A Worn Path

A detailed Summary of A Worn Path


In "A Worn Path" the author, Eudora Welty, describes an old black woman and her journey through the woods into town. Phoenix Jackson, the old woman, obviously was very poor. "She wore a dark striped dress reaching down to her shoe tops, and

an equally long apron of bleached sugar sacks, with a full pocket: all neat

and tidy, but every time she took a step she might have fallen over her

shoelaces, which dragged from her unlaced shoes.(Welty 132).

She's careful throughout the story not to rip her clothes along the path because she can not afford new clothes. Phoenix never had the opportunity to be educated either. She talks in incomplete sentences saying things like "I going to town" (Welty 134) and "Who you watching?" (Welty 133). However, these things do not stop Phoenix from her journey. It is quite obvious that Phoenix Jackson is a very determined, sneaky, loving, and brave person.

Welty shows that Phoenix Jackson is determined by proving that for her grandson she will do anything. Phoenix travels very far through the paths in the woods for her grandson's medicine. She is very committed to him in keeping him alive. The path she had to take was very dangerous and Phoenix was extremely old and had very poor eyesi


There were other things she probably could have bought with the money, like food or drink for her long journey home, but instead she bought him a toy. It was probably the smile she knew she was going to see on his face when she returned home that gave her the strength to travel home.

out of paper. He going to find it hard to believe there such a thing in the

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Because Phoenix is a poor black woman, she uses her sneaky traits to get what she needs and wants. This is showed when Phoenix distracts the hunter in order to pick up a nickel that he drops. She is obviously ashamed of her actions and says, "God watching me the whole time. I come to stealing." Phoenix is also sneaky when she persuades the attendant to give her a nickel instead of some pennies by saying "Five pennies is a nickel" (Welty 137). However, both the hunter and the attendant were extremely rude to her in the story. This does not justify what Phoenix did but it does show the reader that if someone messes with her, in her own sneaky way, she gets them back.

in my direction. I got a long way." (Welty, 136)

"I going to the store and buy my child a l

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 814
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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