Octavia and [the] Phoenix
At first glance, the two stories A Worn Path by Eudora Welty and The Sky Is Gray by Ernest J. Gaines and the characters in them may not seem to be so comparable. Phoenix Jackson from A Worn Path and Octavia, mostly called Mama, from The Sky Is Gray, are actually quite similar in character but also different in other ways. They are both strong and compassionate, although Phoenix is more friendly than Mama.
Both Phoenix and Mama display strength in their actions and pursuits. They both are struggling in some way, but fight through those struggles. Phoenix exhibits strength very clearly through her journey to retrieve medicine for her grandson, which is a journey that takes place over the entire story. Phoenix continually …show more content…
One example of this occurs in the dentist office, when the lady tells Mama, “You got yourself a little man there,” but Mama doesn’t reply. James assumes she smiled, because the lady smiled back, but this is never confirmed, showing that even though she might be a little friendly, she is not very conversational (Gaines 364). She also doesn’t converse with people in the way that Phoenix does, when she does talk to others, she says what is necessary. For example, when they go into the cafe, all she says to anyone is what she said when she ordered the cakes, and what she said to the pimp she pulled the knife out on. (Gaines 371). She does show that she can be friendly however, when she talks to Helena. She explains that they don’t take handouts, so Helena gets James to move the trash cans and she also buys food from them after talking to her, going so far as to say thanks to the old woman before heading out again, which is the friendliest she has been the entire story, at least to those outside of her family (Gaines 373). On the other hand, Phoenix is generally friendly towards those she meets, or thinks she meets, throughout the story. Saying that Phoenix is friendly even towards people who aren’t really there does not exactly lack evidence either, because she when the little boy she imagined brings her the marble-cake, she says, “That would be acceptable,” as a way of showing the little boy her appreciation for the cake (Welty 143). Also, despite when the hunter said “I know you old colored people! Wouldn’t miss going to town to see Santa Claus!”and later when he pointed the gun at her, she still conversed with him normally, which could mean that she sees the good in people regardless of those people’s actions (Welty 145). Later, she asks a lady to “lace up my shoe” because it is hard for her to do with a cane, and when
At first glance, the two stories A Worn Path by Eudora Welty and The Sky Is Gray by Ernest J. Gaines and the characters in them may not seem to be so comparable. Phoenix Jackson from A Worn Path and Octavia, mostly called Mama, from The Sky Is Gray, are actually quite similar in character but also different in other ways. They are both strong and compassionate, although Phoenix is more friendly than Mama.
Both Phoenix and Mama display strength in their actions and pursuits. They both are struggling in some way, but fight through those struggles. Phoenix exhibits strength very clearly through her journey to retrieve medicine for her grandson, which is a journey that takes place over the entire story. Phoenix continually …show more content…
One example of this occurs in the dentist office, when the lady tells Mama, “You got yourself a little man there,” but Mama doesn’t reply. James assumes she smiled, because the lady smiled back, but this is never confirmed, showing that even though she might be a little friendly, she is not very conversational (Gaines 364). She also doesn’t converse with people in the way that Phoenix does, when she does talk to others, she says what is necessary. For example, when they go into the cafe, all she says to anyone is what she said when she ordered the cakes, and what she said to the pimp she pulled the knife out on. (Gaines 371). She does show that she can be friendly however, when she talks to Helena. She explains that they don’t take handouts, so Helena gets James to move the trash cans and she also buys food from them after talking to her, going so far as to say thanks to the old woman before heading out again, which is the friendliest she has been the entire story, at least to those outside of her family (Gaines 373). On the other hand, Phoenix is generally friendly towards those she meets, or thinks she meets, throughout the story. Saying that Phoenix is friendly even towards people who aren’t really there does not exactly lack evidence either, because she when the little boy she imagined brings her the marble-cake, she says, “That would be acceptable,” as a way of showing the little boy her appreciation for the cake (Welty 143). Also, despite when the hunter said “I know you old colored people! Wouldn’t miss going to town to see Santa Claus!”and later when he pointed the gun at her, she still conversed with him normally, which could mean that she sees the good in people regardless of those people’s actions (Welty 145). Later, she asks a lady to “lace up my shoe” because it is hard for her to do with a cane, and when