A worn path
"A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty, is the tale of the unstoppable love and care of a grandmother for her grandchild. It tells a story of sheer determination as Phoenix Jackson makes a long journey into town to get medicine for her chronically ill grandson. She strives forward despite frequent obstacles in her way that include her own failing health and the grandchild's slim chance of survival. Phoenix Jackson is "an old Negro woman" who continues forward over barriers that would not even be considered a hindrance for the young. This is a journey that she has taken before, and now "the time come around" she must travel it again. She begins her journey to town on "a bright frozen day in the early morning" in December. Phoenix Jackson is "very old and small," and walks like the "pendulum in a grandfather clock" ever so carefully with her "thin, small cane made from an umbrella." The description of Phoenix Jackson at the beginning of this story gives the reader a glimpse of how difficult this trip is going to be for an elderly woman such as her. The description "Her eyes were blue with age. Her skin has a pattern all its own of numberless branching wrinkles" are indications of Phoenix Jackson's old age. She supports herself w
Eventually, a hunter and his dog happen upon her and pull her out of the ditch. At that point the man says, "you must be a hundred years old, and scared of nothing. " She tells the nurse "he not able to swallow. " She is determined to go down that path despite anything that might come between her and getting the medicine for her grandson. " Phoenix Jackson encounters many adversities along her journey, but somehow manages to get through them. He also tries to prevent her from finishing her journey. " She sits down to rest "when a little boy brought her a plate with a slice of marble-cake on it. The only thing that keeps her from giving up is the love she has for him and the fact that all they have in this world is each other. Her perseverance in the face of tremendous obstacles is admirable considering her age and declining health. When she enters "the big building," evidently a medical facility, she does not speak and appears disoriented. So the time come around, and I go on another trip for the soothing medicine. As she begins her journey, she talks to herself and warns, "Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals. In addition, she faces a barbed-wire fence, which is not easy for anyone, but she gets through, again telling herself that "she could not pay for having her arm or her leg sawed off.
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