A Worn Path Eudora Welty - Research Paper Example

A Worn Path Eudora Welty Introduction ‘A Worn Path’ is a literary text by Eudora Welty. The short story was first published in 1941 in the Atlantic Monthly. The main character in the story is a black woman named Phoenix Jackson. Jackson is senior in age but had to trudge a grueling path to the city of Natchez. Her mission is to get medication for her grandson who is ill. The journey from her home to the city is marked with cruelty of nature and the same time, it presents a breathtaking awe in the old woman. The old woman’s eyesight is fast failing her but she had to make it to the hospital in the city for the sake of her grandson. Welty gave her work rich symbolic meanings in her attempt to pass her message to her readers. The title itself ‘A Worn Path’ is symbolic of the old woman’s sufferings and determination to have her grandson healed (Deakins 14). The woman must have made repeated journeys to the hospital without giving up on her hope that one day, her grandson would get well. In Phoenix, the writes captures the spirit of perseverance in desperation, the story presents the theme determination and courage through characterization of Phoenix. Nothing other than determination is what inspires the old frail woman to make repeated journeys to the city on foot to seek for a relief for her ailing grandson. Through the actions and treatment of Phoenix by other characters, the theme of courage becomes clear to readers. Eudora Welty has used different literary styles in achieving her purpose in writing the story. This paper shall focus on her use of symbolism, characterization, and setting to develop the theme of courage in ‘A Worn Path’. Characterization There are several characters in the short story in whose reception and treatment of the old Phoenix portrays her resilient character traits. She is determined to ensure that she gets the medication for he ailing grandson. On her way to Natchez city, the old woman with a failing vision encounters a White Hunter, Black American children, a pedestrian in the city, attendant at the hospital, a nurse at the hospital, and her ailing grandson whom she has lefty back at home. Her courage is seen when she is determined to go through all the hurdles that are presented by nature on her path that passes through the jungle. Phoenix says on her way “out of my way you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons, and wild animals….” (Welty para 3). When the old woman was trudging through the path uphill, she pauses and looks backs and says “Up through the pines. Now down through the oak.” (Welty para 5). The woman’s journey is largely tormenting but she is courageous that she would eventually reach the city to get medication for her grandson. When the White Hunter tells her to stay home where there is safety for her frail figure, the old woman says that she must reach Natchez city. Her main goal is to get to the city undeterred by the thorny bushes, steeps, and creeks of the jungle. Her abilities to keep trudging despite her numerous challenges brings her fourth as a very determined old woman who would not bow down to anything other than achieving her desires. Phoenix resilience helps the author in building the theme of courage in the story (Wampler para 1). Phoenix is treated condescendingly by the White Hunter that picks her from a ditch where she fell into. Due to the fact that Christmas holiday was just looming, the White Hunter presumes that the old black woman was making such a long journey just to lay her eyes on Santa Claus. He tells Phoenix “I know you old colored people! Wouldn't miss going to town to see Santa Claus!” (Welty para 19). This statement insinuates some kind of racial bias. The White Hunter is presuming that old black people are such obsessed with Santa Claus to an extent that the woman would just make many miles of a perilous journey just to see Santa Claus. Even when the White Hunter points his gun at her, Phoenix seemed unperturbed by the threat of the gun. At the clinic from where she is seeking medication for her grandson, the attendant readily concludes that the woman’s case service is “charity”. In as much as she is old, poor and dressed unkemptly, one would expected other folks to treat her with dignity like the Natchez pedestrian that stooped and tied her shoelaces. Despite racial undertones from her treatment by the hospital attendant and the White Hunter, Phoenix finally managed to get medication for her grandson that was a victory for her. Symbolism The short story is full of symbolism from the title itself to the name ‘Phoenix’. ‘A Worn Path’ seemingly portends that Phoenix has been on this journey before. This assumption is proven when the nurse at the hospital tells the receptionist to let Phoenix in for she knows her and her case. An old frail person of Phoenix age would not make repeated journeys to the city if it were not for her courage. Literary pundits have likened the image cut by Phoenix to that of the Phoenix bird. Phoenix bird is known for its ability to offer security and inspire hope for itself (Saunders para 7). This kind of attribute is seen in the old woman who would not relent at physical or psychological torments until she gets the medications. In a blatant comparison to Phoenix bird, the author described the physical appearance of Phoenix as “but a golden color ran underneath, and the two knobs of her cheeks were illumined by a yellow burning under the dark” (Welty para 2). The author further described Phoenix hair thus “Under the red rag her hair came down on her neck in the frailest of ringlets, still black, and with an odor like copper” (Welty para 2). The ancient Egyptian Phoenix bird has been described in many literary texts as being beautiful, it is presumed to have had golden and red plumage (Welty para 2). In the jungle, readers encounter Phoenix who can sometimes show more of animalistic traits than a human being. A case in point is the instance where she is portrayed as having animalistic tendencies is he crossing of the