In a “A Worn Path”, Welty gives examples of how an old colored female travels through the woods twice a year to get medicine for her grandson. Questions and answers about this short story have affected the views on the way readers see Phoenix Jackson and the journey she has for not only herself but also for her grandson. As Phoenix travels through the woods to get to town, she sacrifices so much to achieve the goal she has set for herself. The multiple characteristics of Phoenix will explain what kind of person she really is, and how determined she is to get the medicine for her alive/dead grandson. Welty gives Phoenix Jackson a great characteristic throughout “A Worn Path”. Phoenix never gives up on her journey. She is an old woman fighting
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“The woods were deep and still” (Welty 1). Not knowing what was within the woods she was walking through; she never got stopped by anything. Numerous obstacles approached her, but nothing ever seemed to make her want to give up on something she wanted to accomplish. Since she was such an older lady, most of the obstacles were much greater than she is now. “Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals!...Keep out from under these feet, little bob-whites...Keep the big wild hogs out of my path. Don’t let none of those come running my direction. I got a long way” (Welty 1). In Roland Bartel’s article, “Life And Death In Eudora Welty’s ‘A Worn Path’, he say, “What concerns me about these discussions is that they treat Phoenix Jackson as a stereotype and allow the obvious archetypal significance of her name and her journey to overshadow the uniqueness of one of the most memorable women in short fiction” (288). Therefore, she is a very memorable women, but most readers do not see her as …show more content…
Her determination is so strong that nothing stops her from accomplishing something that means something to her. Questions are thrown everywhere. Readers start to asking, “Is the grandson really alive?” In Eudora Welty’s article, she says, “As the author at one with the character as I tell it, I must assume that the boy is alive. As the reader, you are free to think as you like, of course: the story invites you to believe that no matter what happens, Phoenix, for as long as she is able to walk and can hold to her purpose, will make her journey” (Welty 325). Whether or not the grandson is dead or alive, Phoenix is still willing to sacrifice herself to get this medicine for her grandson. “It is read most often as a simple narrative depicting an heroic act of sacrifice, but it is also read as a parable for the journey of life” (Keys 354). She has traveled on the same trail so many times that it has become more of a tradition than anything because she does it twice a year for her grandson. Her days of walking could be over soon, but she does not seem to care about her health. While traveling, she could harm her health.The sacrifices she makes for not only her grandson but also
“The woods were deep and still” (Welty 1). Not knowing what was within the woods she was walking through; she never got stopped by anything. Numerous obstacles approached her, but nothing ever seemed to make her want to give up on something she wanted to accomplish. Since she was such an older lady, most of the obstacles were much greater than she is now. “Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals!...Keep out from under these feet, little bob-whites...Keep the big wild hogs out of my path. Don’t let none of those come running my direction. I got a long way” (Welty 1). In Roland Bartel’s article, “Life And Death In Eudora Welty’s ‘A Worn Path’, he say, “What concerns me about these discussions is that they treat Phoenix Jackson as a stereotype and allow the obvious archetypal significance of her name and her journey to overshadow the uniqueness of one of the most memorable women in short fiction” (288). Therefore, she is a very memorable women, but most readers do not see her as …show more content…
Her determination is so strong that nothing stops her from accomplishing something that means something to her. Questions are thrown everywhere. Readers start to asking, “Is the grandson really alive?” In Eudora Welty’s article, she says, “As the author at one with the character as I tell it, I must assume that the boy is alive. As the reader, you are free to think as you like, of course: the story invites you to believe that no matter what happens, Phoenix, for as long as she is able to walk and can hold to her purpose, will make her journey” (Welty 325). Whether or not the grandson is dead or alive, Phoenix is still willing to sacrifice herself to get this medicine for her grandson. “It is read most often as a simple narrative depicting an heroic act of sacrifice, but it is also read as a parable for the journey of life” (Keys 354). She has traveled on the same trail so many times that it has become more of a tradition than anything because she does it twice a year for her grandson. Her days of walking could be over soon, but she does not seem to care about her health. While traveling, she could harm her health.The sacrifices she makes for not only her grandson but also