1.3.9 Practice: Essay on Theme In Dead Men’s Path by Chinua Achebe, a principal and a priest quarrel about keeping a pathway open, breaking the continuity and forcing the priest’s tribe to find a new path. The principal, Michael Obi, is excited for educating children as the new principal for a school. He eventually runs into a problem, villagers from a local tribe go through a very important passageway through the school’s playground. Michael Obi feels like this will damage the school reputation, so despite warning from the village priest, he decided to block the passageway from the villagers. This breaks the continuity of the villager’s use of the pathway so they can get to their graveyard. Michael Obi gets multiple warnings of the priest, however even though Michael understands the priest’s reasoning, he refuses to allow them to pass through the pathway. This shows Michael Obi’s stubborn and unsympathetic characteristic, which the priest reacts to negatively. Despite Michael ambitious to change the school’s reputation, he decides to revoke the pathway for the village. Even if the priest claims it is a staple of their culture and traditions, Michael Obi is very ignorant and tells the priest that they need to make a new path. Eventually the village destroys the fence and the school’s environment, giving Michael Obi a bad reputation as a headmaster of a school. …show more content…
Michael and the priest may be from the same country, however their traditions and culture are very different from each other. Michael’s reluctance to allow them to have access to the path did not stop the village, as they got through the path by force. This shows that the priests and the village are very true to their beliefs and do not want to adjust to the more Western ideas that Michael
I had been in the village for all but a week when I realized there was something... wrong. There seemed to be an underlying atmosphere of fear and animosity. Of course, with my wide-eyed, innocent thinking at the time, I assumed the presence of Satan had damaged the townspeople 's trust of one another. Again, I blissfully accepted this, and I was wrong.
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.
Death is an inevitable part at the end of human life, despite how many people try to avoid it. Sometimes death is seen as a sacrifice, as noticed in “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst. However, not all sacrifices are deaths, as seen in “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell. In both stories, upon analysis and comparison, one can see the similarities and differences involving the theme of sacrifice. When the two stories are put side by side, one will see that Connell and Hurst both use death in a way that displays character development. This is shown when Brother of “The Scarlet Ibis” becomes regretful and Rainsford of “The Most Dangerous Game” becomes what he once hated, the reader will also realize how the characters’ personality traits
The Peruvian Communist Party (PCP-SL), better known as Sendero Luminoso (‘Shining Path’) was a maoist guerrilla organization in Peru. The parties roots can be drawn to the Andean department of Ayacucho, one of Peru’s pooerest and uneducated areas, where ill even the 1950s landowners continued their serflike manner of treatment toward the natives existence. The escape their dismal lives, Ayacuchans turned toward education, migrating by the thousands in their attempt to escape that existed for them back home.
In the short story A Worn Path, by Eudora Welty there is only one main character Miss Phoenix Jackson, who is in barking on a journey that would lead her to the desired destination. Phoenix's personality would change as she gathered more land with her persistent walking, passing through many different settings. Although the change in scenery is blately obvious it is sometimes what we over look, when trying to examine the characters attitude, or morals in different situations. The attitude change in Miss Jackson is noticeable as she lumbers through the pines, crossing the stream, and again while sitting at the doctor's office.
Welty, Eudora. “A Worn Path.” Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts. 4th Compact Ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2008, pp. 95-100.
In the modern short story, Eudora Welty clearly develops Phoenix Jackson as a main character who indirectly manipulates other people. Phoenix, as the speaker in “A Worn Path” holds the status of an old Negro woman who continues the everyday cycle of life. Although, in reality Phoenix is an average human being, who feels she must be rewarded for living. Phoenix believes that humanity owes her something for the troubles she encounters throughout her lifetime. When Phoenix says to the hunter, “that’s as far as I walk when I come out myself, and I get something for my trouble” (paragraph 46). Incidentally, Phoenix replies to the old hunter’s question it is quite clear that she undoubtedly is expecting compensation; whether it is a pity party or a monetary gift to settle the score. Because Phoenix feels like she must abuse other people, she appears to have the power to be in control of any situation that might come her way. Throughout Welty’s “A Worn Path,” Phoenix Jackson and her actions symbolize her to be a selfish and manipulative woman.
