Both the nurse and the attendant just see her as a check mark, as charity. Worn Path is a retail shop focused on being outside or bringing the wonders of the outside world into your home. April 1st 1997 Added to this when she picks up a nickel the hunter drops hoping that he won’t notice, he does but doesn’t let on after he comes back with his dog from running off a stray that had gone after her. She comfortably coexists with nature and “displays an awareness that the natural world was here long before her birth and will continue long afterward.” However, as she gets closer to Natchez—the human world, the world dominated by a system of racial hierarchy and violence—things become more problematic. She buys it for her grandson, who she made the journey for. Welty very well delivers this concept through the encounters of phoenix Jackson by not only writing it but allowing the main character to narrate, grasping the readers attention more. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences.
Wouldn’t miss going to town to see Santa Claus!” The hunter’s gun is present throughout the entire scene as a symbol of his power and ability to deal death to both the bobwhites and herself.
The colors mixing showed that black and white people can be together. . She informs the nurse that her grandson’s throat closes up on occasion and he has trouble swallowing. A worn one.
The same not so friendly attendant handed her a nickel in the Christmas spirit. While such a concept may appear unrealistic, of idealistic, in real life, the initial scene Welty provides—a poor, elderly, and sickly grandmother in tattered clothes with a makeshift cane walking in cold weather—helps readers realize it is not so far from real life as it may seem. In Eudora Welty’s A Worn Path, Wetly uses minor symbols and significant characters to make an impression on the reader as they learn more about Phoenix Jackson and her lifestyle choices. Phoenix is an old woman, who must be around a hundred, since it seems like the story takes place in the very late 1930s or very early 1940s, and she says she was "too old [for schooling] at the Surrender," which means the end of the Civil War, 1865. This is depicted in more than one way in this story. A Worn Path. © 2020 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. What will her grandson do when she passes? Eudora Welty in her story 'A Worn Path' tells of a heart-filled journey about a woman named Phoenix. Phoenix Jackson, an elderly African American woman, traveling on foot through the many terrains of Natchez Trace, Mississippi. She is very determined despite being a physically feeble woman. For someone that is blind and hard of waking, this couldn’t have been her first time taking this long journey. In A Worn Path, Welty presents Christian imagery in the main character, Phoenix Jackson, from the obstacles she encounters on a journey to help a family member. resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. Many critics have commented on the significance of the main character's name in relation to the mythology phoenix, relating to her indomitable ability to rise again and make her journey. Her trip this time is to get medicine for her grandson. T. The worn path is a trail that old Aunt Phoenix has taken since she was a young girl, from her place back off the Old Natchez Trace into the town of Natchez. Welty uses these symbols to show the trials and tribulations of life. A short story. But she must be close to 100. However, Phoenix does make it through the human world just as she did the nonhuman one. This short story by Eudora Welty was both vivid and very moving. It is thus an ancient symbol of rebirth, of perseverance. A Worn Path Prentice Hall:Literature, Grade 10, Part 2, Common Core Edition. There are a few smaller characters like the nurse and the black dog. Very enjoyable and admitting various levels of reading. Though it is a small part of the story, the thorn bush is a major role in Phoenix Jackson’s journey because it symbolizes that not all obstacles appear to be trouble at first, or are more trouble than they need to be. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience. Having swallowed lye, he has suffered without healing for several years. As the reader dives deeper into the story, it becomes clear that the many occurrences Phoenix confronts on her trip are somewhat representations of real-life occurrences. She talks happily to the landscape, warning the small animals to stay safely out of her way and showing patience with the thorn bush, which behaves naturally in catching her dress. Based on her encounter with two elderlu women while out painting. When her grandson gets sick from ingesting lye, the feeble old woman goes on an obstacle filled journey into town for medication for her ill loved one. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. To see what your friends thought of this book. Then her slow step began on the stairs, going down. Phoenix has made the journey enough times that her path to Natchez seems a worn path. She carried a thin, small cane made from an umbrella, and with this she kept tapping the frozen earth in front of her. At the end of the story Phoenix procures life-giving medicine and saves her grandson; she is often seen as Moses, who paved the way for Christ. The paper windmill symbolizes selflessness and generosity that should be given during a persons lifetime. All the adventures and feelings Phoenix comes across on her trip work to ensure readers that the love that is promised in Welty’s story through Phoenix is extremely powerful and important in order for a relationship to thrive.
