A Worn Path Essay, Research Paper

In Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path,” the problem of the story wasn’t clear in the

beginning of the story. Why was Phoenix Jackson, a sick old black lady in the forest by

herself in the winter? The reason became clear going towards the end of the story; that

she was out hunting for her grandson’s medicine. Things were very bad for Phoenix

because she had to walk from her countryside home to the city to get the medicine. Those

weren’t Phoenix’s only problems; she was very old, she wasn’t in good health, her

grandson’s throat was hurting and she was very poor. In Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path,”

Welty uses several images to show the reader the burning and the rising of Phoenix

Jackson’s life.

Usually, for older aged people there are benefits for those who can’t do for

themselves. There are various organizations that help people who are over aged. They

also have services that provide for them such as “The Emergency Truck” and “Meals on

Wheels.” Why wasn’t anyone delivering the medicine to Phoenix so she wouldn’t have to

walk in to town? The people from the medical center knew about Phoenix’s grandson and

they didn’t try to help her out with a ride or anything. They didn’t respect Phoenix’s age

at all seeing that she was in bad shape and very old. In these days older aged people

demand their respect and they get it. “She carried a thin, small cane made from an

umbrella, and with this she kept tapping the frozen earth in front of her.”

The problem was mainly Phoenix’s health. (In the quotation just written when

Welty mentioned it, that lets the reader know that Phoenix couldn’t see well. The reader

also knows that she isn’t blind, she just couldn’t see well because of her tapping on the

ground in front of her. Phoenix should have never had to go in the forest under any

circumstances because of her health conditions.) (Welty also let’s the reader know that

Phoenix was a little off (senile). Phoenix would often talk to herself as if people were

around her.) Phoenix was a very strong woman, but it seems like nothing would get in her

way of her destination. If she were taken care of, who would have been in a home

worrying about nothing. Welty gives the reader knowledge of Phoenix’s grandsons health,

and it isn’t very good.

Phoenix wasn’t the only one who should have been receiving medical treatment, also

her grandson should. Back in those days, they didn’t provide free health care, and that

tells the reader how exactly poor Phoenix Jackson was. “It’s Christmas time, grandma,”

said the attendant. “Could I give you a few pennies out of my purse?” Phoenix took the

nickel and grabbed the other nickel and she looked at them smiling. Phoenix knew that it

was Christmas time and her grandson was sick, she was poor, so that was her last resort to

get the paper made windmill. (Earlier in the story Phoenix ran into a white hunter in the

forest on her trip in town. A nickel fell out of the hunter’s pocket so she thought about the

paper made windmill and she distracted him so she could get the nickel. The hunter

complained about the distance of her trip but never offered her a ride. The hunter did say

“I’d give you ten cents if I had any money with me.” What he didn’t know that Phoenix

had already got a nickel out of him.) (The hunter even pointed a gun at this old frame not

respecting her old age or health problems.)

(Eudora Welty uses Phoenix’s name to give the reader a feel of her life being

nothing but hard times. Research indicates that Phoenix is a mythical bird that burns and

then rises from its’ ashes.) The burning part of Phoenix has to be the pain and suffering

she went through, but nothing got in her way of getting that medicine. You can also tell

that Phoenix’s grandson meant the world to her. Maybe her grandson was the only

important thing left in her life, and she wasn’t going to let that good thing slip away.

Throughout the movie Welty never once mentioned where her children were and what

happened to them and her whole entire family. In conclusion, poverty was probably the

main conflict out of all the other four mentioned. Had she not been poor, she would have

been able to afford proper care for herself and her grandson and would therefore be living

a higher standard of life. Had she not been poor, she could have paid for a cab ride to the

city or she could have paid for delivery of the medicine. She would not have had to beg for

meaningless nickels. Without money society doesn’t care for you and has therefore no

respect for you no matter how old you might be.

1. Daly, Saralyn. “A Worn Path Retrod.” In Studies in Short Fiction, Volume 1, No. 2 Winter 1964. pp. 133-139.

2. In Gossett, Louise. Violence in Recent Southern Fiction . Durham, N.C., Duke University Press, 1965. pp. 98-116.

Criticism — Works — Short Stories

3. Gross, Seymour L. Images of the Negro in American Literature. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1966. pp. 221-232.

Criticism — Novels — Race in Literature — Delta Wedding — “Keela, the Outcast Indian Maiden” — “Powerhouse” — “A Worn Path”

4. Isaacs, Neil. “Life for Phoenix.” The Sewanee Review, Volume 71, 1963. pp. 75-81.

Criticism — “A Worn Path”