The movie, Dead Poets Society truly captures the essence of the conformities that children are facing. The difference is letting the hourglass run out of time, or making the best of time, facing tough challenges along the way. Todd Anderson makes the best out of his time thanks to the teaching of Mr. Keating, his beloved English teacher. From a misunderstood adolescent to a courageous man, Todd shows his true colors and releases the inferior thoughts stirring up in his developing, young body. In the end, romanticism crushes idealism with power and envy, showing the eye-opening ways that a teacher can contribute to such a tightly wound academy such as Welton.
“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.
...veryone was against the person who didn’t follow the tradition. No matter how normal the people of the town seemed to be in the beginning of the story, they turned out to be vicious cruel people. The stones turned them into monsters
In Eudora Welty 's "A Worn Path" the reader is told of the journey of Phoenix Jackson an elderly African-American woman. Beginning the story, her journey appears irrelevant. Jackson travels through the woods and over hills powering through the many hardships that an elderly woman would face. Towards the conclusion of this story, a reader recognizes the meaning of Phoenix’s journey. Through the entire story she has been journeying to obtain medicine for her grandson that had fallen ill from “swallowing lye"(p. 105). In Welty’s story it is easily recognizable to the reader that the theme of the story is how one will face extreme hardships for the ones that they love, specifically Phoenix struggles with her vision, being senile, and just the burden
This sets up the reader for the shock at the end. Throughout the story, Jackson continues to incorporate conflict in many different ways. There was bound to be conflict when a whole towns tradition was based on a randomly selected citizen being stoned by the community for no other reason than it is tradition. The tradition itself also created conflict for each of the townspeople individually. Although the tradition was not being forced to continue being upheld by anyone, the town allowed it to continue over the years and create conflict in families. Families were choosing society over their own blood and allowed people of all ages stone someone, of any age, every single year. “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones”(138). This suggests that they lost the ritual part but violence still remains. The tradition has just turned into violence and the town is so blinded to the tradition that they are not even affected. Finally, the tradition has caused more damage and conflict to the town but the people are too blinded by the fact that it is tradition to make a change for the
“Authors use setting to create meaning, just as painters use backgrounds and objects to render ideas.” - Literary Anthology. The setting of "A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty, takes place on a cold December morning during the 1940 's. In "A Worn Path", the setting allows readers to grasp a better understanding of various components which make up the story. The components are the character qualities, symbols and the mood and atmosphere. The path the main character, Phoenix, follows to the city and what she endures through her journey shows what kind of person Phoenix is and the true qualities of her character. The symbols found in the setting allow a deeper incite to the meaning of the story and why they are present.
Romesh exclaims, “They only taught us one year and it isn’t enough…. I think all our lives gonna be bad now.” His brother follows, bewildered and angered that the school has closed. Richard wishes the school would reopen and states, “But my dream ain’t gonna come true, so might as well just get that out my head” (The Boys of Baraka, Grady and Ewing). This clearly illustrates negative attitudes toward to closing of the school. Whereas Montrey does the best he can and tries with a positive attitude, Richard gives up in school. “That school do a lot of work, I don’t want to do it” he says (Boys of Baraka, Grady and Ewing). As in “Opinions and Social Pressures”, the Boys of Baraka goes back to this articles core idea. Richard had a positive attitude in Baraka. He had learning disabilities, but made the most of what he could and tried his best, even learning to read better. But, coming home, the pressure to be like the status quo; to have the attitude of failure and hopelessness toward a future, snuck its way back in. The idea of moral elevation in “The Trick to Being More Virtuous” was now lost. Because the attitude of others around Richard and Romesh in the peaceful and tranquil Kenyan environment was different, the moral elevation the two boys obtained was evident. Though, when they were surrounded by the negativity and fires and drugs of Baltimore,