. I read this story in a much darker tone than someone else might read it, and it's left open to decide the truth for yourself. The paper windmill is the last and smallest symbol that symbolizes life on Phoenix Jackson’s journey down A Worn Path. This quote proves that she is more concerned about pleasing her grandson and making sure he is entertained than she is about taking such a long journey away from home. She makes her way to the doctor’s office to retrieve the medication for her grandson. Osborne-Bartucca, Kristen.
There are allusions to Eden (the snakes), the parting of the Red Sea (the corn field), the River Jordan and the City of Heaven (Natchez), and the Christ-child in the manger (her grandson with his “sweet look” and his mouth like “a little bird”). The hunter comes across Phoenix Jackson, or “Granny” as he calls her, with his dog while she’s in a creek.
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. Her behavior contrasts ironically with the hunter’s. The phoenix is a mythical bird that lives for several hundred years and dies in flames but is reborn again to start a new long life. Phoenix enters a building and goes up to a woman seated at a desk, who assumes that Phoenix is another charity case. She also encounters many obstacles along her path… read analysis of The Worn Path She is caring about her grandson but she can be considered delusional based on certain interactions she has with people and her environment. We don’t know anything about her grandson besides that he is sick. Jackson went far out of her way and into town to purchase this paper windmill for her grandson with the last bit of money that she had. There is in the story, an example of situational irony is when the nurse asks if Phoenix is a charity case, this is ironic because Phoenix is not a charity case and is stealing money from the nurse and the Hunter. For instance, Welty presents the information that “a little boy brought her a plate with a slice of marble cake on it” in exactly the same manner that as her self-extrication from the bush. The primary symbol in Eudora Welty's short story "A Worn Path" is, in fact, a path. Jackson confirms with the hunter that she has been around violence in her day, confirming that this symbol links back to racial issues and disturbances in the story. This contributes to the theme because it was a hard time for everybody and they were facing many obstacles. An old woman named Phoenix Jackson makes a journey that, from the title alone, we sense is one she has made many times before. With the story being in Third Person we are able to know more about Phoenix Jackson, she is hardworking, caring and determined to help her grandson. This borrowing of ideas and concepts can been seen quite clearly in the works […], Modern day interpretations of Thomas More’s critical and controversial Utopia have called into question his messages to sixteenth century audiences. [5]:59, A commonly cited theme of the story is unselfish love, which Orr has stated is the ""charitable" view of Phoenix that the white community in the text finds acceptable".
When she is at the physician’s office and has to sit and remember why she is there and how her grandson is. "A Worn Path" is a short story by Eudora Welty in which Phoenix Jackson travels into town to get medicine for her grandson. "A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty is a short story about an elderly African American woman who undertakes a familiar journey on a road in a rural area to acquire medicine for her grandson. [5], "Character in Place: Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path, "Mistletoe in Eudora Welty's 'A Worn Path, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=A_Worn_Path&oldid=974238563, Articles with dead external links from June 2020, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 21 August 2020, at 21:26. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. This website uses cookies to provide you with the best browsing experience.
It also tackles issues such as racism and the way people treat the aged and elderly. The significance of the time of year is that it is close to Christmas which, according to the Bible, is the time of the birth of Christ. The journey she goes on has its ups and downs figuratively and literally, but Phoenix pushes through to get to her goal. I think that the theme is that a good person (like Phoenix) will do her duty and fulfill her obligations no matter how hard it is to do so. "There's no telling", she says. Kevin Moberly also looks at “A Worn Path” through the lens of slavery and the slave narrative tradition. Nature Obstacles on her way into town Has to travel through the woods Phoenix Jackson vs. Racism/Society Racism was big in that time era (KKK) The Hunter even says to her Doesn’t the gun scare you? It shows that she cares more about her grandsons happiness than she does about how tedious and hard the journey might be, especially for someone her age. She does not have the education that the diploma in the doctor’s office indicates; as Claxton says, “It is a tangible sign of education that gives his knowledge more credibility than her knowledge acquired through years or living far from a town or city—knowledge of what kind of water to drink and the trees and animals in her world.” Now that she is standing before the attendant, her voice, which was so strong with the animals and fields and thorns, falters. On she marches through some areas that have no path at all . Also, Welty compares the appearance of Ms. Jackson to a solitary little bird illustrating that she is alone on the journey she is taking. When the dog comes at her, she gives it a snap of the cane but falls over in turn.
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