Phoenix Jackson in A Worn Path

Phoenix Jackson is as worn down as the path she travels. She conquers many obstacles in her journey to get her grandson his medicine. The difficulties endured include racism, her old age, and poverty. The short story, “A Worn Path,” was written by Eudora Welty in 1940. The main character is Phoenix Jackson. She is described in the story as an African American woman from the south who is very old, frail, wrinkled and small. The story takes place in the 1930’s, many years after slavery…

“A Worn Path” is a fictional short story written by Eudora Welty during the early twentieth century and it likely occurs during this time period. This story takes place geographically in the South. “A Worn Path” is not simply a story about an old woman making a difficult journey for medicine to help her grandson, it’s about taking pride in yourself and having purpose in your life. This story shows that with pride and purpose many seemingly difficult obstacles can be overcome. It’s through this…

Symbolism in A Worn Path In the short story, A Worn Path by Eudora Welty there are many symbols. The story takes place in the American South during the mid-twentieth century. The main character of this story is an elderly African American women named Phoenix Jackson, who is on her way to get medicine for her grandson who is sick. She ends up taking an extremely worn path to get to the clinic and on her way through the path she encounters a hunter. The hunter raises his gun and aims it at the…

Eudora Welty writes “A Worn Path” to tell a story of perseverance and love. Welty’s southern heritage is displayed throughout the story, where she uses an elderly lady named Phoenix Jackson. Phoenix was to take a path whereby the end was unknown to the readers. Phoenix’s grandson swallowed lye a few years ago, and this caused his throat to be damaged permanently. She often takes this long journey to get her grandson’s medicine although she is far in age. Many readers may believe she was mentally…

In “A Worn Path,” by Eudora Welty, the main character’s name, Phoenix, has great significance in the short story. A Phoenix is “a mythological bird of great beauty fabled to live 500 or 600 years in the Arabian wilderness, to burn itself on a funeral pyre, and to rise from its ashes in the freshness of youth and live another cycle of years” (“Phoenix Definition”). Phoenix also means “a person…that has become renewed or restored after suffering calamity or apparent annihilation” (“Phoenix…

Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” is a short story about an old woman, Phoenix Jackson, going on a heroic journey to save her grandson’s life. Welty uses symbolism to develop the theme of family love Phoenix shows to her grandson. This Mississippi writer uses object, life, and christian symbols to backup the theme of love. Eudora Welty uses object symbols to support the theme of love. The first object symbol uses is life saving medicine. Phoenix’s grandson swallows lye in which makes it difficult to…

that you can use to describe Phoenix Jackson and Emily Grierson. Phoenix and Miss Emily were both two respected women in their communities. But, they still lived separate lives; Phoenix, an old, negro, former slave who will do anything to fulfil her grandson’s needs, and Emily, an old white woman who does not have to lift a finger because of her black housekeeper and her respected stance in her community. In my essay, I will touch on both topics. Phoenix Jackson and Emily Grierson are two…

In Eudora Welty’s short story, “A Worn Path”, Phoenix Jackson, the old black woman who journeys to town, is reborn whenever she has a goal to work towards. Throughout the story, Phoenix faces challenges along the way to town. However, after she reaches the end of her well-traveled path, Ms. Jackson forgets why she made the journey and seems to distance herself from the people around her. As soon as she has a purpose again, the old woman is reinvigorated and ready to work towards her goal once…

old women named Phoenix Jackson. She has vision problems and her old age; still she needs to walk from her home to the city. For a medicine that is needed for her grandson. When the grandson was 4 years old he swallowed lye. His throat was harmed and the medicine is the only thing…

This is a familiar and difficult trip for Phoenix, but there is satisfaction for her in making this journey. It gives her life meaning, a purpose. Though quite old and suffering from infirmities, Phoenix Jackson regularly walks a long distance to obtain medicine for her grandchild. Even in cold weather, when the frozen earth is slippery, she makes the trip. Her journey, the worn path she follows, demonstrates her love for the child. Phoenix travels over many different kinds of surfaces, from…