A Worn Path

             In "A Worn Path" the author, Eudora Welty, describes an old black woman and her journey through the woods into town. Phoenix Jackson, the old woman, obviously was very poor. "She wore a dark striped dress reaching down to her shoe tops, and
             an equally long apron of bleached sugar sacks, with a full pocket: all neat
             and tidy, but every time she took a step she might have fallen over her
             shoelaces, which dragged from her unlaced shoes.(Welty 132).
             She's careful throughout the story not to rip her clothes along the path because she can not afford new clothes. Phoenix never had the opportunity to be educated either. She talks in incomplete sentences saying things like "I going to town" (Welty 134) and "Who you watching?" (Welty 133). However, these things do not stop Phoenix from her journey. It is quite obvious that Phoenix Jackson is a very determined, sneaky, loving, and brave person.
             Welty shows that Phoenix Jackson is determined by proving that for her grandson she will do anything. Phoenix travels very far through the paths in the woods for her grandson's medicine. She is very committed to him in keeping him alive. The path she had to take was very dangerous and Phoenix was extremely old and had very poor eyesight. Phoenix first encounters several wild animals. She simply tells them:
             "Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and
             wild animals!...Keep out from under these feet, little bob-whites...Keep the big wild hogs out of my path. Don't let none of those come running
             in my direction. I got a long way." (Welty, 136)
             She had to trust her feet and her memory to get to town. Even when she met the hunter and he told her that she was way too old to go all the way to town by herself she replied, "I bound to go to town mister" (Welty 134). When Phoenix got to town she was even more determined to fi...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
A Worn Path . (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 13:43, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/66008.html