Audrey Clark
Ms. Liss-Green
English 1102-22
11 March 2015
Journey of a Thousand Steps
The short story “A Worn Path” was written by Eudora Welty in 1941. The year, 1941, was an important year for Americans. In 1941, poverty ran wild and blacks were still being treated as if they were not human. In the story “A Worn Path”, the main character, Phoenix Jackson is an elderly African American woman who sets out on a mystery journey. On her journey she battles hallucinations, racism and judgement from the people she meets.
“A Worn Path” is set in December of 1941. Phoenix Jackson lives on the far outskirts of a small Mississippi town with her grandson. Two years ago her grandson accidentally swallowed lye, his injury never fully healed causing his throat to occasionally swell, barely allowing him to breathe. His grandmother, Phoenix, would make a trip into town to get medicine from the doctor.
The short story, “A Worn Path”, speaks of poverty. The year 1941 was full of it, particularly to blacks and the people living in rural Mississippi. The reader can assume Phoenix Jackson might have been born in the age of American slavery (pg 648). Another sign of poverty is how Phoenix Jackson was described …show more content…
Wouldn’t miss going to town to see Santa Claus!” His use of the word colored is one of the small ways people label the other race, forcing them to feel inferior. The hunters statement implied that he mocked her trip to get medicine for her grandson. In paragraphs 52-54, we read the hunter is pointing his gun toward Phoenix hoping she would be scared. This part of the story shows readers how much white people disrespected black people. In the same paragraphs, Jackson was referred to as “Granny” and “Aunt Phoenix” by the hunter and the clinic attendant instead of calling her the respectful “Mrs.
Ms. Liss-Green
English 1102-22
11 March 2015
Journey of a Thousand Steps
The short story “A Worn Path” was written by Eudora Welty in 1941. The year, 1941, was an important year for Americans. In 1941, poverty ran wild and blacks were still being treated as if they were not human. In the story “A Worn Path”, the main character, Phoenix Jackson is an elderly African American woman who sets out on a mystery journey. On her journey she battles hallucinations, racism and judgement from the people she meets.
“A Worn Path” is set in December of 1941. Phoenix Jackson lives on the far outskirts of a small Mississippi town with her grandson. Two years ago her grandson accidentally swallowed lye, his injury never fully healed causing his throat to occasionally swell, barely allowing him to breathe. His grandmother, Phoenix, would make a trip into town to get medicine from the doctor.
The short story, “A Worn Path”, speaks of poverty. The year 1941 was full of it, particularly to blacks and the people living in rural Mississippi. The reader can assume Phoenix Jackson might have been born in the age of American slavery (pg 648). Another sign of poverty is how Phoenix Jackson was described …show more content…
Wouldn’t miss going to town to see Santa Claus!” His use of the word colored is one of the small ways people label the other race, forcing them to feel inferior. The hunters statement implied that he mocked her trip to get medicine for her grandson. In paragraphs 52-54, we read the hunter is pointing his gun toward Phoenix hoping she would be scared. This part of the story shows readers how much white people disrespected black people. In the same paragraphs, Jackson was referred to as “Granny” and “Aunt Phoenix” by the hunter and the clinic attendant instead of calling her the respectful “Mrs.