Preview

A Worn Path Critical Analysis Essay Example

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
988 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A Worn Path Critical Analysis Essay Example
Essay on “A Worn Path”

Love Can Conquer All In “A Worn Path”

“How old are you Granny?” he was saying. “There is no telling mister,” she said, “no telling.” “Well, Granny,” he said, “You must be a hundred years old and scared of nothing (216-217).” Granny is an old woman; described as “being so old that her skin was as if she had a tree in the middle of her forehead with numberless branching wrinkles (213).” Phoenix Jackson is her name. She is an African American woman, very old, withered and frail. Phoenix is the protagonist in Eudora Welty’s story “A Worn Path.” Throughout time, people have gone on their own journeys, traveling rocky roads, climbing mountains while overcoming obstacles along the way; while grasping on to hope to strengthen each step they take. This short story begins in southern Mississippi, likely in the early 1900’s. It is a cold December morning, the earth still frozen; and once again Phoenix will begin her long journey through the thick pine woods. Despite the odds that are against her, Phoenix’s determination and undying love for her grandson will carry her the many miles she has to travel. What are the odds that are against Phoenix? What obstacles does Phoenix have to overcome? What is her destination? The greatest odd that stands against Phoenix is her age. She is very old and tired. On her journey she must walk over a hill, when she reaches the top she says, “Seem like there is chains about my feet, time I get this far (214).” Despite her age, Phoenix still exists, because she has a purpose. She is able to conquer all because of the love she has for her grandson. Phoenix knows that it is up to her to walk to town to retrieve the medicine he needs to live. She is all he has, he depends on her. The strength she receives Lewis2 feeds off

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Phoenix does not let anything get in her way as she embarks on her journey in the woods. ‘Old Phoenix said, “Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild…

    • 214 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Eudora Welty's short story "A Worn Path" takes place on an early December morning which deals with a very elderly and frail black woman, Phoenix; and the hardships inherent in her life. Phoenix Jackson is the main character, she is characterized as a strong poor elderly woman because of her appearance, personality and determination. For example, the narrator states, that Phoenix wore “a dark striped dress reaching down to her shoe tops, and an equally long apron of bleached sugar sacks, with a full pocket: all neat and tidy, but every time she took a step she might have fallen over her shoelaces, which dragged from her unlaced shoes " (475). The dark striped dress and long apron made of sugar sacks symbolizes poverty because of her hardships in life; this is the type of clothing most Negro women slaves wore back in the slavery days. The darkness of her dress represents her state of depression. The stripes on her dress symbolizes the prison bars showing she was held captive as a slave for some time.…

    • 706 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Eudora Welty, author of A Worn Path, formated her narrator so that it would not have any part in the story other than telling it. From this, the reader is able to characterize the protagonist, Phoenix Jackson, as a woman who is very determined and loving and focused on one goal, bring medicine home to help her sick grandson. As a reader, one can tell that Phoenix is a very determined grandmother, for she had to face many challenges in order to help her grandson. On lines 35 to 37 the author describes that in order to get to her destination, Phoenix must cross over a creek on a log. The way that the author describes her going across is that she levels her cane, and fiercely marches across the log. Within the first three lines, the author states that Phoenix is “an old Negro woman.” When a person ages, then they may not be able to do as many things as…

    • 485 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Phoenix Jackson is an elderly African American woman walking into town on a cold winter morning to get medicine for her sick grandson. One aspect of Phoenix’s likeness to the mythical phoenix is their journey before they die. The Natchez Trace is an old highway that runs from Nashville, Tennessee, to Natchez, Mississippi (Natchez Trace 27 May 2013). By 1800 it was the busiest in the American South (Natchez Trace 27 May 2013). Phoenix lives “a way back off the Old Natchez Trace,” which indicates that the journey along with the fact that it is December is difficult for her (A Worn Path n.d.). The obstacles she…

    • 1290 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    the worn path

    • 271 Words
    • 1 Page

    Well then story doesn’t tell you what happens when she gets home. But I assume she started her long walk back to her grandson and gave him his medicine.…

