"A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty is difficult to understand at first because it explores the mind of Phoenix, the elderly main character of the story. The "worn path" that Phoenix travels is from her home to town so she can pick up some medicine for her grandson. She has made this trip so much that she can walk it without even looking where she's going, it's almost as if her feet automatically know where to go. She is so used to the trip that she can walk it without thinking about which way to go, which gives her mind plenty of time to wander freely. This is the part that is confusing because it is unclear as to what she is doing or where she is going. The story later reveals what she is doing and why, but the lack of knowledge that the reader has about Phoenix lets he/she formulate an opinion about her and her thoughts.
             As Phoenix is traveling through the woods, her journey has a biblical touch to it. When she says, "Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals...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" (319), I was reminded of a book I read where a boy with special powers from God was not harmed by vicious animals that were killing everyone else. I imagined Phoenix walking through the forest with all the animals getting out of her way just like they did with the boy. This made me think that Phoenix was religious, and although she doesn't actually ask God for help while walking through the woods, it can be implied that she is religious in some way by how she addresses the animals.
             Another implication that can be made about Phoenix is that she may have once been a slave. Welty described her as an old Negro woman, and when Phoenix reached a hill on her path, she said, "Seem like there is chains about my feet, time I get this far" (319). If someone was going to describe...