Eudora Welty's A Worn Path

People often face many roadblocks on their way to success that deter them from believing that they can reach their goal. They allow trials to get in the way of the real end goal, and thus, stop short of achieving. In the short story "A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty, the main character Phoenix Jackson provides an example to people on how they should not allow trials to hold them back. Welty's use of character, symbolism, and similes help to reveal the theme that with patience and determination, people can achieve anything.

To begin with, the character of Phoenix Jackson shows that patience and determination help people to achieve their tasks because she was able to complete hers, despite her age and physical limitations. Jackson is a "...very

old and small..." woman who goes as far as to call herself "...the oldest [person she] know[s]..." (Welty 1004). Her age alone shows how unfit she is for the journey she is on, as the reader can assume that she is in her late 60s and thus should have many physical struggles caused by her age. Wilison observes from the story that Jackson has limitations such as "...her encroaching senility, her poor eyesight, and her difficulty in walking"(317). These disabilities cause her journey to be that much harder as she often finds herself imaging things that are not real, "...depending on her feet to know where to take her...", and falling on the ground (Welty 1010). Jackson faces hardships during her journey that one would assume would derail her from completing it. Instead of having the attitude that she cannot do it, Jackson continues on the path, and "...her sense of determination never succumbs to defeat"(Wilson 315). Jackson does not allow physical problems from injuring her spirit and continues to move along her path. She is determined to get her grandson his medicine, as he is the only person she has left, which causes her to persevere through her journey despite her bad feet, eyes, and confused mind.

Jackson does not forget; however, that she does have physical limitations and thus takes her time on the path, even when things are not going her way. As she was walking along, a dog jumped out of the bush and startled her, causing her to fall down. Rather than focusing all her energy on trying to get back up, Jackson understands that she is not physically strong enough to pick herself off the ground and thus "...she lay[s] there and presently went to talking [to herself]"(Welty 1005). Instead of overstraining herself and risk potentially injuring her body that would cause her to not be able to continue walking, Jackson patiently waits for help to come along, which it does in the form of the hunter. She is determined to get the medicine for her grandson and thus, is patient with herself and looks for solutions that will not cause her to end her journey to soon. Readers are encouraged by Jackson's example that anyone can complete any goal, despite any physical, or mental disabilities they may have. "Because of her frailty, her determination to continue on her journey highlights her resilience and perseverance"(Wilson 315). Through the whole story, Jackson quickly recovers from her hardships and continues onward with the same spirit of conviction she had in the beginning. The fact that Jackson completes her journey that was filled with many trials is inspiring to read and shows that no matter how old someone is or what disabilities they have, they can achieve anything they desire as long as they have the determination to do so and patience with themselves.

Furthermore, symbolism found throughout the story helps prove the theme because it relates Jackson's journey to life, thus showing how the reader can overcome their own trials during their task. Wilson observes that Welty uses "...symbol[s] to convey her meaning..."and "merges the everyday with the universal"(320). The many hardships that Jackson faces along the path symbolize trials that people face throughout their journey on earth. Readers are able to see how Jackson overcomes her mundane struggles and can apply the example of conquering trials

with a spirit of determination and patience to their own lives.

One of the first tests that she came upon was a hill where "[s]omething always take a hold of [her] on this hill—pleads [that she] should stay" (Welty 1006). She finds herself struggling to make it up a hill that seems to never want her to make it over; however, her determination to continue on defeats the idea of giving up. The hill symbolizes a trial that seems like it is too big to overcome and one in which people say someone cannot make it over. Jackson's example encourages the reader not to listen to what others think they can and cannot achieve, and climb over their trials with a determined spirit. Jackson comes across another hazard on the path in the form of a white hunter who, as Wilson notes, "… helps her out of a ditch but patronizes her and trivializes her journey"(316). He makes the assumption that because she is colored she is "… going to town to see Santa Claus", thus undermining the fact that she is making this hard journey to get medicine for her grandson (Welty 1009). Instead of getting angry with the hunter about his racist remark, "… something held Old Phoenix very still" and she patiently waited for the hunter to leave her be (Welty 1009). Jackson's approach to tackling this test informs the reader that sometimes trials should just be ignored. Rather than trying to fight the hardship, people should keep their dignity and wait until it passes them. The struggles that Jackson faces on her path help the reader to learn how they can overcome roadblocks in their life without getting frustrated and give up on their goals. Welty's use of symbolism helps to bring the universal theme, through patience and determination people are able to do anything placed before them, to

light.

Furthermore, the use of similes by Welty in the story help to prove the theme since they help to paint a picture of the trials Jackson faced and how she overcome them. Welty has "...been praised from early on for her use of language...", primarily similes, that keep the reader engaged in the story as they understand better what Jackson in facing (Wilson 318). When Jackson began

to climb the large hill in the beginning of her journey, she compared the feeling she felt "… to chains about [her] feet, [every]time [she] get[s] this far..." (Welty 1006). The reader most likely knows what chains feel like and thus, can better comprehend why she is struggling to overcome this part of the journey. When she gets to the other side of the hill, the reader is able to see more value in her accomplishment of overcoming the trial and is convinced that if she can overcome something like that, they too can overcome trials that seem to weigh them down. Jackson's persistence through this test allows readers to know that they need to approach trials with confidence, despite the weight the trial puts on them. Welty has also been exalted for her "… vivid comparisons... "' as they assist "… the reader [to] form a mind's eye picture of the action"(Wilson 318). The similes used in the story allow for the reader to view Jackson as she conquers her test. As Jackson balances over a log to cross a river, a thing that doesn’t seem like a hardship to most but is most definitely one for an older woman, Welty compares her to a "… festival figure in some parade, [as] she beg[ings] to march across..."(Welty 1006). When people read this, they immediately picture the scene that Welty describes, and see Jackson as a parade leader. Parade leaders often have a determined look on their face as they lead the line of floats and bands, and thus, readers imagen that Jackson has the same look. Jackson's example of tackling a trial with her head up and a face of confidence allows people to understand that they must approach hardships in the same manner. Therefore, similes used by Welty to describe Jackson and her trials help readers to know that they must go into trials with determination if they want to finish their journey.

To conclude, Welty's uses character, symbolism, and similes to convey the theme that confidence and endurance will help people to overcome trials and achieve their goals. Jackson's age and physical limitations revel that her character is filled with determination, despite how her

own body holds her back, and patience with herself. The trials that she faces symbolize trials that everyone faces on the road to success, and offer examples on how to overcome them. Finally, the similes in the story further help the reader to compare their own life to Jackson and how they can attack hardships the same way she does. By following Jackson's example, people everywhere will be filled with confidence that yes, they can achieve whatever they want, no matter what life