Sam Larson AP English, Period 8 Mrs. Koenig 24 October 2011 The Role of Race in “A Worn Path” “A Worn Path” is a short story about an African-American woman from the Deep South who must travel to a nearby town in order to buy medicine for her sick grandson. Written by American author Eudora Welty, famous for writing stories about the Deep South, this story is criticized by many for its use of race and how racism is openly alluded to. “A Worn Path” begins by introducing the reader to an old African-American woman, Phoenix Jackson. Phoenix is traveling through the woods on her way to pick up medicine for her grandson, for he is sick with a throat ailment. While traveling through the woods, Phoenix talks to herself and to her surroundings, sounding off against the native animals so that they may leave her alone.
Also, the author describes Phoenix’s skin as having “a pattern all its own of numberless branching wrinkles as though a whole little tree stood in the middle of her forehead…” (Welty). All of these examples tie back with the long lifespan of a phoenix. Jackson’s whole mission in this story is to receive and deliver medicine for her grandson. “She makes these trips as regular as clockwork” (Welty). Just like the mythological phoenix rising every day, Phoenix Jackson consistently rises up to the challenge of taking a long journey to aid her grandson.
Eudora Welty “A Worn Path” “She wore a dark striped dress reaching down to her shoe tops,…,all neat and tidy, but every time she took a step she might have fallen over her shoelaces, which dragged from her unlaced shoes”,- an elderly woman named Phoenix Jackson described as very poor, old person, living in desperation. She is making a journey into town to find medicine for her sick grandson, which we realize later, when she finally arrives at the town. She is old and probably not healthy, we can understand that liong trip to the town is not easy t5o her, but she is still very lively, because she is willing to go through this intricate journey yet again, and it also seems that Phoenix is very fond of life itself, since she talks to the animals in the forest, “out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits...”. Welty writes, “her hair came down on her neck in the frailest of ringlets, still black” , which shows that she is still far from being dead. When Phoenix meets the scarecrow, another symbol for death, she dances with it, as if representing that death is not near.
Client admits to loosening the wires on his jaw so that he could practice his singing. A doctor and nurse saw him doing this and told him he needed to keep the wires in there. Client admits to getting angry which led the doctor to give him medication to make him fall asleep. While he was asleep he was handcuffed to the bed. The next day when the client awoke his family and agent were in his room.
“A Worn Path” written by Eudora Welty outlines the struggles of Phoenix Jackson, an old Negro woman on one of her many treacherous journeys through the Natchez, Mississippi wilderness to a medical clinic in town sometime after the Civil War. She makes the journeys for her infant grandson who is in need of medicine for his throat which he injured by drinking lye on a previous occasion. Phoenix is very determined and persists to overcome all the obstacles encountered on her journey and demonstrates her determination, unselfishness, and courageous nature even though she obviously suffers from dementia. We join Phoenix on her latest journey down the worn path through the thick woods where she is determined to accomplish her ultimate goal. She must keep the animals from scurrying under her feet by swishing the cane about her feet.
Francine is practically improsoned by her obsessive, over-protective stepmother Julia. Julia came in touch with the family when she served as Francine’s psychologist. Unfortunaetly Julia lost her job as a psychologist since a 10-year-old boy tried to kill himself after coming home from one of her sessions. She therefore decides to devote her life to Francine and she will be ready to do absolutely anything to keep Francine from any kind of harm. Teddy Grex emerges from isolated and loveless childhood as a handsome man, whom nevertheless is damaged by this.
He puts the icing on the cake when proving that he is a racist person because he makes miss Phoenix feel as if she’s worth nothing when he so rudely holds the gun in her face and simply asks her, “‘Doesn’t this gun scare you?’”. Normally when you raise a gun to someone’s face, they’re going to reply with a yes but instead of replying scared, Miss Phoenix replies with a, “‘No sir, I seen plenty go off closer by, in my day, and for less than what I done.’”
Running Head: THE WORN PATH 1 The Worn Path Donita M. Lake English Literature 125 Professor Annemarie Hamlin April 10, 2011 THE WORN PATH 2 The Worn Path, by Eudora Wetly The Story “The Worn Path” by Eudora Wetly is a true depiction of its symbolic title and is a written portrayal of how and why a little “Old Negro Women”, named Phoenix Jackson would take an arduous life threatening journey on foot, through the woods of Mississippi during World War II, at a time of racial prejudice, gender and age discrimination, in the dead of winter, on an old so familiar road of distress, dread and self-discovery. During this era, as with most parts of the Deep South, Mississippi was consumed with racial division, segregation, pure racism, and poverty. This led to killings and lynching that dominated life for Blacks during this time at the turn of the twentieth century. Perhaps, the setting’s descriptive imagery used by the author could be considered a symbolic representation of the cold brassy way in which blacks were treated during this time as describe here, “It was December–a bright frozen day in the early morning”. As the author describes the main character’s disposition, “She was very old and small and she walked slowly in the dark pine shadows, moving a little from side to side in her steps, with the balanced heaviness and lightness of a pendulum in a grand-father clock”.
The murderer, which is her husband, notices and cautiously makes way toward her, holding the gun out as if not a worry in the world. Fires another shot which misses fortunately. Looking as if he were threatening her, he repeats this action without missing, using a third shot that causes a reaction upon the face of a mother, grandmother, and best friend that was incapable of making any other expression of overwhelming pain. She picks herself up off the ground after nearly fainting at what she has just observed. Peering into the window, looking one last time out of curiosity for her love towards her daughter, she sees Brian walk over to a warm body with the look of a face that is cold and expressionless as a frozen stone.
Once Jon and I were ensconced in the tiny closet like room, we were introduced to the ultrasound tech and the individual she was training. Jon and I feared the loss of our first child while this woman described how to perform an ultrasound to her trainee, completely oblivious to our distress and pain. The examination continued while I contorted myself around to view the screen, not knowing or understanding exactly what I was looking at, but praying to God that I would see a flutter, a miniscule beat. I saw nothing; I felt nothing. We were hustled back to our room, where we waited another hour or so before the ER doctor came to examine me.