In a short story, “A Worn Path” An elderly woman named Phoenix jackson makes a trip to town to get medicine for her grand child with lye poisoning. Along the way she encounters several obstacles. Welty throughout the story the author makes several points to connect this work to other famous works of literature to strengthen her character without directly doing so. The author uses imagery to recreate famous parts of The Bible also the main character's name, Phoenix Jackson is a reference to the mystical bird the phoenix which is a symbol for rebirth. Phoenix Jackson symbolically is reborn several times throughout the story. The stories title and main plot point is the path she walks which holds many similarities to the path of life.
The first story of the bible that the author relates to “A Worn Path” is the story of moses parting the red sea. This was illustrated in paragraph twenty eight “Parting her way from side to side with her cane..” (Welty) This is one of the more vague relations, but in the third paragraph where Mrs. Jackson yells at wild animals “Old Phoenix said,””Out of my way all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals!... Keep the big wild hogs out of my path....”(Welty) and this strongly relates to first book of the Bible, genesis where God gives man command over all the animals and sea creatures. In the same part of the bible God creates Adam and puts him in charge of naming all of these creates so maybe the author was also taking a jab
“A Worn Path” was written by Eudora Welty after she sees an old African American lady walked on the Natchez Trace. Phoenix Jackson, the old African American lady, had to walk through the Natchez Trace path in order to get medicine for her grandson. The path was described as a long-suffering, struggling, and dangerous path. The Natchez Trace path also reminds us as the path that was used by protesters to march during the Civil War. The windmill that Jackson mentioned in the end of the story, explains that Jackson’s life is a cycle that she keeps on travelling
A worn path is a story about a woman named Phoenix Jackson who needs to go a journey to town to get medicine for her sick grandson. It is a trip she has made before many times before (hence the title A worn Path) but there is something special about this trip, something different. In this paper I plan to dwell into the symbolism behind the Legend of the Phoenix and its relationship to her journey in the story. The legend of the Phoenix is about a fabled sacred bird of ancient Egyptians, said to come out of Arabia every 500 years to Heliopolis, where it burned itself on altar and rose again from its ashes young and beautiful; symbol of immortality. I think this story also represents Christian beliefs because the setting is
In “A Worn Path”, Phoenix Jackson’s name symbolizes the mythological bird “Phoenix.” In mythology, the story of the Phoenix is about a large, magical bird that lived for centuries, created a fire for itself, and rose up out of the ashes renewed again. The bird’s color is described as shimmering red and golden/yellow. Eudora describes Phoenix’s skin as “a golden color” and her cheeks “illuminated by a yellow burning in the dark,” and the red bandana she wears around her head also symbolises the colors of the bird. The idea of Phoenix persevering, like the bird, despite what many would see as insurmountable odds is best seen through her meeting with the hunter. Even when the hunter points out how far the journey is to town for Phoenix, she simply answers, “I bound to go to town, mister. The time come around.” She answers without hesitation, showing that the idea of giving up never entered her mind. It is this resilience in the face of adversity that further ties Phoenix to her namesake.
Overall, Phoenix Jackson’s character adds to the story through her humble, maternal strength. Phoenix’s love for her grandchild brought her through many challenges, but year after year as she completes her trek, she keeps her grandson as her top priority. This overwhelming level of determination allows her to keep hold of her most valuable possession. Through her actions she reveals to the reader that her humble, caring, determined nature allows her to overcome the odds and provide for her family as well as maintain a simple Southern elegance.
“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.
The story “A Worn Path,” by Eudora Welty tells the story of a woman named Phoenix Jackson, who lives in Natchez Mississippi. Phoenix has a grandson that she cares for that has swallowed a chemical called lye, that was in many households back when Welty wrote this story. Lye poisoning was common in rural areas. Welty is writing about this problem the hardship Phoenix Jackson went through to receive medical treatment at that time. Without the name Phoenix Jackson and the characteristics, she possesses there is no way she could overcome the obstacles that stood in her way.
This story is about an old lady by the name of Phoenix Jackson that has a sick grandson. She is a weak and almost blind woman that starts taking this path to get to town. Phoenix goes through manifold of obstacles getting to town. She meets a white man that pointed a gun in here face to town and asks a lady
Welty Eudora. " A WORN PATH.” From The Collected Works of Eudora Welty Literary Criticism Review: "A Worn Path" Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path" is about the journey of Phoenix Jackson, an elderly black woman. You get a sense that this journey appears to not be for any apparent reason. Phoenix travels over hills and through the woods, facing hardships, encounters with disrespect, and moments of loneliness.
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,
In the story, a very old colored woman by the name of Phoenix Jackson ventures on her familiar trip to town filled with many obstacles that might hurt her in her age. She moves very slowly through the woods and finally arrives at the town’s hospital. However, once she gets there, she forgets why she had gone in the first place. One of the nurses recognizes Old Phoenix, and asks about her grandson. Phoenix then remembers that she came to get her sick grandson’s medicine like always. She receives the medicine from charity and starts on her long way back home again.
Phoenix Jackson was the woman wrote about in the story “A Worn Path.” She displayed courageous efforts and determination as she walked toward town. The lecture defined a phoenix as a bird that regenerates itself after falling into flames (Bethel University, 2017). The story relates to that in the sense that Miss Jackson doesn’t let anything stand in her way and keeps pushing forward despite her obstacles.
In “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty the protagonist, Phoenix Jackson is on a quest to go to town. Jackson faces many obstacles in her way. The first obstacle is a hill; at her old age she mentions how “Something always take a hold of me [her] on his hill” informing the reader that she has gone up this hill plenty of times to know that it is a challenge (Welty 457). She then faces an aggressive dog that makes her fall in a ditch. A white man comes and helps her up and ask her “Anything broken, Granny?”
Phoenix Jackson is an old woman with wrinkles all over her body . Phoenix also seems fragile but strong minded and kind hearted . Her intentions are good why because she wants the medicine to make her grandson feel better . Phoenix might not be rich but has enough or barely enough to get her through her worn journey . Phoenix isn’t just doing this to make him feel better she is doing this from the kindness of her heart too see her grandson rejoiced and feeling better .
with Phoenix Jackson setting out on a path she knows too well. While on her journey she comes to familiar parts and surprising parts. To me the journey Phoenix takes along the path is symbolism of a person's whole Life. This short story shows how Phoenix changes throughout her journey. It shows her struggles, falls and then her risings. Welty uses symbolism to compare Phoenix Jackson to the Phoenix bird.
In the beginning of the short story, Phoenix Jackson is introduced as an elderly woman making her way in the woods talking to herself and saying no one is going to stop her from making her journey. First, she gets stuck in a thorn bush, but gets out of it. Then she has to cross a creek on a log, but because of her age, something bad could happen, so she closed her eyes and crossed. She sat near a tree to rest, and began to daydream of a little boy giving her a slice of marble cake, which she gladly accepts, but when she tried to take it, she was just waving her hand in the air. She sees a Scarecrow, who she mistakenly takes it as a man, and then a ghost, and starts to dance with it. She keeps walking, when a black dog came at her a little and knocked her over, and fell into a ditch. A white man sees her and helps her up, but when phoenix sees a