When analyzing the fossils of ancient organisms, paleontologists often spot subtle but striking similarities to extant life today. Similarities often lie in bone structure, footprints, or teeth, but their location does not matter. It is quite incredible to think that organisms that are so distantly related share similar features. The same concept applies to literature. Light Romantic and Southern Gothic literature are often seen as direct opposites of each other. The viewpoint shift that separates these two eras of writing is astounding. However, subtle differences are present within. Such similarities in story structure, characterization, and conveyed messages connect James Fennimore Cooper’s “The Deerslayer” and Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path”.
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He describes the theoretical scenario as a person “[taking] off on a series of adventures beyond the ordinary, either to recover what was lost or discover some life-giving elixir” (Campbell 31). His model of the Heroic Journey has been used throughout the years to create some of literature’s most well-known adventures. These two stories are no exception. Every Heroic Journey’s trials begins when the hero “crosses the Threshold” into another realm. For Phoenix Jackson, this means leaving her home and beginning the long trek to town. She acknowledges that there is no going back by muttering to herself, “‘Now comes the trial’”, as she crosses her first obstacle (Welty 636). Similarly, Natty Bumppo crossed his Threshold when he first began to live in the wilderness. His tale in “The Deerslayer” takes place when he is already an adult, so he has crossed into this new realm long before. While in their new realm, heroes within the Journey encounter tests and trials in an effort to turn them back. Often, these trials do provoke the hero, but they end up traversing it nonetheless. The savage that Bumppo encounters within “The Deerslayer” is but one of the many he has experienced over his lifetime. Eventually, he is able to not only overcome, but reflect upon this specific trial. Phoenix Jackson’s trials are quite different. Instead of fighting for her life against savage Indian tribes,
He describes the theoretical scenario as a person “[taking] off on a series of adventures beyond the ordinary, either to recover what was lost or discover some life-giving elixir” (Campbell 31). His model of the Heroic Journey has been used throughout the years to create some of literature’s most well-known adventures. These two stories are no exception. Every Heroic Journey’s trials begins when the hero “crosses the Threshold” into another realm. For Phoenix Jackson, this means leaving her home and beginning the long trek to town. She acknowledges that there is no going back by muttering to herself, “‘Now comes the trial’”, as she crosses her first obstacle (Welty 636). Similarly, Natty Bumppo crossed his Threshold when he first began to live in the wilderness. His tale in “The Deerslayer” takes place when he is already an adult, so he has crossed into this new realm long before. While in their new realm, heroes within the Journey encounter tests and trials in an effort to turn them back. Often, these trials do provoke the hero, but they end up traversing it nonetheless. The savage that Bumppo encounters within “The Deerslayer” is but one of the many he has experienced over his lifetime. Eventually, he is able to not only overcome, but reflect upon this specific trial. Phoenix Jackson’s trials are quite different. Instead of fighting for her life against savage Indian tribes,