    • 271 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Campbell tells us that the hero will come across a guardian who will protect the “Entrance” of “The zone of magnified power” (77). First, Phoenix has to get up the hill. Phoenix states that it seems “‘Like there is chains about my feet’” every time she gets to a certain point on the hill (489). The hill is similar to the type of guardians in a hero’s journey. Then, Phoenix has to get past a thorn bush. Phoenix is caught in a bush and says the bush is doing its “‘Appointed work’” and it “‘Never want to let folks pass’” (490). The bush resembles a guardian out of a hero’s journey by trying to stop Phoenix from continuing. Finally, Phoenix has to get over the log is a “Trial” but when she gets over it she realizes that she is not as old as she thought (490). The log challenges Phoenix physically because she is an elder and struggles similarly to a hero in a hero’s journey. Phoenix’s journey relates to a hero’s journey because she faces…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    She had conjured up some sort of riddle to remind herself of the way. We realize this when she recites, "Up through pines, Now down through oaks". (115; 6). Welty also describes how "Old Phoenix would have been lost if she had not distrusted her eyesight and depended on her feet to know where to take her". (117; 80). Upon his saying this, Phoenix had just entered sight of the city. So much had changed since her first trip, that at first she surely thought she had gotten lost. Once she approached her destination, and entered the building to receive the medication, a newly hired nurse asked for her information. Poor Phoenix never answered, and seemed extremely distant to her situation. Once questioned by a familiar nurse she seemed to face reality again, and exclaimed, "There I sat and forgot why I made my long trip". (118; 88). Phoenix 's health is clearly declining and yet "she makes these trips just as regular as clockwork". (118; 79). The nurse tries to recollect how long Phoenix has been returning to her office for the charity medicine and says, "When was it-- January-- two, three years ago--" (118; 20). Although two or three years might not seem like a long standing tradition, to an old women who has to walk such a long distance and back it is a lifetime. Without the medicine her grandson would become very ill, and her travels orbit around his needs. The love of Phoenix 's tradition…

    • 1191 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Worn Path Questions

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Near the ending of A Worn Path, readers discover Phoenix, the protagonist, often goes back and forth from her home to Natchez, where she fetches medicine for her ill grandson. Readers can infer this because of the title, A Worn Path. This is the significance of the title – Phoenix’s feet have walked that path to town many times in an attempt to bring her grandson back to well being.…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the short story “A worn path” written by Eudora Welty one interesting character is Phoenix.She is loving,daring and decisive.One technique used in the short story to show the reader why Phoenix is an important character is the third person narrative point of view.This short story is about the determination of a grandmother and how much she had sacrificed for the wellbeing of her grandchild.She has toface different kinds of terrain (hills,forests,fields) along with her already decrepit age.…

    • 522 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path,” the character Phoenix Jackson is introduced. Phoenix Jackson is an uneducated, African-American woman without any family besides her sick grandson. Phoenix is the hero of this story and fits the role well by delivering much-needed medicine to her grandson. Phoenix shows many distinct traits that reveal her to be a hero to her grandson. The heroic feats she accomplishes pave a path that leads to her satisfaction as well as protection of her most beloved asset, her grandson. Throughout the story, Phoenix’s humble, caring, and determined character is displayed through her actions.…

    • 974 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Grandma Phoenix has to travel a long way to get her destination. She has to get through trees, animals and dangerous hunters. This story takes place in the winter. She has to endure the physical trails of going on this journey, because it’s hard for an old woman to travel in the snow. Especially in December. Phoenix pays no mind to the snow. She has to travel from her home, into the woods, and into town. She also used her obstacles to be her motivation in a way. The readers are the only ones who thinks Granny Phoenix won’t survive on the trip. Phoenix has no doubt in her mind. In “A Worn Path, Eudora creates a tone of hope by using images of struggle.…

    • 825 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Moss, J., & Wilson, G. (1997). “A worn path”. In Literature and Its Times: Profiles of 300…

    • 1630 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    a worn path "draft only"

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Also phoenix comes across a man who helps her then points his gun on her saying " doesn’t the gun scare you?" and her reply was " no sir, I seen plenty go off closer by, in my day and for less than what I done" and this shows that she had a hard life growing up and was probably enslaved which made her a strong fearless woman which I admire. This part of the story also presents racism and abuse black people faced during that time. Phoenix finally arrives to get the medicine for her grandson and the nurse says "she doesn’t come for herself, she has a little grandson, she makes these trips just as regular as clockwork" which shows the undying love and dedication this old lady has towards the little boy.…

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Critical Essay

    • 636 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Science fiction is a really weird genre. It has some odd stories. These are some more oddballs.…

    • 636 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Just as she exerts enough strength to conquer the hill, her dress gets caught in a thorn bush and she again is setback. This situation exemplifies how poor she is because she tries so hard to break free without tearing her dress. The next challenge is climbing through a barbed-wire fence. For such an old and frail woman, one would think it would be hard to crouch down and crawl on her hands and knees. Ironically, however, Phoenix is only concerned with not tearing her dress on the fence. Once again, this shows the incredible heart and desire she has to complete her journey. Another use of masterful symbolism is when Phoenix encounters a buzzard. She looks up and says, “‘Who you watching?’” (801) as if she is telling the buzzard that she is not even close to death or defeat and will not fall victim to it anytime soon. With the courage to move on and with the huge hill behind her, Phoenix treads on only to stumble upon a swamp filled with alligators. Quietly, she passes unharmed until a black dog surprises her. The tiny old woman hits it with her extremely thin cane but only goes tumbling into a ditch. Once again, any elderly human might give up or not even be able to get out of the ditch. However, Phoenix’s heart is set out to make it to town and back without even thinking twice. She even says to herself, “‘Old woman, that black dog come up out of the weeds to stall you off, and now there he sitting on his fine tail, smiling at you’” (802). A…

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays