Phoenix Jackson in A Worn Path

A Worn Path During our life we face many challenges. We have the ability to either choose to face them or run from them. Some challenges can be more difficult than others, for we are alone to face them. We encounter many crossroads during our journeys where we have to choose which path we take in life. Sometimes we open a door just to see that on the other side there is another closed door. Even though sometimes we are defeated by challenges they make us stronger and give us the ability to keep…

from accomplishing their goals. In the story of a Worn path by Eudora Welty, three themes that stood out were, love, racism and dedication. The main character was Phoenix Jackson. The story was set in December in 1940’s southwestern Mississippi. The first theme love is the most important theme of all, for this is the reason this old woman is out in the atrocious weather of December. The story is called the worn path because Phoenix constantly makes this trip to get medicine for…

and Edith Wharton are well known authors and very talented in the way they write. They show isolation in some of their stories. A Worn Path, The Soul selects her own Society, and Ethan Frome are just some of the writing they wrote expressing the struggle of isolation. In the short story A Worn Path by Edora Welty the main character is an older lady named Phoenix Jackson. She live in the woods alone with her alleged grandson. Throughout the story she is walking to town by herself and she faces…

heroes as being buff, strong, and usually male. However, Phoenix Jackson is an old, short, black woman, which probably wouldn’t instantly pop up in a person’s mind as ‘hero’. She wears an old apron, and uses an old umbrella for a cane. Often in the story, she is addressed as ‘Granny’,…

In William Sydney Porter’s (pen name O. Henry) novel The Gift of the Magi, (1906), the young married couple, Jim and Della, the setting takes place during Christmas. The force that makes it difficult for the couple is having one dollar and eighty seven between the two of them and trying to find more money and of buying gifts for each other. The setting takes place during Christmas holiday. Jim and Della both admire what they possess already and want to enhance their worldly possessions (Jim’s…

the mythical phoenix bird is often described with resurrection, victory over adversity, and that which rises out of the ashes to be born again (Welty 467). In Eudora Welty’s A Worn Path, Phoenix Jackson is a force to be reckoned with and carries such dire determination to succeed. Phoenix is on a long, exhausting journey to town to retrieve some medicine for her ailing grandson, however along the way she is faced with obstacles that try to prevent her from reaching her goal. Phoenix is a old,…

Everyone has their own path in life, and much like Phoenix Jackson, mine is one of trials and tribulation. The physical obstacles, landscape, and people that Phoenix faces are symbols that are relatable to personal occurrences in my own life. Phoenix has difficulty seeing and relies on her memory to get her through her journey. This is a physical problem for her, but to me symbolizes the unknown. Not knowing what the future holds is a very worrying thing to me. She also has trouble with the…

In many of her short stories, the main characters are socially subjugated individuals who break their traditional society-assigned roles. For example in “A worn path” the main character Phoenix, an old black woman who goes on a long journey to obtain medicine for her grandson. Throughout her quest, she encounters characters that embody racism, for example, she meets a white hunter whom she asks for help in order to get out…

Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” tells the story of Phoenix Jackson, an elderly African Woman leaving in the south who takes on a journey into town in order to get medicine for her grandson. To many, the story of Phoenix’s journey seems to be a short, simple story with no exciting action taking place, and although that is true, the story itself exhibit the struggle faced by many African American back in the early 20th century and even today in the 21st century, the struggle of racism. Racism is not…

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…