A Worn Path

A detailed Summary of A Worn Path


In Eudora Welty's short story "A Worn Path" we quickly learn love can give us strength to overcome adversity. The author chooses to use the character of the story as well as the symbols to develop the theme of the story.

The short story is a tale about an elderly woman's journey into town, which the audience finds out in the end to purchase medicine for her sick grandson. The elderly woman, Phoenix Jackson is a poor fragile African American woman who suffers from hallucinations and poverty. Phoenix is very determined to complete her journey, though many obstacles exist. The reason for her journey, to receive medicine for her sick grandson, has a chronic throat condition caused by drinking lye. Despite her age and fragility, Phoenix is very stubborn which gives her the ability to overcome nearly impossible odds, through her determination, which is fueled by the love for her grandson. Through her love for her grandson, she is devoted to complete her journey. At first the audience is unsure of whether Phoenix will


With the face of such great obstacles, in light of her failing health and age, Phoenix continues to find strength to keep moving to town. With eyes that are "blue with age", "numberless branching wrinkles", and with a cane that Phoenix "kept tapping the frozen earth in front of her" with, we know that Phoenix is old, with failing eyesight. When Phoenix is confronted with her first obstacle, walking of a hill, Phoenix is said to walk like a pendulum on a clock, slow and steady. While crawling under and through barbwire to get into town, Phoenix never questions her journey, or thinks of the idea of turning back. The story gives the impression that she has traveled this path many times before, and at the conclusion of story, the audience finds this to be correct.

complete her journey, talking to herself, stopping to rest, hallucinating but later the reader discovers that she is in fact quite able.

Just as her name is a symbol of the story, so are the obstacles and many other elements throughout the story. T

Some common words found in the essay are:
African American, Worn Path, love grandson, Eudora Welty's, Phoenix Jackson, sick grandson, complete journey, paper windmill, grandson represents fragile, medicine sick grandson, grandson paper, journey name, grandson represents, represents fragile, grandson paper windmill, medicine sick, elderly woman,

Approximate Word count = 689
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

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