It is Christmas, and Phoenix Jackson has to head out to the city to obtain the medicine for her nephew. A long time ago, her nephew swallowed lye that burned his throat, and the medicine is the only thing that relieves his pain. The woods are filled with pine trees that cast dark shadows throughout the terrain. The darkness that surrounds Phoenix is the total opposite of her. She is a poor woman, but is very neat and tidy. She appreciates her the small things in life and respects what she has. Although she is old, she has extr

It is almost as if she is a part of nature herself, when Eudora Welty describes her as having a tree within her forehead. She is a very lively person, and is willing to go through this obstacle course of vicissitudes of the cold earth: "Under the red rag her hair came down on her neck in the frailest of ringlets, still black, and with an odor like copper" (87). The copper smell of her hair brings more realism of old age. When she stops to sit down under a tree, she dazes off and thinks that a little boy is giving her a piece of marble cake. She then snaps out of her trance and sees only her hand waiving in the air. This shows that very old people hallucinate sometimes, which is completely natural. The name "Phoenix", is the name of an ancient Egyptian bird that regenerates itself after 500 years and lives on for another 500 years. This old woman represents the phoenix, which lives on in her old age.

emely dark hair, wears a red bandana, and has much "life" within her:

ran underneath, and the two knobs of her cheeks were illumined by a yellow burning under the bark. (87)

Just before the city, Phoenix stumbles upon a white hunter, accompanied by two growling dogs. After a brief conversation with the man, she quickly noticed a nickel that fell out of the man's pocket: "Then she slowly straightened up, she stood erect, and the nickel was in her apron pocket" (90). Phoenix is not the type of lady to steal things, but she wants to purchase a gift for her nephew for Christmas. She feels somewhat guilty and speaks to herself: "God watching me the whole time. I come to stealing" (90). Before the hunter's departure, he lied and told Phoenix that he would give her a dime if he had any money. Phoenix finally reaches Natchez, which is decorated with luminous red and green lights. The city i

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Approximate Word count = 1221
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)