Eudora Welty The Worn Path

THE WORN PATH

Name
Professor’s Name
Course number
Date of the paper
THE WORN PATH
Sometimes, journey becomes the epitome of certain abstract ideas such as determination, boldness, and heroism. The story, “The Worn Path” by Eudora Welty is such a story of the journey of an African-American elderly woman, who is resolute in obtaining the medicine for her grandson, suffering from the swallowed lye in his throat (Kathleen 14). Eudora Welty has designed a story with an aim to show grandma’s persistence in perilous settings such as fear of animals, settings of woods, rivers, hills, rocky path and her journey towards the city on the cold winter day, far from her village and as a final point, her success to get a medicine from

the town. She had managed to portray a theme of determination and bravery’s role to get succeed, irrespective of death-defying circumstances, crafty settings or personal shortcomings in the story. It helps the story to grip the theme of the thrilling, motivating. To produce more beautiful work, the author has strikingly incorporates fiction elements such as characters, symbolism, narrative structure and so on while writing a story, “The Worn Path”. Hence, the aim of the paper is to discuss the characters and narrative structure used in the story so that, we would be able to recognize this story’s theme in a thorough manner, written and thought by the author.
To begin with characters, Phoenix Jackson is a story’s protagonist.

The story is all about her kindness, caring attitude, determination, heroism, cunning, and her tolerance strength, though having senile dementia, adulthood, and different dicey settings. Eudora Welty wants to depict the theme of willpower’s strength over dangerous settings and individual limitations. And Phoenix’s character effectively supports and hits the spot in strengthening the claim and theme, the author wants to dramatize in the story. Moreover, her soliloquy during the journey to boost her inner strength in her alone journey towards the city for the therapeutic help looks noteworthy and shows her determining nature. For instance, in the story, she said, “I wasn't as old as I though” (encouraging herself), “Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals!. . . Keep out from under these feet, little bob-whites” (soliloquy to get rid of fear), “I bound to go on my way, mister” (granny attitude while replying the white

man).
Further, Eudora Welty’s narrative structure strikes a nice balance in the story to display a massive courage and jeopardies associated with the story (Dennis 151).

It includes extraordinary characterization, struggles, and determination and positive end in its theme. Eudora brilliantly incorporates act of resolution, in which problem is presented (grandson’s sickness and need of medicine), so the central character’s confronting efforts to resolve the problem (in spite of senile dementia, adulthood and other risks of wild animals, fear of the woods, uneven path and so on, and grandma’s efforts to struggle and survive in such menaces), and in the end, get the success in any case (her success to reach the town and get a medicine). But, in addition to this, Eudora radiantly also not strays from her theme, and keep engaging narration by including a couple of characters, granny’s mental process and her own shortcomings throughout the journey of her en route for medicine for her grandson. So, it can be said that the author has kept linear narration, but with the elements of thrill and chance, and

jump.
So, we can even conclude that, the story, “The Worn Path” by Eudora Welty has designed the strong character of Phoenix Jackson’s to depicts her theme of determination’s power to overcome any unsafe or dangerous situations and settings, regardless person’s limitations.