Based on the short story by Eudora Welty. Phoenix Jackson is an older woman and is the main character of this short story, whose ragged clothing and … It is a bright but cold morning in December when an old woman named Phoenix Jackson sets out along a worn path she knows well. During their conversation, Phoenix notices that a nickel falls out of his pocket but the man does not notice. The image of the “black men with one arm” is associated with lynching, a common act of racial violence in the South during the Jim Crow era. A Worn Path Summary. War and Poverty . A Worn Path study guide contains a biography of Eudora Welty, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. She is not part of the consumerism of the town, as signified by the woman in the streets with her presents. When she answers that she is headed into town, he laughs that “colored people” never want to miss “going to town to see Santa Claus.”. . [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". She encounters animals and people along her way, too. However, with determination the vast majority will accomplish the mission they have set out to conquer. Never want to let folks pass—no, sir,” and the narrator assures us, “It was not possible to allow the dress to tear.” The dog startles her, but is not otherwise aggressive. As Elaine Orr writes, “as a charity case, she loses all agency, all fluidity. With Cora Lee Day, Brad Dourif, Conchata Ferrell, Jodie Markell. After he tries to get his dog to attack the other dog in a metonymic display of strength, he turns the gun on Phoenix and asks if the gun scares her. The woman assents. Moreover, the diploma symbolizes the hope of education and literacy.” Second, Moberly explains how, yes, Phoenix is heading south, not north, and “to successive stages of bondage,” but at the end she is “imagining herself following the North Star home to her grandson, holding it out in front of her as she effectively retraces and reverses the course of her journey South.”, To conclude, critic Roland Bartel propounds a theory that fascinated many readers and other critics: that the grandson is actually dead. Once on the other side, she makes her way through a cornfield complete with buzzards and a scarecrow. It is Welty’s literary intelligence that transforms “A Worn Path” into a powerful lesson in the art of limited omniscience. Phoenix “would have lived in an environment of fear, where the beautiful pastoral landscape could be the setting for a grim purpose.” This is not an Eden, but a place where real terrors and dangers exist for black people. As she’s not a slave and he’s not a master, there’s nothing he can do to force her go home, but he’s clearly in a position of power nonetheless. Once on the other side, she finally takes a moment to rest. Armed with a cane in her hand and red rag to keep her head warm, she sways side to side a bit as she walks in the still air. 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. Her shoelaces are untied but she does not trip, even as she keeps her eyes in front of her. The gift is something that harnesses nature into both energy and beauty—it is something that represents hope, that maybe, just maybe, will help spur her grandson to push on and extend the worn path a little farther. The story “A Worn Path” tells us about an old Afro-American woman, whose name is Phoenix Jackson. Secondly, were Phoenix narrating the events in her own voice, imagery such as “With her hands on her knees, the old woman waited, silent, erect and motionless, just as if she were in armor” would have had to be jettisoned. This trip through nature is not going to be just any sort of walk; the natural world wants to tell this woman something on this day. This old black woman is the closest representation of the character that clearly depicts the purpose of Welty, to represent the powerful force of love, determination, sacrifice and life itself. In A Worn Path by Eudora Welty we have the theme of struggle, sacrifice, determination, perseverance, selflessness and love. In the story, she used the character of an old black woman who follows a worn path during Christmas season. [13] Orr states that the cycle culminates for Phoenix herself in the form of the lye/damage/obstacles representing the death that the cycle begins with while the journey and destination relate to the subsequent rebirth and that the money has meaning behind it with the nickel that she stole from the ground that the hunter dropped, can say that she find and takes what she needs when she needs it. Love to me is deep affection feeling. On her way she encounters many obstacles such as the thorns in which her dress got caught in, barbed wire, a scarecrow, a large dog, a hunter and the lady, which ties her shoes. “A Worn Path” written by Eudora Welty is a story of sacrifices and love for the family. A Worn Path A Worn Path by Eudora Welty is a short story about an elderly women- Phoenix Jackson and who is taking a long journey though the woods into town to acquire medicine for her sick grandson. The short story A Worn Path