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This paper focuses on two stories written by two writers during in the nineteenth-century period to explore differences or similarities in their writing. Specifically, the current paper compares and contrasts how Eudora Welty and Kate Chopin convey issues in their society by considering the use of language, themes, point of view, and characterization in A Worn Path and Regret respectively.
Critics have lauded Eudora Welty’s knack for creating art out of everyday experiences that touched her life. Indeed, most of Welty’s writing is the result of a resolute shaping imagination and a deep founded love and comprehension of carefully chosen language to conjure characters in dramatic motion (Warren, 1944). In A Worn Path, Welty replicates this mastery of language to tell the story of an elderly African American woman on a journey to the town of Natchez to
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Chopin is known for her use of a dramatic style to propagate feministic rights and outlooks. According to Skaggs (1994), the common theme in Chopin’s literary works was to demonstrate “the intrinsic conflict between the traditional requirement that a wife form her life around her husband’s and a woman’s need for discrete personhood . . ." (Skaggs, 1994, p. 635). Essentially, Chopin seeks to convey the argument that women are continually in pursuit of self-realizations, and sexual experience plays a big role in this quest. In keeping with this distinction, the story Regret revolves around a female protagonist Mamzelle Aurelle, a spinster in her early fifties, who lives with her dog. One day Mamzelle is entrusted to take care of her neighbor’s (Odile) children, a task she finds difficult at first but gradually she begins enjoying taking care of the children and subsequently heartbroken when Odile takes them back (Chopin,
Welty, Eudora. "A Worn Path." The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980. 142-49.
“A Worn Path” is a short story written by Eudora Welty. It is a story of an elderly black woman’s journey into town for her grandson’s medicine. Using lots of imagery throughout the story, the narrator tells us that the woman, Phoenix Jackson takes this dangerous journey out of love for her grandson who is in need of medicine. Throughout her journey, she encounters many people who are of great importance to the story.
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.
The possibility of a life beyond the scope of motherhood, social custom, standards of femininity, and wifedom characterize Kate Chopin’s vision of her heroine’s awakening, but Edna’s personal growth remains stifled by her inability to reconcile the contradictory impulses pulling her in different directions. Edna clearly envisions herself somewhere between mother-goddess figure Adele Ratignolle and the artist-spinster Mademoiselle Reisz, yet can not seem to negotiate a space that affords the luxury of love unspoiled by self-sacrifice and obligation. Edna’s “soul” surfaces when she allows herself to act on impulse over duty, but as Chopin’s words reveal, Mrs. Pontellier blindly fol...
After learning and reading about Kate Chopin and Nathaniel Hawthorne, one can recognize how their life experiences and era shape the message of their literary works. These two writers, born almost fifty years apart, had a completely different family setting, thus their writings differ and so does their morals. In literature, personal experiences in the writers’ lives have a great significance in their writing style, theme, and symbolism.
Moberly, Kevin. “TOWARD THE NORTH STAR: EUDORA WELTY’S “A WORN PATH” AND THE SLAVE NARRATIVE TRADITION”
Word Press editor. “An Analysis of Eudora Welty’s ‘A Worn Path’”. Word press. N.P., April 12,2013. Web. 17 Mar 2014.
“A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, is the tale of the unstoppable love and care of a grandmother for her grandchild. The main character in the story, Phoenix Jackson, is an old black woman who makes a long journey into town to get medicine for her ill grandson. Despite the many obstacles Phoenix encounters along her journey, determination helps her to continue. I will analyze “ A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty in terms of symbolism and characters.
“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.
...ree for his problems and treats her with disrespect. The issues and problems in Kate Chopin?s stories also connect with issues in today?s society. There still exist many men in this world who hold low opinions of women, are hypocritical in their thoughts, dealings, and actions with women, and treat honorable, respectable women poorly, just as Charles and Armand did in Chopin?s stories. Women in ?Desiree?s Baby? and ?A Point at Issue? strive for personal freedom and equality which equates to modern times in that some women are still paid less for doing the same job as men and in some countries, women still cannot vote. The relationship between men and women in Chopin?s stories still, in some effect, directly apply to today?s world.
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” tries to shed light on the conflict between women and a society that assign gender roles using a patriarchal approach. Specifically Margaret Bauer highlights, that most of Chopin’s works revolves around exploring the “dynamic interrelation between women and men, women and patriarchy, even women and women” (146). Similarly, in “The Story of an Hour” Chopin depicts a society that oppresses women mostly through the institution of marriage, as women are expected to remain submissive regardless of whether they derive any happiness. The question of divorce is not welcome, and it is tragic that freedom of women can only be realized through death. According to Bauer, the society depicted in Chopin’s story judged women harshly as it expected women to play their domestic roles without question, while on the other hand men were free to follow their dream and impose their will on their wives (149).
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
... This woman suffers a tremendous amount from the commitment of her marriage, and the death of her husband does not affect her for long. A marriage such as this seems so unbelievable, yet a reader can see the realistic elements incorporated into the story. This begs the question of how undesirable marriage was during Chopin’s life. The unhappiness felt by Mrs. Mallard seems to be very extreme, but Chopin creates a beautiful story that reflects upon the idea of marriage as an undesired relationship and bond to some women in the nineteenth century.
One of the uttermost remarkable transformations to women throughout the world took place during the 19th century. Moreover, this renovations led to notable changes in women’s roles. During this period of time the portrayal of females was to follow their chores in their homes and to take care of the children. In contrast, the role of men during this phase was to regulate the laws in their family. Kate Chopin was a writer that described precisely the reality of women in her vast number of stories. One of her most notorious and outstanding pieces was written in 1894. “The Story of an Hour” is a formidable dramatic piece of literature due to the fact that it implies elements of fiction such as irony, imagery, and an adequate setting.
“There is no perfect relationship. The idea that there is gets us into so much trouble.”-Maggie Reyes. Kate Chopin reacts to this certain idea that relationships in a marriage during the late 1800’s were a prison for women. Through the main protagonist of her story, Mrs. Mallard, the audience clearly exemplifies with what feelings she had during the process of her husbands assumed death. Chopin demonstrates in “The Story of an Hour” the oppression that women faced in marriage through the understandings of: forbidden joy of independence, the inherent burdens of marriage between men and women and how these two points help the audience to further understand the norms of this time.