A worn path journey of love
She made it out of the building with the medicine and with something extra that day, an extra nickel to buy her grandson a Christmas gift that day. The difficulty of her as yet unexplained journey is made clear in the way something—her body, her mind — pleads that she stop.
She is on a mission for her grandson and needs what she is going to the city for; so, she is not going to let an ignorant, white man stop her at succeeding on her journey. The whole reason for this journey was because her grandson drank some lye and burned his throat.
Other than the helping hand up from the spring, he is not very friendly. Themes[ edit ] One of the major themes of the short story is unselfish love. Phoenix may be used to being threatened and as such no longer fears these threats. A particularly tense episode occurs when she encounters a white hunter who appears friendly at first, but then makes a condescending suggestion that she is probably "going to town to see Santa Claus.
He tells her she needs to go home. So, after he sees that he does not scare her, he just gives up and goes on his way and so her journey continues. The free medicine exists both as charity and imposition, showing the city to be a place of nominal caring but also a place of harshness and practicality.
Phoenix thinks, understandably, that as the road itself gets easier the journey will be easier, but as it turns out as she moves deeper into the more populated areas of Mississippi things get more difficult.
For example, the fact that the story is set during the Christmas season has led some critics to associate Phoenix's journey with that of a religious pilgrimage; her selfless concern for her grandson is interpreted as representing the true spirit of giving and self-sacrifice. Phoenix, however, does not appear afraid; the hunter lowers his gun and she manages to continue on her way unharmed and without returning the nickel.
He is a white man who starts to mock her because of her age. She declares that he is not dead, receives the medicine for him, along with another nickel, with which she decides to buy him a Christmas present—a "little windmill.
One can take what is told as being true or one can question the validity of what we are told. Commentators have noted that her sheer fortitude in making the long journey on foot and alone points to these qualities, as does the mythological significance of her name, Phoenix—an Egyptian bird symbolizing resurrection.
Active Themes Related Quotes with Explanations A white hunter, a young man, soon comes along, with a dog on a chain. Christian symbolism is also apparent in the narrative.
Closing her eyes at the bridge underscores her faith in a higher being who will watch and protect her, as well as her own memory or inner strength over her outward senses and abilities.
There is also some symbolism in the story which may be important.
He is a white man who starts to mock her because of her age. Is God watching the hunter as he threatens and lies, too. In she published her first short story called "the Death of a Traveling Salesman".
She takes the coin without hesitation, if carefully.
So, after he sees that he does not scare her, he just gives up and goes on his way and so her journey continues. She is on a mission for her grandson and needs what she is going to the city for; so, she is not going to let an ignorant, white man stop her at succeeding on her journey.
Deceptively simple in tone and scope, the story is structured upon a journey motif that incorporates a rich texture of symbolic meaning. He needs the medicine to make it feel better and the doctor told Phoenix that as long as she can and will make the journey down the path, he would give her the medicine for free.
He wants to know where she is going and she says to the city. Needless to say, she does not even flinch when he does that. Is there no one other than me that questions what we are told. The second encounter is when she is drinking from a spring, a dog comes upon her and he startles her so she hits him a little bit with her cane.
She had a very successful career in writing and published many books that are still read and well known today. He tells her she needs to go home. May 01, · "A Worn Path" describes the journey of an elderly black woman named Phoenix Jackson who walks from her home to the city of Natchez to get medicine for her sick grandson.
In its depiction of the journey of an impoverished black woman in Mississippi, “A Worn Path” explores the realities of race and class in the South at a time when slavery was still within living memory. The depiction of race in the story is not simplistic. A Worn Path is a tale of undying love and devotion that pushes us toward a certain goal.
The story revolves around A short story about an elderly woman, Phoenix Jackson who loves her grandson so much that she endures a painful journey to town on a road in a rural area to acquire medicine for her grandson who suffers from a throat ailment/5. The story the Worn Path was written by author Eudora Welty.
Welty was born in Jackson Mississippi in She was a short story writer who wrote about the American south. - “A Worn Path” “A Worn Path” is a story of determination and true strength of a grandmother through her journey to her grandson’s salvation.
The title itself explores a cyclical path that each of us encounters in our lives and will continue to do so in the future. ³A Worn Path´ - A Journey of Determination, Devotion, and Love.
³A Worn Path´ is an allegory for Phoenix Jacksons life, as well as for the experiences of many African Americans. Phoenix¶s path is worn not only because she herself has had to travel it so many times, but because it symbolizes the path traveled by poor and oppressed .
A worn path journey of love