"A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty is a story that uses symbolism through the surroundings. The main character of the
story is Pheonix Jackson, an old black woman who seeks out to find medicine for her sick nephew. She lives in the woods and
faces the journey of walking through the snow to get to the hospital in the city of Natchez. Phoenix Jackson is a very caring
person and loves life, and although she is very old, it seems that she has many years ahead of her.
The time of the story is Christmas, and Phoenix Jackson has to head out to the city to get medicine for her sick
nephew. A long time ago, her nephew swallowed lye that burned his throat, and the medicine is the only thing that relieves his
pain. The woods are filled with pine trees that make the forest very dark. The darkness that surrounds Phoenix is nothing like
her. She is a poor, neat woman and appreciates the small things in life and is proud of what she has. And even though she is
old, she has really dark hair and has a lot of life in her.
In the story, the wrinkles on Phoenix Jackson's forehead is compared to the branches of a tree. It is kind of like she is a
part of nature. She is a very lively person and is willing to go through the cold snowy forest for her nephew.
Phoenix Jackson shows that she loves life when she talks to all of the animals in the forest, and she realizes she has a
long journey ahead of her, but will do whatever it takes to help her nephew. Phoenix Jackson seems to be in one nature and
brings peace to everything living in the forest. But the forest also has a sense of death. For example, Phoenix spots a buzzard
sitting an old, dead tree that looked like a black man. The buzzard represented death, but Phoenix made her way through the
forest and got past it. Then she comes to a field of dead corn, with a scarecrow in the field. The job of the scarecrow is to
scare away the black crows, which also symbol...