Discrimination in
There are always many factors that cause society to push outsiders away. One discriminates according to race, age, and behavior above most. In Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path", she focuses her attention on the main character Phoenix Jackson. The fact that she is an elderly racial minority, African American, already pulls her away from society, but it is her abnormal behavior that contributes the most to her isolation. Just because Phoenix Jackson is an African American, it seems that society pushes her away. They automatically put a discriminatory name on her and look down on her. When Ms. Jackson came across the hunter, he greeted her with a, "Well, Granny" (par. 38) referring to her as an old lady. This is an instance of disrespect towards her just because she is an elderly woman. He later makes a racial comment to her, which seems to bother her and says, "I know you old colored people! Wouldn't miss going to town to see Santa Claus!" (par. 48). The hunter assumes that the only reason she is going to town is to visit with Santa Claus. By this time, the reader can tell Phoenix is just not happy about the way this man is disrespecting her because of her age and race. In a smaller instance, Phoenix is walking a long the str
This goes back to the days of slavery and Phoenix is asking a favor in a respectful manner. At the end of Welty's "A Worn Path", Phoenix Jackson is finally treated with a little compassion by the nurse at the clinic. Phoenix takes time to answer her questions and focuses more on what is going on in her head rather than what is outside of her. Phoenix shows in many instances that she is abnormal and proves to set herself apart. Not only does Phoenix struggle with the way people treat her because of her outward appearance, but her behavior also contributes. For example, once Phoenix arrives at the clinic and meets with the nurse that recognizes her, "the nurse becomes aware of a barrier, the nature of which she is unable to explain, between herself and Grandma, an old Negro woman" (Bogan 466). The attendant at the clinic rudely asks if she is deaf just because she does not answer immediately. The characters that Phoenix confronts treat her with disrespect just because she is different, but this represents how society really treats people outside the norm. This is ironic because there is so much inside her that the society can not see. Phoenix is treated differently because of her outward appearance of an elderly Negro woman and the matter of her awkward behavior. Only the reader can tell she is full of so much pain and awareness. He swings her around to her feet as one might do when playing with a child. Phoenix, in turn, demonstrates a miraculous ability to accept the harsh circumstances of her life, and go on. As Katherine Anne Porter, a short story critic, describes Welty and her writing, she says, "Miss Welty is very much interested in abnormal behavior and treats it with deep discernment" (144).
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Acceptance Essays
