Symbolism in A Worn Path by Eudroa Welty

948 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Phoenix jackson character traits

“A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty is an interesting short story, full of symbolism. This story is about an old African American lady named Phoenix Jackson. The story does not directly tells us that she is old, but we know she is old because she forgets the reason why she went to the town. Welty writes about Phoenix’s journey through the woods of Mississippi to the town of Natchez to get medicine for her grandson. Along the way, Phoenix encounters several obstacles in her way, which have symbolism and on the things she says on her way to the town. Symbolism is shown on the obstacles she encounters on her way to the town. The obstacles show and represent racism for example on the big dead trees, cake, and mistletoe. In her story “A Worn Path,” Eudora Welty used symbolism to demonstrate that determination and will enabled Phoenix to survive in life no matter how difficult the struggle was.
The story shows that there could be still slavery or it has already passed, but we know that there is still racism. Slaves were escaping from their owners to free land where African American would be free. The town of Natchez Trace was an overland trail between Nashville, Tennessee, and Natchez, Mississippi. In the early 1800s, it was a "worn path", which promoted progress for the African American slaves. Her journey was along a "worn path," this means that she had walked this trip many times. This worn path is also symbolic for the pilgrimages made by all pilgrims who were on a quest, religious or otherwise, in all of history; the worn path is full of challenges and hardships along the way. The pilgrims were like the African salves because they also wanted to be free and do whatever they wanted to do. Many blacks probably wanted to go to Natchez t...

... middle of paper ...

... to get her grandson the help that he needs. Eudora Welty wrote the short story based on the southern way of life that she had observed. The modernist theme focused on overcoming and problem no matter what it took. Welty’s writing was a focus on the African American lifestyle in the South in the early nineteen hundreds. It was a tough road for the African Americans but they did what they had to. For example Phoenix encounters many things that Eudora Welty describes the readers to racism in the south. Welty symbolizes racism by the dead trees, the cake, and mistletoe. Also, racism is shown by the actions on the white people towards her.

.

Work Cited
Welty, Eudora. "The Atlantic." The Atlantic Monthly. Feb. 1980. 22 May. 2014. .

Show More
Related

  • Eudora Welty's A Worn Path

    1353 Words  | 3 Pages

    Eudora Welty's 'A Worn Path' is a story that emphasizes the natural symbolism of the surroundings. As the story begins, we are introduced to our main character, Phoenix Jackson; she is described as a small, old Negro woman. I believe that the name Eudora Welty gives our main character is very symbolic. The legend of the Phoenix is about a fabled sacred bird of ancient Egyptians. The bird is said to come out of Arabia every 500 years to Heliopolis, where it burned itself on the altar and rose again from its ashes, young and beautiful. Phoenix, the women in the story, represents the myth of the bird because she is described as being elderly and near the end of her life. Phoenix can hardly walk and uses a cane made of an old umbrella to aid her. Her skin is described as old and wrinkly, but yet with a golden color running beneath it 'Her skin had a pattern all its own of numberless branching wrinkles and as though a whole little tree stood in the middle of her forehead, but a golden color ran underneath?(55). Her skin tone represents the golden feathers of the Phoenix and her grandson represents the next Phoenix that will be given life when she dies. The trip to the city to get the medicine represents the mythological trip that the Phoenix takes to the sun to die. Most likely this journey along a worn path through the woods, will be one of her last.

    Read More

  • It Ll All Come Out In The Wash By Joanne Crutchfield

    1205 Words  | 3 Pages

    The stories that the author told were very insightful to what life was like for an African American living in the south during this time period. First the author pointed out how differently blacks and whites lived. She stated “They owned the whole damn town. The majority of whites had it made in the shade. Living on easy street, they inhabited grand houses ranging from turn-of-the-century clapboards to historics”(pg 35). The blacks in the town didn’t live in these grand homes, they worked in them. Even in today’s time I can drive around, and look at the differences between the living conditions in the areas that are dominated by whites, and the areas that are dominated by blacks. Racial inequalities are still very prevalent In today’s society.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In A Worn Path By Eudora Welty

    823 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • A Worn Path and The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

