Conflicts of the Phoenix

             There are many different types of conflicts that occur in a story. In Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path" the main character, Phoenix Jackson, experiences many different conflicts during her journey. Phoenix Jackson encounters conflicts with nature, conflicts with other people, and conflicts with herself, both physically and mentally.
             Phoenix Jackson is making a long journey to town that requires her to travel over hills, through woods, and across streams. She first must travel up a hill, which is a very difficult task for her. Once she finally gets to the top and starts to make her way down, a bush catches hold of her skirt. She must carefully get her skirt out of the thorns without ripping it. At the bottom of the hill, Phoenix must cross a creek by way of a log that lies across it. She completes this dangerous task with her eyes closed. She must crawl through a barbed wire fence, and travel by a place where she alligators are resting. Obviously, her journey is not a cakewalk, but she rises over the conflicts and obstacles she encounters.
             During her journey, Phoenix encounters a white man who helps her up after she has fallen. Once he finds out what she is doing he orders her to go home. Old Phoenix will hear nothing of it and insists that she will not go home until she has made her trip to town. Even when the man points his gun at her, Phoenix remains firm in her decision to go to town. After he insists again and she refuses, he allows Phoenix to continue on her way. Phoenix is not frightened by this conflict and handles it with composure. If someone were to tell me that I should go home when I had already come so far, I would be angry, especially if they seemingly tried to threaten me with a gun.
             Because of the long journey Phoenix is taking, she encounters many physical conflicts with herself. She is very old and small and walks with a cane. It seems almost crazy for someone of this age to make a...

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Conflicts of the Phoenix. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 12:33, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/100397.html