"A Worn Path"

"A Worn Path"
Eudora Welty

Phoenix Jackson was a very old woman on a journey to buy her grandson medicine. She has made this trip several times before which allows her to trust her feet rather than her extremely poor eyesight. Along her journey, she runs into several animals and a few minor characters. Phoenix is presented to us as a very fragile, old woman who is traveling through these woods that would be difficult for someone of a younger age to travel. However, even though she is an old woman who would not seem to have much strength, she is able to persevere through her journey and arrive at her destination. Due to Phoenix's perseverance through the hard journey, I felt that the main theme of the story would be that a person can achieve a goal if they put their mind to it and that we can overcome obstacles with determination. The characterization of Phoenix contributes to the theme by her being a fragile old woman who accomplishes what she set out to achieve. Phoenix is an old woman who is fragile, lacks hearing, lacks vision, is losing her memory, and was experiencing hardships most elder people deal with, and she was a woman with many physical characteristics working to prevent her from achieving her goal who actually does achieve our goal. Therefore, we can see how determination and perseverance can allow us to achieve our goal or get through our difficult times.

Now I am, however, confused on why the man and the woman called her Granny and Grandma; was it simply because she was an old woman? The minor characters view Phoenix as an elder woman who needs serious help, but they do not really try to help her; why?

There are also several similes especially in the beginning of the short story that help to paint the picture. For example, "The cone dropped as light as a feather" (Welty, 223-224). These similes simply work to create the image of what is happening in the story.