A Worn Path
"So callous where my mind states, but it's not my state of mind." This clever play on words by the band Eve 6 may help you to understand the state of mind of Phoenix Jackson, the main character of the short story "A Worn Path," written by Eudora Welty in 1941. For although this elderly black woman had to take a long and difficult journey through woods and thorns and over steep hills to get medicine for her deathly ill grandson, she keeps going. All around her things are trying to stop her, but in her mind she will not give up! Unfortunately, Phoenix's old age, the natural environment and her poverty make the journey to town a long and trying battle that she must overcome. As the story opens, Phoenix is described as " ... very old and small and she walked slowly in the dark pine shadows, moving a little from side to side in her steps, with the balanced heaviness and lightness of a pendulum in a grandfather clock." This shows how Phoenix's old age affected her ability to travel the distance from her home to the town. This quote paints a picture of Phoenix in your mind as a tiny old woman bent over from age, slowly inching along a path through the woods, teetering from side to side, threatening to fall over at any second. La
ter in the story Phoenix says to the scarecrow, "My senses gone. I too old. I the oldest people I ever know." By Phoenix saying that she has no senses left and that she is "too old", so old, in fact, that she has never known anyone older, shows that Phoenix is well aware of how much she is affected by her age on this long, trying journey. But this was not the only barrier blocking Phoenix's way. Phoenix's poverty also has a great effect on her ability to complete her journey. This is obvious when Phoenix finally reaches her goal, the doctor's office in town and the attendant says, looking at her, "A charity case, I suppose." This shows the reader that just by looking at her clothes and general outward appearance, the attendant, who had no idea who she was, could tell how poverty stricken Phoenix was and assumed that I was a charity case, which it was. And when Phoenix was about to leave, having received her grandson's medicine, the attendant asks, "Could I give you a few pennies out of my purse?" By doing this it further cements the fact that Phoenix is obviously and outwardly poor and in need of financial aide. The attendant gives her a nickel from her own pocket because she
Some common words found in the essay are:
Phoenix Jackson, Unfortunately Phoenix's, Eudora Welty, , Worn Path, phoenix jackson, grandson's medicine, steep hill, worn path, phoenix described, story phoenix, phoenix's age, chains feet, environment poverty,
Approximate Word count = 804
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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