A Worn Path (Symbolism)
Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path" is a short story that places a tremendous amount of emphasis on the natural symbolism of the setting. Welty incorporates her love for fairy tales is this story by creating mythic characters that seem larger than life, characters like Phoenix Jackson who seem to connect with the surroundings (Randisi 31). The main character, Phoenix Jackson, is an old Negro woman whose goal throughout the story is to find medicine for her sick grandson, who swallowed lye and sometimes experience difficulties swallowing. While Phoenix is undertaking her long journey, the scenery that surrounds her is full of symbolism, symbolism that gives us insight into Phoenix's character, the hardships that are associated with her old age, and the poverty that surrounds her. Eudora Welty brings realism into the story by describing the trials that come with old age. The path that she travels through, are filled with pine trees that cast dark shadows throughout the ground. The darkness that surrounds Phoenix is the total opposite of her. Even though Phoenix is a poor woman, she is quite groomed and tidy. Although she is old, she has extremely dark hair, wears a red bandanna, and has much "life" within her: "Her skin had a pattern of
Characteristics such as her old age, compassion, poverty, determination, kindness, and vibrant personality. She then snaps out of her trance and sees only her hand waiving in the air. This shows that old people hallucinate sometimes, which is completely natural. According to William Jones, Welty, choose this particular name for her protagonist to symbolize "the old woman's eternal and enduring love for her grandson that serves as her source of rejuvenation, that accounts for her phoenix-like spirit" (Pingatore 174). The dog represents Phoenix's loyalty to her grandson and her vigilance throughout the journey (Becker 84). Phoenix Jackson is a vibrant person, willing to go through the trials of the long arduous journey for someone she cares about. For instance, Phoenix spots a buzzard sitting upon an old, dead tree that resembled a black man. Before Phoenix reached the city of Natchez, she stumbles upon a white hunter, accompanied by two growling dogs. According to Ruth Weston "It is not nature that is the spirit of healing in "A Worn Path" but human love and endurance, in spite of a world that might seem Gothic to those less grounded in reality than in Phoenix Jackson" (Weston page 29). The copper smell of her hair brings more realism of old age. I come to stealing" (Welty paragraph 54). Phoenix Jackson is quite a remarkable woman, as is evident by Welty's portrayal of her throughout the story. After drinking from the well a black dog crept out of a ditch and approached Phoenix with its drooling tongue. It is quite evident that she feels guilty by her comment to herself: "God watching me the whole time. While speaking to the white hunter, Phoenix noticed that a nickel had fallen out of the man's pocket: "Then she slowly straightened up, she stood erect, and the nickel was in her apron pocket" (Welty paragraph 54).
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Acceptance Essays
