families often have other responsibilities such their works and little children to care for. Others are nearly unable to support themselves. These responsibilities often bring stress on the family member. In return, they may become abusive (verbal or physical) the elderly. In her article, Professor Regina Dilgen emphasizes the importance of Phoenix’s age in the short story “A Worn Path.” She talks about how her experience aids her to endure all the hardship she meets in her journey. Despite being physically unable to make the trip down town, Phoenix, by her optimistic self-belief, develops the skills to perform new difficult task to cope with the changes of her health and functioning.
Strength is the only reason Phoenix accomplished her journey and Phoenix's love for her only living relative is her greatest strength of all. Although the old Negro woman suffers from many handicaps, she starts her journey mentally prepared for the obstacles awaiting her. Phoenix uses her inner strengths and prevails over every barrier. She relies on her trustworthy feet to make up for her impaired vision. Her wit makes up for her frail body. Her determination makes up for her aged memory. But most of all, her love for her grandson her keeps her going. Clearly, the frail, forgetful, and loving old woman can overcome anything.
Eudora Welty presents the short story “A Worn Path” in a remarkable way, revealing a lot of symbolism. It travels around multiple themes throughout the story about an old aged woman walking through a grueling trail to a town to gather medicine for her grandson in Mississippi. This short story takes places in December on a “bright frozen day” where an old Negro woman arises by the name of Phoenix Jackson. I believe she signifies a struggle, but when looking at her a bit deeper, she mostly signifies willpower (Welty, 502). As she goes towards the town on the path, she appears to have walked numerous times before; she has to overcome many problems. What’s important is that with each move she takes it looks to be pretty sluggish, but yet a steady move in the direction of her goal. The story gives an understanding to the determination and confidence of Phoenix Jackson to point out the belief of people in identical lives of endless struggle. In “A Worn Path,” Eudora Welty reveals the idea that sometimes our lives can be a lot like an obstacles course, which are made up of difficulties that we have to overcome somehow.
Granny was much like Phoenix Jackson, they both had to overcome obstacles or challenges in life that made them stronger. Granny had to deal with the heartache and pain of being deceived and disappointed by what she thought was love and Phoenix had to overcome the obstacles of traveling a difficult Journey because of the love she had for her grandson. Fate can control humans’ lives and can help humans reach the end of the challenging path. Phoenix’s and Granny Weatherall’s ability to withstand and overcome these challenges shows their strong determination, and the will power to endure hardship and continue to be strong.
Phoenix Jackson was a tough woman for her age. Living only with her sick grandson, Phoenix had little company and no other companions. Therefore, she suffered from being lonely. Living far away from any services of a town, Phoenix would make the difficult journey to the closest town whenever her grandson ran out of his medicine. She was so determined to help her grandson that nothing else really mattered.
Phoenix’s perception of her environment increases the importance of her actions, when she conquers the hill, when she moves past the hunter in the dark glade, and when she enters the Christmas town, all help broadcast of all Phoenix’s resilience, strength of character and selflessness respectively. Phoenix herself is a symbol of moving forward through adversity against all odds, which is reflected by the environments she traverses through the
In the story “A Worn Path”, Eudora Welty describes an old African American woman named Phoenix Jackson walks into the town to get her grandson’s medicine. Her name “Phoenix Jackson” is the most important metaphor. Her name alludes to the mythological bird “Phoenix”. Phoenix is the unique bird which lives for five to six hundred years. When its body becomes old and it is time for them to die, Phoenix bursts into flames and then reborn from its own ashes to live through another cycle. Phoenix’s startling ability to regenerate itself is the symbol of immortality. A Phoenix can represent sun, fire, pain, birth, death, rebirth, sacrifice, and power.
Upon a first reading of Eudora Welty’s, “A Worn Path”, it appears to be a simple story about an old woman going into town to procure medicine for her sick grandson, who has swallowed lye (Welty 3). After further readings and doing research, the deep meaning and depth of the story becomes apparent. The worn path is much more than a routine route regularly traversed into town and back to home. The protagonist Phoenix Jackson has many more layers than the way she is perceived as an apparent no account drifter, charity case, whose only reason to head into town is to see Santa Clause (Welty 2). There is significant meaning behind the interactions with people, places, and objects that Phoenix crosses paths with on her journey into town. Every interaction and situation presents Phoenix with the opportunity to learn and grow as a person and as a culture. The sick grandson represents more than a sick boy at home waiting for medicine to heal his physical ailment (Welty 3). Welty uses a myriad of symbols to tell the story of the long and arduous journey blacks take going from slavery to free Americans. A journey that takes lifetimes of accumulating knowledge, gaining wisdom, and then passing everything learned to the children. The next generation builds on to, and hones the gained wisdom and further refines the knowledge as they pass it on to the next generation. It is the gained wisdom that is constantly reborn like the Phoenix in mythology (Mercantante 527). In, “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, Phoenix Jackson symbolizes the past and present population of black Americans and the worn path represents her experiences and the wisdom she has gained, soon to be reincarnated in her grandson, the future generation of black America.