is one of Eudora Welty's most notable fictional stories. It was published in Atlantic Monthly magazine in 1941. Her motivation for having done so is also revealed as she laments how her grandson swallowed lye damaging his throat from the reaction. But his being dead can’t increase the truth of the story, can’t affect it one way or the other. In particular, Mae Miller-Claxton explains that while Phoenix does indeed have a connection to nature that allows her a wisdom and knowledge other characters do not possess, she is absolutely rooted in her time and place as a black woman in Jim Crow Mississippi. Inspiration Through Storytelling: Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path". The main character of Eudora Welty's short story, "A Worn Path", is much like this phoenix.She must overcome much adversity on her life path. 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. He tells her in a friendly authoritative and stern manner that it’s “too far” for her to go to town, and says, “Now you go on home, Granny!” When she says she can’t, he dismisses her with a demeaning comment: “I know you old colored people! Kevin Moberly also looks at “A Worn Path” through the lens of slavery and the slave narrative tradition. Phoenix finally arrives at the city of Natchez, Mississippi. It is Old Phoenix's love for her grandson that causes her to face the trial of the journey to town, every time it is necessary, with no questions asked. His last words are warning her to go back home and stay out of harm, but she is determined to fulfill her mission. She informs the nurse that her grandson’s throat closes up on occasion and he has trouble swallowing. He states that Phoenix’s journey is a “psychological necessity,” and “her only way of coping with her loss and her isolation.” Her journey is a “ritual that symbolically brings her grandson back to life.” Bartel’s evidence for this comes from several places in the story: the vision of the young boy offering her cake may indicate her vanished grandson; her blaming of her lapse of memory in the doctor’s office on her illiteracy is unconvincing, and it would make more sense if she had trouble articulating why she was there if her grandson was dead; her comment about not forgetting her grandson (“I not going to forget him again, no, the whole enduring time”); the going down the stairway at the end of the story suggests a Dantean descent into hell, and the ascent and descent “[strengthen] the thematic unity and symmetry of the story by beginning and ending with references to death.” Bartel says Phoenix ultimately invents this fiction of her grandson still being alive to “make the last portion of her life bearable.” Welty was asked about the grandson being dead numerous times, and responded somewhat elliptically, “the grandson’s plight was real and it made the truth of the story, which is the story of an errand of love carried out. Welty uses symbolism as a bridge to connect the reader to their own inner battles and give A Worn Path a deeper meaning than that of an old lady walking through the woods. She holds “utterly still” and says she’s “seen plenty go off closer by, in my day, and for less than what I done.” With that, the hunter shoulders his gun but still sees fit to give her his “advice” that she ought to stay home. The character of Phoenix Jackson is an elderly African American woman who uses a thin small cane made from an umbrella to tap the ground, akin to a white cane. Next comes a ravine where she stops to take a sip of water from a spring. Phoenix’s name is key here, for the phoenix is an Egyptian mythological creature—a bird who lived for an immensely long time, burst into flame, and was reborn from its ashes. The worn path described in the story shows the trials and problems that can happen in everyday things. Phoenix would certainly not talk using such lofty language and it is equally doubtful she would write that way. Not affiliated with Harvard College. Eudora Welty writes A Worn Path with a sense of symbolism that captures the struggles and pleasures of life. This story describes one of her such journeys to the town. Symbolism . An allegorical story that depicts differential treatment, and a love that knows no boundaries, it is truly touching. Keep the big wild hogs out of my path. She expresses herself, both to her surroundings and in short spurts of spoken monologue, warning away animals and expressing the pain she feels in her weary bones. A Worn Path: Setting. “A Worn Path” is a great story because it has a lot of important message to it and lessons to learn from but there are two words I found very important in this poem. One of the many characterizations in the story starts with Phoenix herself. [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. However, another theme of the story is the ability of the human spirit to endure conflict and poor circumstances within nature and society out of devotion to loved ones. Setting off once again, Phoenix soon encounters another obstruction: a fence of barbed wire under which she must crawl on