Phoenix Jackson, in “A Worn Path”, written by Eudora Welty, is an old negro woman living in poverty. She lives a lonesome life with her ill grandson, fighting to keep him by her side. Ever-so-often Phoenix journeys out on an life or death path in order to obtain medicine for her grandson who has swallowed lye, which causes his throat to close up and prevents him swallowing anything. Although, as easy as it may sound to simply receive the medicine and return to her grandson, we must keep in mind that she has aged quite a bit and also that there are many occurrences in which impede Phoenix’s journey. Eudora Welty, in “A Worn Path” establishes characters such as The hunter, The nurse and Mother Nature, in order to interfere with Phoenix Jackson’s …show more content…
The nurse had plenty sympathy for Phoenix seeing as how she did truly care for her grandson. The nurse realizes this when she says “She doesn’t come for herself--she has a little grandson. She makes these trips just as regular as clockwork…”(Welty 77) Although, the nurse does not necessarily agree much about what the hospital had been doing for her. She had been constantly doubting her reasons for coming on such a long trip to recieve medicine for someone who will not be cured. You can clearly notice doubt in the tone of the nurse when she says “The doctor said as long as you came to get it, you could have it, but it’s an obstinate case.”(Welty 92) The last line clearly tells us that the nurse would certainly refute on the prevention of letting Phoenix receive all the medicine which in the nurse’s perspective may seem like a waste, but in Phoenix’s perspective it is a task of love and admirability of her grandson. Phoenix does not let this slide by this time as it did with the hunter. She contradicts the nurse and simply entails that her grandson and her were the only ones left in the world and that she will not forget why she does what she does for …show more content…
Nature was actually the first interaction Phoenix had encountered during her journey. Near the beginning we see Phoenix say “Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals!... Don’t let none of those come running my direction. I got a long way.” (Welty 3) This statement shows us how determined Phoenix strived for her goal, at the absolute point where she step foot outside. Phoenix tells mother nature straightforward not to interfere with her voyage, but as we know that's not something that can be controlled. Phoenix is about 100 years old according to the hunter, which means at around that age their muscles start to become more fragile and won't function well in the cold and at the time Phoenix heads out she is passing through extreme cold weather conditions. According to Dan Donlan, on his criticism on this story, ““A Worn Path” : Immortality of Stereotype”, he states “Old Phoenix is surrounded by death. The season is winter. The earth is frozen. The woods are still, and the dove mourns.” (Donlan) Donlan’s statement specifies that Phoenix’s journey is a more excruciating pathway then you may think, temperatures hitting below zero, animals who may find Phoenix prey,
Phoenix Jackson's grandson needs medicine, and she is willing to walk through a frozen path with many obstacles for him. Phoenix Jackson came face to face with many dangerous situations. Such as falling in a ditch, being attacked by dogs, having a gun pointed at her, etc. “He not able to help himself. So the time came around and i go on another trip for the soothing medicine” (p.53) In this quote she is explaining to the secretaries how sick her grandson is and that she is willing to do anything to help him.
In the short story "A Worn Path," the message that Eudora Welty sends to the readers is one of love, endurance, persistence, and perseverance. Old Phoenix Jackson walks a long way to town, through obstacles of every sort, but no obstacle is bad enough to stop her from her main goal. She may be old and almost blind, but she knows what she has to do and won't give up on it. Her grandson has swallowed lye, and she has a holy duty of making her way to town in order to get medicine for him. The wilderness of the path does not scare her off. She stumbles over and over, but she talks herself through every obstacle. Undoubtedly, the theme of perseverance is what Eudora Welty wants to point out to her readers. Just like the name Phoenix suggests
...urtful act that should have caused guilt. Another instance was guilt, it was shown when the clinic attendant gave Phoenix another nickel; although it was kind this seems to be her way of compensating an earlier offensive statement “Are you deaf?” to Phoenix. What she chose to do was not coming from being kind buy because it was a sense of duty. The same can be said with the woman who tied Phoenix’s shoelaces—that she did it out of duty of Christmas season rather than genuine concern for the elderly.
“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.