...f questions and she answers all of them respectfully and honestly. Phoenix cleverly distracts the man, with the two dogs that are fighting and he goes off to scare the big black one away by shooting at it. It is when he comes back and points his gun at her, that Phoenix shows no fear if it. When she is asked if she is afraid of it, her reply is, “No sir, I seen plenty go off closer by, in my day, and for less than what I done” (Welty 58). Her unusual courage shows just how far racism stretches. Normally a human being would show fear when staring a gun down, but with years of white people making slaves out of them; black people had learn to face persecution head on. Therefore, Phoenix faced her trial head on, and the white hunter left with a little more respect for her than before. Which in the society she lived in respect was a gift and to be cherished.
Word Press editor. “An Analysis of Eudora Welty’s ‘A Worn Path’”. Word press. N.P., April 12,2013. Web. 17 Mar 2014.
In Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path”, an elderly woman goes through trial for the greater good. Ms. Phoenix Jackson goes on a journey, most people could not take, to save her grandson’s life. Rachel Lister, an author of Literary Context in Short Stories Collections: Eudora Welty’s ‘A Worn Path’, states what kind of person Phoenix is: “[A] female subject [that] makes her way through a wood on a mission to help the afflicted” (par. 5). She goes through obstacles to get to her destination: she is attacked by a black dog, she goes through a barbed wire fence, she encounters a white hunter, and etc. Rachel Lister implies, “She faces a series of challenges and temptations” (par. 5). Nevertheless she is ambitious to finish her journey, although it is a cold winter day. “A Worn Path” is full of symbolism. Rachel Lister asserts, “The chains …, the thorns, and the barbed wire symbolizes the continuing oppression which restricts the social mobility of the African American people in the south” (par. 5). Ms. Phoenix is just not a character but she is a symbol for hope. Her character is portrayed as a Christ-like figure. She goes these trials to save her grandson from death...
most critics have noted, Phoenix Jackson’s first name links her to the Egyptian myth of the bird that renews itself periodically from its own ashes”(Bartel 45). In addition, like her name, Phoenix seems ageless. When she stops to drink water from the spring she says, “Nobody know who made this well, for it was here when I was born”(Welty 391). When she encounters the hunter and he asks her how old she is she says, “There is no telling, mister, “said, “no telling” (Welty 392). Again her age is emphasized when she goes to the doctor’s office and the nurse ask her why she never went to school. “I never did go to school, I was too old at the Surrender” (Welty 394).
Firstly, she is older in her years, she has poorer eyesight, and she doesn’t have the stamina of a younger person. There is no confusion in the fact that Phoenix is elderly. As people age there are more obstacles that on has to overcome in their day-to-day life. Once people start reaching older age, one’s body starts changing in various ways that make many of us have to depend on other methods of getting by in life. On multiple occasions Welty illustrates the idea that Phoenix is definitely a woman in her older years. Just one of many examples in her writing is, "Her skin had a pattern all its own of numberless branching wrinkles" (p. 98). Through the love and care for her grandson the challenges that she must face seem like mere stepping stones. In the story Welty makes implications that memories that Phoenix recalls of her grandson are so vivid and cherished in her mind that even her disabilities cannot hold her back from her
Phoenix Jackson was certainly a dedicated old lady. She refused to give up, despite the odds against her, to help her grandson. Her grandson was very sick, and needed certain medication to live. After traveling miles through wilderness, barbed wire, thorn bushes, and being confronted by a white man with a gun, she still persisted on her path. She didn't care about the consequences to her self on her journey. Her only concern was that little boy, who was sick at home, waiting for her. In a time period when whites had the say over blacks, she took a great risk in disobeying the white hunter, he told her "Now you go on home, Granny"(215). To which she replied, "I bound to go to town mister"(215), and belligerently ignored him. She even risked her life in stealing 5 cents that the man had dropped, all for the sake of giving her grandson a gift.
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
Phoenix, despite her age, goes through all these struggles to reach her goal. Which is to get the medicine and save her grandson so he can live. Also said on page. 827, the Nurse even says that Phoenix makes these trips for her grandson. Like the Phoenix, it makes these trips when it’s about to die.