Reader Response Theory - can be traced back to Aristotle and Plato - literature’s effect on the reader - sources in the writings of the French structuralists (who stress the role of the perceiver as a maker of reality) - reader criticism became recognized as a distinct critical movement only in the 1970s - less a unified critical school than a vague collection of disparate critics with a common point of departure - “Reader Theory” “audience theory” neutral terms
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A theme in a short story is a primary message that the author is trying to convey. The theme of death plays a significant role in William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”‚ perseverance dominates Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path”‚and freedom is the clear theme in Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour.” In “A Rose for Emily”‚ the main character Emily Grierson become demented due to the passing of her father. Emily soon meets “a Yankee- a big‚dark‚ ready man‚ with a big voice and eyes lighter than his face”(Faulkner
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Eudora Welty’s short story A Worn Path is an interesting work‚ full of symbolism. It explores a number of themes through the simple story of an elderly black woman in 1940s Mississippi‚ walking along an arduous path to town to collect medicine for her grandson. Along the way she encounters various obstacles and interactions with others. The protagonist of the story is Phoenix Jackson‚ who lives alone with her sick grandson. The plot concerns her journey along the worn path of the title and the events
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Accomplishment Sometimes our life is like an obstacle course‚ consisting of obstacles in which we have to overcome. Eudora Welty ’s short story "A Worn Path" takes place on a "bright‚ frozen day" in December. The figure of an old Negro woman?Phoenix Jackson?emerges. She represents struggle‚ but most of all she represents determination. As she makes her way toward town in a path she seems to have taken many times before‚ she has to overcome many obstacles. Every move she makes seems to be a slow‚ gradual
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from the characters participating in “A Worn Path” Eudora Welty characterizes Phoenix Jackson as being motivated by delusions and a declining mental state. The protagonist of the story Phoenix Jackson travels far for a reason the reader doesn’t get till near the end of the story‚ and Phoenix herself forgets why she is at her supposed destination‚ nevertheless she makes the long journey. It is the narrator’s characterization of Phoenix that allows the reader to see Phoenix’s delusions from an outside
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Reader Response In the short story Bluebeard‚ there is a man who is married to an average house wife. The main part of this story is how Bluebeard leaves his house for a week or so for some reason. This results in leaving his wife all alone in Bluebeards house‚ where his wife has not seen a whole lot of it. Bluebeard gave her a key and said there is a secret closet in the house that you are permitted from. So the wife goes on searching and does not think about that one closet. However‚ her curiosity
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Themes of AWorn Path John Novotny English Literature 125 Melissa Eidson 8 April 2012 The text feels the theme of the story A Worn Path is about sacrificial love. I believe that while short‚ the story has multiple themes. I believe another theme is the era of the story itself. Not enslaved‚ not free. The story examines a woman who was alive at the "surrender"‚ now living in what seems the 1930’s. She is a lasting symbol of an era 65 years removed. The name the woman Phoenix (the symbol of
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Analyzing “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty 1. The theme of the story is: Racism is an issue that never seems to disappear no matter how much people say it does. 2. The title is significant because it explains Phoenix’s journeys. If a pair of shoes are worn everyday‚ eventually they will become worn out. Phoenix took that path all the time to get medicine for her grandson. The fact that she always took that path wore it out and is considered a worn path. 3. The story takes place in the south after
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It was December‚ around Christmas time‚ in the 1940s. Children were running and playing in the snow. It was during the time at the end of the Civil War. After reading Eudora Welty’s‚ “A Worn Path‚” and understanding the story we must consider an old Negro woman name Phoenix Jackson‚ a worn rough path in Natchez that she traveled‚ and the prejudices she had to endure to get medication for her sick grandson. Phoenix Jackson was an old‚ negro‚ almost blind‚ uneducated cripple woman. Phoenix lived
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Eudora Welty’s short story “A Worn Path” is about an old African American women’s journey on a cold December early morning. The woman‚ Phoenix Jackson‚ is traveling to the city through the woods during Christmas time to get medicine for her grandson. Phoenix Jackson’s character goes through many obstacles in the story to reach her destination without giving up once. Phoenix Jackson fulfills her quest while exhibiting bravery and selflessness throughout the story. Phoenix Jackson proves to be courageous
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