creek. Phoenix closes her eyes to cross the creek in the jungle to utter amazement of readers. Birds may not know of the bearings of the compass points but often find their direction to and from their nests. Welty (para 62) says of Phoenix when she crossed the creek, “Old Phoenix would have been lost if she had not distrusted her eyesight and depended on her feet to know where to take her.”It is out of her courage that she closed her eyes to cross the creek. In ordinary cases, rarely will anyone close their eyes while crossing a creek. It is out of deep caring for the grandson that old Phoenix is not afraid despite her frailties. Her source of courage is her yielding hope that the medication will heal her grandson. Phoenix encountered big trees that the narrator described as “Big dead trees, like black men with one arms” in the cotton field (Welty para 10). The trees signified black men from the period of slavery in America. The cotton field in which the trees stood is described as ‘withered’. This imagery revokes the memory of slavery from where the black folks were emerging. However, the gruesome journey that Phoenix was taking represents the ongoing journey of emancipation from the dark era of slavery among the Blacks. After her tricky but safe passage across the creek, she came to point where she sat down to take some rest. The narrator says that Phoenix did not close her eyes during her short resting session. A little boy bearing a plate with marble cake appeared before her, and she readily accepted the offer by telling him “That would be acceptable” (Welty para 9). The cake that boy offered could perhaps be a signifier of the equality that Black folks in the U.S. fought for. When she stretches her arms to take the slice of the marble cake, Phoenix finds her hand hanging in the air with nothing to receive. This context represented the elusive dream of achieving equality between White and Black folks. The illusionary marble cake that was presented to her did not deter her from her journey. She picked up herself once again to continue with her journey, trying to emancipate her little grandson from his suffering. Phoenix’s courage and ability to carry on again from the false promise of cake can be construed to the fight for equality that continued in American into the 1960s during the Civil Rights Movements. The Blacks were fighting for equality even though the emancipations proclamation to end slavery had been made many decades prior to the 1960s. Setting The story unfolded in the Southern parts of Mississippi. It was written and published in the Atlantic Monthly back in 1941. The events in the story are greatly contributed to by the physical barriers that Phoenix has to go through before she achieves her dream. There are several implications of the setting that the author chose for the story. The month of December for many people across the world is synonymous with giving of gifts. This happens when Phoenix is receiving medicine from the hospital in the city where the lady at the reception gives her a nickel coin and she vows to get her sick grandson a gif for Christmas. The author also chose to place unimaginable physical obstacles in the path of old Phoenix. Despite her frailty, she would have to endure sharp thorns, treacherous creeks, fences, ditches, long miles, and wild animals. It even becomes unimaginable that the old woman has made repeated journeys in the past for the sake of her grandson. The author also makes no mention of her own children that would have been the cause of her getting a grandson. Her solitary figure creates a picture of a woman in old age with no one to take care of her. In her apparent exhaustion and may be, her inability to see and tie her shoelaces well, she begs a female pedestrian in the city to do it for her. Nature is thus brought forth as a huge antagonistic feature in the lives of an old frail woman with her ailing grandson. It is against the antagonistic nature that readers see the resilience that is driven by courage in the old woman (Schmidt 85). The descriptions about her journey from her rural home into the city take a huge chunk of the story. The details of the journey in some instances affect the readers’ moods. Readers would readily sympathize with the old woman when she fell into a ditch where she would not help her self. She becomes lucky when she is rescued by the White Hunter. The setting also gives life to the plot of the story in the sense that the woman had to travel in between the two locations in order to save her grandson. Had the author not created the distance between Phoenix’s rural home and the city, her courage would have not been developed into a thematic issue. Conclusion One would poignantly say that ‘A Worn Path’ is a story that is well narrated with rich literary devices that makes it an interesting text. The third person point of view keeps the readers abreast with unfolding events progressively from the beginning to the end of the story. Phoenix thoughts are revealed to the readers through the monologues that she engages in throughout her grueling journey through the woods. The difficult journey that Phoenix makes brings out her courageous nature. Her resilience saw her getting medication for her grandson. The story rings some racism undertones although subtly. Works Cited: Deakins, Melissa. “Parting the Curtain on Lye Poisoning in 'A Worn Path'.” Eudora Weltry Review, 1 (2009): 13-24. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. Saunders, James Robert. “'A Worn Path': The External Quest of Welty’s Phoenix Jackson.” The southern literary journal 25.1 (Fall 2002): 62-73. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. Schmidt, Peter. The Heart of the Story: Eudora Welty's Short Fiction. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1991. Wampler, Joyce Kay B. “An Analysis of the Character Phoenix Jackson in a Worn Path.” n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. Welty, Eudora. "A Worn Path." The Atlantic Monthly. Feb. 1941. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. Read More