It’s December when Phoenix starts on her journey to Natchez and it is a journey she has taken many times before. This journey is no journey an elderly and weaken person should have to make by themselves, yet Phoenix does. She does not allow her age or her condition to keep her from it. Deep through the pines, the path takes her, and her first task would be to make it over a hill that seems to take all her energy and strength. “Seems like there is chains around my feet, time I get this far…” (Welty 5), here the reader can tell Phoenix does not have the strength that she really needs to make it up the hill. Yet somewhere she finds the will to keep pushing on and moving forward. This same type of spirit that allows Phoenix to keep pushing forward in society, and not to back down. Showing the younger generation that you have to fight your way through to a brighter day. It is later down the path that Phoenix comes to a creek and the only way to get across, is by walking on a log. Phoenix walks across this log with her eyes close. Once across she opens her eyes and says, “I wasn’t as old as I ...
Phoenix’s journey is a little long just by walking alone in the middle of the
In "A Worn Path", a short story by Eudora Welty, the main character, an old colored woman named Phoenix, slowly but surely makes her way down a "worn path" through the woods. Throughout her journey, she runs into many obstacles such as a thorny bush and a hunter. She overcomes these obstacles and continues with her travels. She finally reaches her destination, the doctor’s office, where she gets medicine for her sick grandson back home. Many critics have speculated that this short story represents the love a grandmother shows for her grandson. Others say this story represents life and death, where Phoenix represents an immortal figure. Dennis J. Sykes disagrees with the other critics by saying, "A parallel exists between the journey described and the plight of the Southern blacks after the Civil War" (Sykes). Ultimately, Eudora Welty demonstrates how blacks have been persecuted in a white world.
“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.
Although I feel as though there are many literary elements throughout this short story such as characterization and theme, I also feel as though symbolism is very important as well. First of all, I believe that the name Phoenix in itself is symbolic for the type of person the old woman truly is. A Phoenix is a mythological creature who dies in fire and rises from ashes only to be stronger. It is as though all of these hardships only make the old woman more determined to complete her journey successfully.
Her trip is full of obstacles, from bushes of thorns that get caught in her dress, to her crossing of a creek. These elements complicate the conflict and increase the readers' curiosity about the plot. Phoenix can't trust her eyes, choosing instead to walk along with her eyes closed and sense her way with the help of her cane. While needed rest forces her to stop for a while, she has a vision of a little boy handing her a slice of marble cake. So many questions arise in the minds of the readers. Who was the little boy? Is she halluci...
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.
... ailment and she knows that "faith will heal the sick" (James 5:15). Phoenix is so confident in her faith that even while traveling through silent cornfields, crossing streams, and braving a swamp, she makes the journey with her eyes firmly clamped shut. For as it says in Scripture, "we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).
There are also mental obstacles that obstruct Phoenix’s journey. She has to triumph over her weariness because of her old age and her mental fatigue. As she is walking her mind plays tricks on her, such as the time when she is in the field and mistakes the scarecrow for a dark mysterious figure that she is frightened of. Another time is when she talks to herself and the animals in the woods. She tells them not to get in her way because she has a long trip ahead of her. The love that one person gives to another is never truly appreciated until the recipient realizes what that person has actually done. The grandson may be too ill or even too young to realize what his grandmother is doing for his safety.
Phoenix's precarious journey may seem dangerous, but her determination is what carries her through the obstacles she faces as she makes her way through the woods. Phoenix makes her way across the worn path and discovers many active opponents. She continues forward over barriers that would not even be considered a hindrance for the young. The long hill that she takes tires her, the thornbrush attempts to catch her clothes, the log that Phoenix goes across endangers her balance as she walks across it, and the barbed-wire fence threatens to puncture her skin. All of these impediments that Phoenix endures apparently do not affect her because she is determined that nothing will stop her on her journey. She keeps proceeding onward letting nothing deter her determination. ?The hunter(tm)s attempt to instill fear in Phoenix, a fear she disposed of years ago as she came to terms with her plight in society, fail (Sykes 151). She ?realizes that the importance of the trip far exceeds the possible harm that can be done to her brittle ...
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