A Worn Path is a short story by Eudora Welty. It was published in Atlantic Monthly magazine in 1941. The story describes a journey by an elderly black woman named Phoenix Jackson, who must walk a long way into Natchez from her home in rural Mississippi to retrieve medicine for her grandson.
What is the main theme of A Worn Path?
The main themes in A Worn Path are racism and duty versus love. Racism: The other characters look down on Phoenix due to her age, race, and class, demonstrating their own cruelty and intolerance.
What does A Worn Path symbolize?
They are often symbols for death, decay, and destruction, though they can sometimes also be used to symbolize regeneration. Death always hangs in the background of A Worn Path. Phoenix’s grandson is very ill, and Phoenix herself is so old that death may come for her soon as well.
What is the characterization of A Worn Path?
The short story “A Worn Path” is marked by intense and dramatic imagery that illuminates one character’s difficult and triumphant journey through a single day. It opens a complex landscape that evokes both the character’s passage and others’ larger pilgrimages.
What is happening in A Worn Path?
On a cold December day, an elderly woman named Phoenix Jackson makes her way along a remote path, narrating the journey to herself as she goes. She traverses different kinds of terrain—hills, forests, swamps, and fields—that test the strength and endurance of her old body.
What is the main conflict of A Worn Path?
The main conflict in “A Worn Path” is of man vs.nature. Phoenix Jackson must travel this worn path, a path not necessarily fit for an old woman to be traveling.
What is a metaphor in A Worn Path?
“The Worn Path” can be seen as an allegory for the difficulties all people face through the course of life. Relative to her condition, the trials Phoenix faces on the Natchez Trace are metaphors for life-altering troubles all people encounter.
How is A Worn Path modernism?
How is it related to Modernism? … Similar to modernism, A Worn Path made the reader end the story with their own conclusion. Because at the end of the story some readers might have had the conclusion that Pheonix’s grandson might not even exist, might have died, or hopefully is still alive.
Who is the protagonist in A Worn Path?
Old Phoenix Jackson is the protagonist of the story.
What is the point of view in A Worn Path?
Plot. A Worn Path is told in the third person point of view. In which A Worn Path follows an elderly African American woman named Phoenix Jackson as she ventures toward a town. The story is set in Natchez, Mississippi during the Great Depression era.
What does Natchez represent in A Worn Path?
The town of Natchez Trace was an overland trail between Nashville, Tennessee, and Natchez, Mississippi. In the early 1800s, it was a worn path, which promoted progress for the African American slaves. Her journey was along a worn path, this means that she had walked this trip many times.
Why is the path so worn in A Worn Path?
The worn path can be interpreted as a symbol of Phoenix Jackson’s enduring love for her grandson, as she travels this difficult way—even deep into her old age—in order to procure the medicine that will comfort but never cure him.
Who is the antagonist in a worn path?
These antagonist forces are: nature, poverty and old age. Nature puts many obstacles in Phoenix’s way as she walks to the town. Not long after she begins her journey, her path goes up a hill, considering she is old, this makes her journey a little harder.
Is the grandson alive in a worn path?
Through hints and the dialogue between characters, Eudora Welty gives the impression that Phoenix’s grandson was dead. … In conclusion, Eudora Welty hides clues throughout the story to inform you that Phoenix Jackson’s grandson is unfortunately dead.
What does the nurse represent in a worn path?
Although the journey is a long, difficult journey, Phoenix manages to get there on her own. She faces difficult circumstances as an elderly African American lady trying to get some medicine for her grandson. Phoenix does not have any money; therefore, the nurse marks the medicine as charity.
What is the climax of the worn path?
The climax of any story occurs at the turning point, at the highest point of action. After all of her struggles, Phoenix finally makes it into the clinic, and it is clear that she will be able to get the medicine that her grandson needs.
Why Do I Live at the PO?
Why I Live at the P.O. is a short story written by Eudora Welty, American writer and photographer. It was published in her collection of stories named A Curtain of Green (1941). The work was inspired by a photograph taken by Welty that depicts a woman ironing at the back of a post office.
What is significant about Phoenix’s poor eyesight?
Eyes are significant because Phoenix’s eyesight is failing her due to her age, making her journey along the worn path much more challenging. Although Phoenix may not have strong vision, her eyes give her a deeper kind of vision—to see her through the journey into town to get her grandson’s medicine.
What are five conflicts in A Worn Path?
The themes for A worn Path include Race and Racism, Duty and Responsibility, Guilt, and Resurrection.
How does the setting affect the plot in A Worn Path?
The setting affects the action in A Worn Path by placing obstacles in Phoenix’s path. Some of these obstacles include this log bridge, the hill, and the big black dog that knocked her over. The setting also provides space for extremely rich detail, which is used throughout the story.
What are the obstacles Phoenix encounters?
The first three tangible obstacles Phoenix Jackson encounters in A Worn Path are thorns, a log which crosses a creek, and a barbed-wire fence. Her age and economic status are more indirect obstacles that also make this journey difficult for Phoenix.
Is there irony in A Worn Path?
The overarching irony “A Worn Path” is the allusion to mythic quests and heroism in the story of a simple, uneducated, old black woman just walking to get her grandson’s medicine. Undercutting the irony is the story’s sincere affirmation that anyone can be a hero in the right circumstances.
What literary devices are used in A Worn Path?
The literary device used here is a simile, as the noise of the cane tapping against the ground is compared to the chirping of a solitary little bird. This simile conveys the impression that Phoenix, like the bird, seems small and delicate. Another simile is used in this second quotation.
What does the metaphor of A Worn Path suggest about life?
Much of the story involves Phoenix’s literal journeys as she walks down paths. The phrase “a worn path” can suggest, metaphorically, the relative lack of variety in Phoenix’s life. The fact that Phoenix spends much of the story walking on paths may symbolize her determination.
Why is Phoenix an appropriate name for the protagonist explain in complete sentences?
Phoenix is an appropriate name because she rises out of the ditch, despite the unlikelihood of her survival, just like the mythical phoenix that rose from the ashes after death.
What is the significance of the main character’s name in A Worn Path?
“A Worn Path,” one of her best-known stories, depicts an elderly African-American woman walking into town to get her grandson’s medicine. The woman’s name is Phoenix, alluding to the mythological bird said to rise from its own ashes.
What does Phoenix Jackson represent?
When it dies, in a fire that it creates itself, it rises anew from the ashes. For this reason in particular, the phoenix is a revered creature, often associated with time, immortality, rebirth/resurrection, and the circle of life.
Graduated from ENSAT (national agronomic school of Toulouse) in plant sciences in 2018, I pursued a CIFRE doctorate under contract with Sun’Agri and INRAE in Avignon between 2019 and 2022. My thesis aimed to study dynamic agrivoltaic systems, in my case in arboriculture. I love to write and share science related Stuff Here on my Website. I am currently continuing at Sun’Agri as an R&D engineer.