Eudora Weltys A Worn Path - Essay Example

Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” The nature of love is beautifully examined as Phoenix Jackson takes her long walk in Eudora Welty’s short story “A Worn Path.” Within this story, the journey of an old black woman is followed as she travels through a sparsely inhabited countryside to the lit-up streets of a small town preparing for Christmas. Not until the end do we learn that the reason she has taken this arduous and dangerous journey has been to obtain much-needed medicine for a chronically ill and much loved grandchild. Yet, it is apparent almost from the beginning that this is a path she has walked many times before in her familiarity and identification with many elements of the path she walks. It is also apparent that this journey is never easy on her, yet one that she makes with all the care and love that she has in her. Phoenix Jackson thus emerges from the story as a fully developed human being despite the short space of time in which she is introduced. At the same time, her walk through the countryside and into the towns symbolizes many aspects of American history as it progressed from the dark aspects of slavery to a more understanding yet still imperfect society of equal rights. Through eloquent imagery and careful progression, Welty is able to present Pheonix Jackson in loving detail as a fully fledged human being as well as a strong representation of American history to the point at which she is found making her trek. The normal path of life can be traced through the various types of fields Phoenix takes in her journey to town. Her path starts in the evergreen forest full of springy needles and bright sun. These evergreen trees represent the springiness and immaturity of youth. Just as the wood of the pine tree is softer and easy to damage, the young Phoenix was malleable and easily moved to new actions. In youth, she was still full of bright hopes and dreams that were often “almost too bright to look at” (142). Phoenix herself seems to realize this analogy as she crests a hill. “’Up through the pines,’ she said at length. ‘Now down through oaks.’” (143) as she aged into something harder and less able to bend. This aging process is symbolized by the additional trials Phoenix must undertake, the prickly thorns of the brambles and the chains of gravity, before she is able to internalize the strength of the oak that is imprinted upon her forehead, “Her skin had a pattern all its own of numberless branching wrinkles and as though a whole little tree stood in the middle of her forehead, but a golden color ran underneath” (142). The oak trees on the other side of the log bridge are a much harder wood, often having been tested by wind and weather and proving themselves to be strong and true. This represents Phoenix’s own maturity and strength, despite the delicate appearance of her body. She has become accepting of both her limits and her possibilities. It is here that she can finally relax for a moment and take a seat under “a pearly cloud of mistletoe” (143), at peace with herself and who she is, but “She did not dare close her eyes” (143) because of concern that she might lose herself in this perfect moment. It is the little boy who “brought her a plate with a slice of marble-cake on it” (143) who woke her from her reverie and reminded her of her purpose, a love of its own that starts her through the cycle again. The key to understanding how Welty incorporates American history into the path of Phoenix Jackson can also be found in the imagery presented. As Phoenix starts her journey, she walks through “dark pine shadows” (142) where “the sun made the pine needles almost too bright to look at” (142). This seems quite similar to the birth of the country, in which the promise of the new land was filled with products and new hopes and dreams but remained darkened by the shadows of slavery and oppression. This is further illustrated as Phoenix must first pass through many additional hardships before she can reach the security of the stronger and more protective oak forest. Her first entry into the world was like this just as it was for thousands of other people with darker skin as the shackles of slavery were first clasped around their ankles and then loosed, lonely, uncharted, cold and insecure in its steps. She has to fight the wild animals “Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals!” (142). Climbing the hill, she remarks it “seems like there is chains about my feet, time I get this far” (143) in an obvious allusion to the chains of slavery that once marred the nation. Once she has passed through these stumbling blocks, she comes across the thorns that threatened the nation’s progression following the Civil Rights Movement as discrimination continued to hound the black people and keep them ‘in their place’. “Thorns, you doing your appointed work. Never want to let folks pass, no sir. Old eyes thought you was a pretty little green bush” (143). While many former slaves thought their lives and the lives of their children would be much improved following the Civil War, a series of oppressive laws and practices, such as the Jim Crow laws of the south, continued to keep them separated and oppressed through lack of education and opportunity. Thus, they were forced to “creep and crawl” through a barbed wire fence (143) and pass through fields in which dangers are possible but not always obvious. Phoenix finds “there was no path” (144) to follow as she threads her way through the maze of unwritten law to find new means of progress. Through imagery, this little old woman, with her mumbling vocalizations and unsteady but relentless progress, becomes more than a real person to the reader who can sympathize with the various trials she meets as she attempts to gain her way through to the pharmacy where her grandson’s medicine can be found. As she progresses through the fields and forests of the country into the boarded up cottages of the outer town, Phoenix’s progress also parallels the progress of the nation as it started with promise and based upon the darker element of slavery, through to emancipation and the unforeseen problems this created for those with darker skin. Unexpected dangers continue to loom out of the bushes like the “black dog with the lolling tongue” (145) that sends Phoenix heels over head into the ditch “like a little puff of milkweed” (145). That this danger is brought forward primarily from the bigoted whites is evidenced when the white owner of the dog “laughed and lifted his gun and pointed it at Phoenix” (146). Yet it is also in these tests of strength and conviction that the beauty of the woman, her strength and her courage are truly received and appreciated as Phoenix uses her wits to distract the man from the shiny nickel that fell out of his pocket and is able to use it later to purchase a gift for her grandson (146). This, too, epitomizes the way of the black man throughout American history. Although finally granted his legal freedom, he remained under the thumb of the white people, but by taking advantage of every accidental opportunity that came along, black people have been able to finally win greater legal protection and better, more equal lifestyles for their children and grandchildren. Works Cited Welty, Eudora. The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty. New York: Harcourt Brace, pp. 142 – 149. Outline I.Introduction/Thesis statement II.Phoenix as a human A. Pine trees as youth B. Oak trees as mature III.Phoenix as an Aspect of American History A. Forest as slavery B. Thorns and barbed wire as oppression after emancipation IV. conclusion Read More