    2170 Words  | 5 Pages

    In A Worn Path by Eudora Welty an elderly African American woman named Phoenix Jackson picks a cold December day to make yet another perilous journey to a near by city to get medicine for her ailing grandson. On the way this old woman faces many obstacles, both natural and man-made. Phoenix draws upon her perseverance and willingness to sacrifice herself to help her throughout her journey, but it is the undying love for her grandson that truly guides and drives her to her final goal. She is described as being a very old woman. “Her eyes were blue with age. Her skin had a pattern all its own of numberless branching wrinkles and as though a whole little tree stood in the middle of her forehead, but a golden color run underneath, and the two knobs of her cheeks were illuminated by a yellow burning under the dark (Welty 386). These all show an indication of her old age. Also, her loss of memory indicates her old age. It was only until Phoenix reached the doctor’s office she remembered why she went on her journey. “My grandson. It was my memory had left me. There I sat and forgot why I made my trip”(Welty 394). Another character in the story was a white man who was a hunter. When Phoenix falls in the ditch, he helps her out of the ditch. Even though the hunter helps Phoenix, he still poses as a threat to her, because it seems he did not want her to finish her journey. This is made apparent when he states, “Why, that’s too far! That’s as far as I walk when I come out myself, and I get something for my trouble”(Welty 391). In addition, like her name, Phoenix seems ageless. When she stops to drink water from the spring she says, “Nobody know who made this well, for it was here when I was born”(Welty 391). When she encounters the hunter and he asks her how old she is she says, “There is no telling, mister, “said, “no telling” (Welty 392). Again her age is emphasized when she goes to the doctor’s office and the nurse ask her why she never went to school. “I never did go to school, I was too old a...

    Read More

  • Phoenix Jackson In Eudora Welty's A Worn Path

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    In mythology the Phoenix is a long-lived bird that is reborn by arising from the ashes from its predecessors. A symbol of undying toughness, it is of little doubt why Eudora Welty decided to name the protagonist of her short story “A Worn Path” in its image. Phoenix Jackson shows an incredible toughness to continue through the obstacles on the path she walks, which act as a symbol of the struggles an “old Negro woman” would have faced during the 1930s in the South, an area afflicted with the Great Depression and residual racism and oppression (333). In her short story “A Worn Path” Welty uses the changing settings of the worn path entrance, the deep trail through the forest, and the town at the end of the path to reveal more about Phoenix Jackson’s character.

    Read More

  • Immortal Ideas In "A Worn Path"

    2017 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Symbolism in “a worn path”

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    Eudora Welty uses symbolism in a worn by using objects or people to symbolize objects and ideas, for example the main character in a worn path is named phoenix Jackson which symbolizes the Arabian mythological bird that lives a very long time and dies in a fire but comes back to life out of the ashes. A web site called 123 help me says that phoenix Jackson symbolizes a sign of strength because she stands her ground “as the hunter taunts her with his gun” this shows that she is stronger than the hunter thinks she is.

    Read More

  • Phoenix's Hardships and Racism in A Worn Path

    863 Words  | 2 Pages

    “A Worn Path” tells of an elderly and frail black woman and of the hardships that she must overcome. Upon reading the story, you realize that there is more to the story than meets the eye. She faces many roadblocks along her way. Phoenix faces many dangerous obstacles along her way, for a person of her age. She faces racism from some of characters she meets along the way. Phoenix faces inferior treatment, as though she is nothing more than some insect to squash. This story is about not only her ‘journey’ to Natchez, but also about her journey through society and the struggle to overcome the dangers, being treated inferior, and the racism.

    Read More

  • A Worn Path

    643 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Struggles of Survival

    626 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path”, an elderly woman goes through trial for the greater good. Ms. Phoenix Jackson goes on a journey, most people could not take, to save her grandson’s life. Rachel Lister, an author of Literary Context in Short Stories Collections: Eudora Welty’s ‘A Worn Path’, states what kind of person Phoenix is: “[A] female subject [that] makes her way through a wood on a mission to help the afflicted” (par. 5). She goes through obstacles to get to her destination: she is attacked by a black dog, she goes through a barbed wire fence, she encounters a white hunter, and etc. Rachel Lister implies, “She faces a series of challenges and temptations” (par. 5). Nevertheless she is ambitious to finish her journey, although it is a cold winter day. “A Worn Path” is full of symbolism. Rachel Lister asserts, “The chains …, the thorns, and the barbed wire symbolizes the continuing oppression which restricts the social mobility of the African American people in the south” (par. 5). Ms. Phoenix is just not a character but she is a symbol for hope. Her character is portrayed as a Christ-like figure. She goes these trials to save her grandson from death...

    Read More

  • A Worn Path

    812 Words  | 2 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

  • Theme Of A Worn Path

    842 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of A Worn Path

    1465 Words  | 3 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

  • A Worn Path Analysis Essay

    1386 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Eudora Welty's A Worn Path

    463 Words  | 1 Pages

    Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” reveals a story of the journey endured by the protagonist Phoenix Jackson. In this novel, Welty utilizes the president associated with black women, dense symbolism and vivid imagery to convey the theme of unwavering faith and perseverance. Phoenix Jackson is immediately characterized as a stereotypical quote on quote strong black woman. Welty describes her as an “old Negro woman with her head tied in a red rag”. These physical details indicates that this story takes place in a time where slavery and segregation are very prevalent.

    Read More

More about Symbolism in A Worn Path by Eudroa Welty

Open Document