Readers have been responding to what they have read and experienced since the dawn of literature. For example‚ we have Plate and Aristotle who were concerned about audience responses and how plays generated pity and fear on them. Still‚ the audience or readers were passive. After the appearance of reader response theory‚ readers are activated. They involve themselves to elaborate the text‚ fill in the gaps and enact their experiences with the text. Most reader response critics can be divided into
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The Greatest Motive In the story “A Worn Path” an elderly African-American woman named Phoenix Jackson embarks on a hackneyed journey that may seem effortless for most people‚ but is truly the epitome of all physical and psychological elements of overcoming anything in life. Before the story even begins one can recognize many ideas the story will elaborate on. For example‚ “A Worn Path” not only refers to its literal meaning of a path that has been worn down from being traveled on‚ but it also
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writer in the Modern Period of American literature. True to her specific writing style‚ "A Worn Path" incorporates the local color of the South‚ giving the short story a unique lovability and charm. Likewise‚ true to the idea of Realism‚ the story has no real action. Instead‚ it focuses on developing and revealing characters. In addition‚ the story alludes to the legend of the phoenix. Thus‚ "A Worn Path" is a perfect example of the concept of Realism in writing. The short story is set in December
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In Eudora Welty ’s "A Worn Path" the conflict was not apparent at the very beginning. What was a poor‚ elderly sick woman doing gallivanting in the forest during the dead of winter? The reason became clear towards the conclusion of the story as the action revealed that the conflict was obtaining the necessary medicine for her grandson. When this conflict became obvious‚ another question came to mind. What kind of society did this woman live in that she had to go all the way from her home in
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“A Worn Path”: Struggle for Racial Equality 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
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The transactional reader response theory uses the text and the response it stimulates in the reader to determine meaning in a work. Using this theory‚ the details “A Father’s Story” presents‚ and how the reader fills in the gaps determines the amount of empathy the reader has for Luke in his action of covering up Jessica’s murder. Throughout the story‚ it is presented that after Luke’s wife‚ Gloria‚ left with their children‚ he does not see the children very often. After the boys grow up and start
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A Worn Path VS A Rose For Emily In the pages of the short stories‚ A Worn Path and A Rose For Emily we are able to see a similar side and connection between the two. As we look at the theme‚ tone‚ and morals we are able to better grasp the conflict in these two stories‚ while detecting whether the two protagonists‚ Miss Emily and Phoenix Jackson are mentally crazy. The main moral in A Worn Path is the love‚ and life of Phoenix Jackson. The path she travels across interrupts her life. Her
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Symbols of A Worn Path Mitchell Davis Freshmen Comp Critical Literature-Based Essay Friday‚ March 12‚ 2009 Symbols of A Worn Path Phoenix Jackson; an old negro woman that partakes on a journey to take medicine to her sick nephew that is off in another town. Phoenix is old and through the story there are many accounts that I think are symbolic to being of age. Being one with nature Phoenix Jackson is determined to travel through the forest to tend to her sick nephew. The story itself
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In the story‚ “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty‚ I think the author expresses a theme of love. Welty portrays the main character‚ Phoenix‚ with the settings and symbolism throughout the story to persuade the audience that with love in your heart‚ you can achieve everything. The setting throughout Phoenix’s trip showed that she faces many challenging troubles‚ but she’s still willing to travel a long trip for her grandson. As she went on with her trip‚ she said‚ “This is the easy place. This is easy
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Eudora Welty’s short story‚ “A Worn Path”‚ features a common theme where a person perseveres to go the extra mile to help others. Phoenix Jackson journeys across many obstacles and difficulties to buy medicine for her grandson (346). Her heroic effort to journey the long trip to town to buy medicine is astonishing. One way that it is astonishing is that she perseveres to reach her goals. This trip begins during December when chilling temperatures appear and snow piles up on the ground (341). Truly
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