A Worn Path
Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path" is a story that emphasizes the natural symbolism of the surroundings. The main character in the story, Phoenix Jackson, is an old black woman who seeks out to find medicine for her sick nephew. This story contains a motif, which is the continuous walking of Phoenix Jackson throughout her journey. She lives in the pinewoods and faces the challenging experience of walking through the snowy, frozen earth to get to the hospital in the city of Natchez. Phoenix Jackson is a very caring person, and is in love with life. Although she is very old, it seems that she has many years ahead of her. Eudora Welty brings realism into the story describing the realities of being old. 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 the small things in life and respects what she has. Although she is old, she has extremel
y dark hair, wears a red bandana, and has much "life" within her: "Her skin had a pattern all its own of numberless branching wrinkles and as though a whole little tree stood in the middle of her forehead, but a golden color ran underneath, and the two knobs of her cheeks were illumined by a yellow burning under the bark". (106) 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" (106). 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. Phoenix Jackson demonstrates her love of life as she talks to all of the animals within the forest: "Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animal! Keep out from under these feet, little bobwhites. Keep the big wild hogs out of my path. Don't let none of those come running my direction. I got a long way" (106). She realizes she has a long journey ahead of her, but will do whatever it takes to help her nephew. Phoenix Jackson seems to be one with nature and brings peace and harmony to everything living in the forest. However, the forest has the
Some common words found in the essay are:
Phoenix Jackson, Eudora Welty, Phoenix Jackson's, Worn Path, phoenix jackson, phoenix live, worn path, natural symbolism, phoenix jackson nature, tidy appreciates life, life phoenix live, neat tidy appreciates, emphasizes natural symbolism, neat tidy, love life, realism age, life phoenix, tidy appreciates, life respects,
Approximate Word count = 1226
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
