Symbolism of the Title a Worn Path
Symbolism of the Title “A Worn Path”
The short story, “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty describes a very interesting character whose name is Phoenix Jackson. She isn’t your average person. Phoenix is a very old and boring women but the story is still interesting. The title is very symbolic of the story and has a very good meaning. Throughout the story you begin to learn more and more about Phoenix and you also discover some important things.
Phoenix Jackson is a very old and small woman. She wore a dark striped dress reaching down to her show tops. She also wore a long apron with a full pocket in the front. Her shoe laces were always untied. Her eyes were blue and she wore a red rag over her head that hid black and grey hair. By looking at Phoenix you would assume that she moves at a very slow pace. That’s correct, when she walks; her chances of tripping are great because of her untied shoe laces. Just by the features of this old woman, the title already symbolizes Phoenix because she’s a worn old woman. Her appearance isn’t the only thing that’s worn, her life path is also.
Phoenix has lived and gone through a lot during her lifetime. She’s been through the civil war, has lost a grandson, and has gone through times of slavery. She’s experienced enough things in her life, so she isn’t really afraid of anything and does not care for much. These events in her life have caused her to being to lose her mind and go crazy. Example of this is in the beginning of the story when she first leaves her house. She says, “Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals! Keep out from under these feet.”(page.213) This shows that she’s losing her mind because she is talking to the animals. Later into the story she encounters a man with a gun. The man said to her if the gun scared her. She replied, “No sir, I seen plenty go off closer by, in my day, and for less then what I done.”(page.217) This, shows that she isn’t afraid of nothing and that
The short story, “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty describes a very interesting character whose name is Phoenix Jackson. She isn’t your average person. Phoenix is a very old and boring women but the story is still interesting. The title is very symbolic of the story and has a very good meaning. Throughout the story you begin to learn more and more about Phoenix and you also discover some important things.
Phoenix Jackson is a very old and small woman. She wore a dark striped dress reaching down to her show tops. She also wore a long apron with a full pocket in the front. Her shoe laces were always untied. Her eyes were blue and she wore a red rag over her head that hid black and grey hair. By looking at Phoenix you would assume that she moves at a very slow pace. That’s correct, when she walks; her chances of tripping are great because of her untied shoe laces. Just by the features of this old woman, the title already symbolizes Phoenix because she’s a worn old woman. Her appearance isn’t the only thing that’s worn, her life path is also.
Phoenix has lived and gone through a lot during her lifetime. She’s been through the civil war, has lost a grandson, and has gone through times of slavery. She’s experienced enough things in her life, so she isn’t really afraid of anything and does not care for much. These events in her life have caused her to being to lose her mind and go crazy. Example of this is in the beginning of the story when she first leaves her house. She says, “Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals! Keep out from under these feet.”(page.213) This shows that she’s losing her mind because she is talking to the animals. Later into the story she encounters a man with a gun. The man said to her if the gun scared her. She replied, “No sir, I seen plenty go off closer by, in my day, and for less then what I done.”(page.217) This, shows that she isn’t afraid of nothing and that