her hands and knees. Literally speaking, the story is the story of the journey of an old woman who walks towards the city on the cold winter day. On she marches through some areas that have no path at all . I got a long way.' A Worn Path Summary. I can't go through each character but you can check out the characters below: https://www.gradesaver.com/a-worn-path/q-and-a/are-the-main-characters-round-or-flat-are-they-static-or-dynamic-give-examples-to-support-415929. Both the nurse and the attendant just see her as a check mark, as charity. “A Worn Path” is a metaphor for the life of Phoenix Jackson. [2] In which "A Worn Path" follows an elderly African American woman named Phoenix Jackson as she ventures toward a town. GradeSaver, 6 November 2019 Web. Are they static or dynamic? However, Phoenix does make it through the human world just as she did the nonhuman one. The story describes a journey by an elderly black woman named Phoenix Jackson, who must walk a long way into Natchez from her home in rural Mississippi to retrieve medicine for her grandson. I could also say that I did not make him in in order to let him play a trick on Phoenix. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of A Worn Path by Eudora Welty. Once she reaches the top of the hill she rests only a moment to look at what is spread out before her. Other critics look at Phoenix’s connection with nature. "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. "A Worn Path" is a short story by Eudora Welty. Welty uses symbolism as a bridge to connect the reader to their own inner battles and give A Worn Path a deeper meaning than that of an old lady walking through the woods. Claxton provides statistics showing that from 1882-1968, 539 black people were lynched, with more deaths probably going unrecorded. 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 Question and Answer section for A Worn Path is a great [11] Welty herself has said it is a story about how a writer works. 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”). She used to live in a village far away from the town. She was very old and small and she walked slowly in the dark pine shadows, moving a little from side to side in her steps, with the balanced heaviness and lightness of a pendulum in a grandfather clock. Throughout the story, Jackson suffers through many cases, and at times, feels the need to just give up. "[5]:58 She has also been identified as "a completely and beautifully harmonious person" and Nancy K. Butterworth has noted that the character is neither a stereotype or stock character. The phrase "with the balanced heaviness and lightness of a pendulum in a grandfather clock" describes? In Greek mythology the phoenix is the symbol for idealism and hope. The simple construction of the information that “a bush caught her dress” immediately situates the reader into scene from Phoenix’s perspective. She used to live in a village far away from the town. She manages to take it when he is distracted by his dog, and slips it into her apron pocket. Phoenix enters a building and goes up to a woman seated at a desk, who assumes that Phoenix is another charity case. When the nurse brings her another bottle of medicine, she hands it over and says “Charity” before checking her accounts book. She carries a cane and switches it … Moreover, the diploma symbolizes the hope of education and … When she reaches the bottom of the hill, she is forced to make her way over a creek by inching across a fallen log. The scarecrow looms menacingly in the shadows in real time for both Phoenix and the reader. [6], The symbolism in the piece and the potential lessons to be learned from it are open to interpretation. "A Worn Path “A Worn Path” Summary and Analysis". As if waking from a dream, Phoenix apologizes for a temporary loss of memory. A Worn Path Sources for your Essay \"A Worn Path\" " Likewise putting some light on the Christian themes in the work, Sara Treeman gave reference to the story's theme of basically self-sacrifice, making the point that the worn path "is worn for the reason that this is the symbolic journey created by everyone who are capable of self-sacrifice, of whom Christ is the archetype." The struggles of the old woman herself are clear throughout “A Worn Path,” and social structure clearly plays a massive role in her hardships, but Welty used more than just Phoenix and her encounters to give examples of the differences seen between where the whites and blacks sat on the social ladder. Yet, in third-person, the reader is allowed to view Phoenix from a distance, and thereby see her as others see her. . It is thus an ancient symbol of rebirth, of perseverance. On the first point, Phoenix traverses a path that is an interstitial place between nature and civilization. A WORN PATH Writer: Eudora Welty ‘A Worn Path’ is a story about an old black woman named Phoenix, who is courageous and endangers her life to get the medicine for her grandson, who is suffering from extreme throat pain. Taken from her A Curtain of Green and Other Stories collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and after reading the story the reader realises that Welty may be using the setting of the story to explore the theme of struggle. As she perambulates the path, she talks frankly to the animals and plants in her path as if she knows them. When the dog comes at her, she gives it a snap of the cane but falls over in turn. The most conspicuous danger for Phoenix is, of course, the white hunter. The characterization of Phoenix Jackson is described as being a typical colored person living her life. As Phoenix is journeying on a wilderness path with many obstacles, it is unsurprising that critics have focused on the story’s allegorical, religious, mythological, and historical connections. Overcoming many difficulties, she goes in order to get a medicine for her grandson, who swallowed lye by accident many years ago. Therefore, Welty had to find a way both to take the reader inside the mind of a person significantly less educated than herself while not limiting her own ability to write about that person in a way reflective of that intelligence. Posted on October 5, 2019 October 5, 2019 by JL Admin. She traverses different kinds of terrain—hills, forests, swamps, and fields—that test the strength and endurance of her old body. Welty specifically identifies his race and almost immediately, though the young man helps her out of the ditch, there is a palpable sense of tension. The town was very far from her village and the journey was really very difficult. Not just any literary point of view, either, but the one that probably is the most difficult for readers to identify. Welty makes it clear that the hunter is a threat to Phoenix and the nonhuman world, but Phoenix still gets a tiny edge on him by observing a nickel fall from his pocket (he’ll later lie to her and say he has no money). 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. ”. resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. It falls only to arise and live again. Literary critics love to compare questing heroes to Christ. She sees a white woman in the street carrying Christmas presents, and asks her if she will tie her shoelaces for her. Are the Main Characters round or flat? A Worn Path is a controlled story of unconscious heroism written by American novelist and short-story writer Eudora Welty. He starts out nicely by asking her if she all right and then asks where she is going. I think I signal this, because the end of the story has been reached before old Phoenix gets home again: she simply starts back. [3] The story is set in "Natchez, Mississippi" during the Great Depression era. There are several things in the story that bear this comparison out. The attendant hands Phoenix a nickel as a Christmas gift. Eudora Welty writes A Worn Path with a sense of symbolism that captures the struggles and pleasures of life. "A Worn Path" is told in the third person point of view. There are several things in the story that bear this comparison out. Don't let none of those come running my direction. 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. She had no one except a grandson. A thorny bush catches her dress, but she finds the strength to pull herself free and keep up her momentum. The old woman takes it and then removes the nickel she put into her apron after the white hunter dropped it. The story “A Worn Path” is about an old black woman called Phoenix Jackson. She makes it over a log, through a maze, and through a swamp. He is a helpless victim dependent upon his … She meets many obstacles during her way such as moat, barbed wire, thorn bush, dogs and hunter. Holding them both in her hand, Phoenix announces she is going to use the ten cents to buy a paper windmill as a Christmas present for her grandson. How old is she? [9][10] Kathleen Feeley has drawn comparisons to the story of Odysseus, who faces many trials along his journey. Literary Analysis Arising out of the ashes the phoenix came back to life again. Copyright © 1999 - 2021 GradeSaver LLC. But she must be close to 100. “A Worn Path” is one of Welty’s most famous short stories. Osborne-Bartucca, Kristen. [citation needed] Elaine Orr identifies Phoenix as a fabulist who has "a penchant for re-creation (making up stories) rather than resolution. She does not evince fear or hostility; when thorns catch her, she simply says, “Thorns, you doing your appointed work. A white man—a hunter—helps her from the spill she took into the ditch. Her skin is a “golden color” and covered with “numberless branching wrinkles.”. During Phoenix’s journey, she encounters many obstacles along the way but still she continues to overcome and pulls her way through. Directed by Bruce Schwartz. The first thing the writer wants the readers to know about is love. [4] As Phoenix journeys along the Natchez Trace, she periodically encounters many obstacles, including thorny bushes, barbed wire, and a large dog, among others. Phoenix reaches Natchez, which Claxton informs us is a “symbol of American pioneerism and Manifest Destiny” as well as the “apotheosis of King Cotton” before the Civil War. Then it is through a swampy area and a long stretch of road on which she encounters a threatening black dog. It is festooned with Christmas decorations and lights. The story concludes with Phoenix arriving at the town having completed the journey yet again. Phoenix Jackson is making a long journey to the city of Natchez to get medicine for her grandson. To the question ‘Is the grandson really dead?’ I could reply that it doesn’t make any difference. First, it offers a masterful lesson in the art of literary point of view. She expresses herself, both to her surroundings and in short spurts of spoken monologue, warning away animals and expressing the pain she feels in her weary bones. Through these trials, she demonstrates her determination, persistence, and her love for her grandson. James Robert Saunders points out that “once she arrives at the log, a bridge that nature has provided, she can ‘march’ across without even looking until she has reached the other side. When the nurse inquires if the medicine the doctor gave did anything to improve the condition of her grandson’s throat and Phoenix once again does not reply, the nurse complains that she is wasting their valuable time. Throughout the story the … [12], Mistletoe is seen as a symbolic item by David Piwinski, who states that the plant is affiliated with "Jesus Christ" implying how Phoenix herself Is a "Christ-like figure" who repeatedly overcomes adversity. Upon reaching for the cake, however, all she grasps is air, and the boy is no longer there. Elderly Phoenix Jackson journeys on foot through rough terrain to obtain medicine for her grandson. A Worn Path is a book set in 1940s’ America, where black Americans were still treated differently from white Americans. From the text, we can infer that Old Phoenix is losing her sight with age. [7][8] Other writers such as Dennis Sykes and Kevin Moberly have argued that Phoenix's endurance through multiple obstacles emphasizes racial and economic inequalities in the Deep South during the Depression. First, a story in which a person is relating the strange and unusual encounters such as Phoenix experiences would likely be viewed as less mythic than mentally disturbed. The short story “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty is a tale of a Phoenix Jacksons journey through the woods to get into town. A Worn Path (1940) On an everyday basis people are encountering challenges that stand in their way of them achieving their set goals. This allows the reader to empathize with Phoenix, because her thoughts and actions are shown. "There's no telling", she says. When there is movement in thick vegetation lining the path, she vocally threatens the mysterious animals who may be living there and steadfastly refuses to push back or pull up. Summary of the story A Worn Path: The story A Worn Path is about an old black woman called Phoenix Jackson. She tells the nurse supplying the medicine that the damage to his throat never fully heals, and every so often his throat will begin to swell shut. Give examples to support. While it is common to associate women, especially African American women, with nature, ecofeminist theorists caution against this reductiveness. Much of its appeal lies in that it appears to be a simple story—an elderly woman travels through the forest to a city where she can get medicine for her ailing grandson—but that simplicity is belied by deeper themes of race, myth, religion, and life and death. While traveling to Natchez, Phoenix encounters many difficulties. One interpretation is that Phoenix’s quest is in line with Christianity. The grandson for whom Phoenix sets out upon the hard and difficult journey is representative of unspoiled light; he is the epitome of innocence set hard upon by the ravages of a world devoted to corrupting that purity. Amidst all the darkness and prejudice and ambiguity at play in the narrative of old woman’s walk across the worn path is one symbol of pure innocence. For this reason, more medicine is required. While still maintaining the narrative logic of allowing for figurative language beyond Phoenix’s capacity, the reader also sees things through Phoenix’s eyes. “A Worn Path”, written by Eudora Welty, is a short story about an old woman named Phoenix Jackson. 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. The verb choice here personifies the bush; more than making it human, it also indicates intent. On … A Worn Path takes place in the rural South during the 1930s in the beginning of winter season. [5]:59, The short story also discusses racism and the arrogance it breeds by marginalising other people and being cruel to them. As she does, she imagines she sees a small boy appearing before her holding a slice of marble-cake on a plate. That perspective is technically known as limited omniscience. The story is about an elderly African American woman who is in desperate need to obtain medicine for her very sickly grandchild. Then, with a nod, she leaves. The …

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