Essay, Research Paper

A Worn Path written by Eudora Welty is simple narrative about an aged adult female s journey into town. The chief character, Phoenix Jackson is a hapless African American adult female who suffers from common geriatric conditions such as dotage and breakability. Phoenix is really determined to finish her undertaking ; she must prevail over assorted obstructions, including terrain and bias. The ground for her journey, which the reader discovers at the decision, is to have medical specialty for her ill grandson, who has a chronic pharynx status caused by imbibing lye. Despite her age and disabilities, Phoenix has a really strong personality trait of obstinacy that gives her the ability to get the better of about impossible odds. When the reader discovers the logical thinking for her journey it causes the reader to hold farther regard for her. Her abilities and willingness are dry from the stereotyped constructs of most aged people who are considered dependent and lazy. She adjusts to painstaking state of affairss and becomes an independent individual through her finding, which is fueled by the love for her grandson. Through her love and devotedness she is blinded from the hazard and trouble of her undertaking. At first glimpse Phoenix seems incapable of finishing her journey, but subsequently the reader discovers that she is in fact rather able.

Near the beginning of the narrative after Phoenix has traveled some distance she goes to sit down and the reader feels that she can non continue but the reader is shortly misguided. Immediately after Phoenix sits she closes her eyes and has a hallucination. The hallucination is that of a male child who offers Phoenix a piece of marble bar. Phoenix temps the offer and when she puts out her custodies to accept the bar she gets snapped back into world and the phantom disappears. This brief scene represents many things that are relevant to the narrative. The kid represents a manifestation of her ill grandson. Her love for her grandson is so great that the dementedness that she suffers from does non take him from her subconscious. The imprint that her grandson has made on her has manifested into a hallucination. When she sits down most likely she has given up so her subconscious manifests itself in the signifier of her grandson to remind her of the intent of her journey. Her grandson is offering her aid with offering the bar and when she accepts it she is waken up and continues on her journey. Her mental ability to work under such overwrought conditions shows the reader that her encephalon has adapted to her status and that she is capable to carry through anything. On a side note the type of bar that is offered to her is a symbol for her watercourse of scrupless. Marble is a combination of many different elements that do non wholly mix and you can visually see the all of the elements. This would stand for the mixture that she is sing with traveling in and out of scruples. It s non a uninterrupted watercourse it is broken up and she goes aggressively in and out of rea

lity.

In the face of such enormous obstructions, in visible radiation of her neglecting wellness and age, Phoenix s character embracings doggedness and love to happen the strength to travel into town. With eyes that are & # 8220 ; blue with age & # 8221 ; , & # 8220 ; numberless ramifying furrows & # 8221 ; , and with a cane that Phoenix & # 8220 ; kept tapping the frozen Earth in forepart of her & # 8221 ; with, we know that Phoenix is old, with neglecting seeing ( 437 ) . It is through this deathless love for her grandson, that Phoenix receives her strength to chase away her age and disablements. When Phoenix is confronted with her first obstruction, in the form of a hill, there is no topographic point for Phoenix to travel except up and over. While creeping under and through barbed wire to acquire into town, Phoenix ne’er inquiries her journey, or even coquettes with the thought of turning back. In fact, this is one component of the narrative that stays changeless, and heightens the esteem of Phoenix to the reader. When Phoenix says, & # 8220 ; Seem like there is ironss about my pess, clip I get this far. Something ever take a clasp of me on this hill-pleads I should remain & # 8221 ; ( 438 ) , she gives the feeling that she has traveled this way before. And at the decision of narrative, the reader finds this to be right, and in fact she has been traveling on this journey for many old ages. It is this realisation that puts the love that Phoenix feels for her grandson into prospective. Traveling through this ordeal one time would do most aged people ne’er do it once more, but she has the ability to set the hurting aside and salvage her grandson.

At the terminal of the narrative Phoenix s says that she will purchase a gift for her grandson, a paper windmill. This shows non merely her love for her grandson, but reflects the breakability of her and her grandson. The paper windmill is so delicate, like Phoenix, even the smallest breath of air will impact her physical stableness. Throughout the narrative we are shown how frail Phoenix and her grandson are. They are two halves of the same individual the grandson needs Phoenix to acquire medical specialty and she needs his love in order to physically and mentally survive. Besides windmills are really intricate and utilize the physical, universe such as air current to bring forth utile energy. In Phoenix s instance she uses her grandson s love to power her organic structure to finish her mission.

Phoenix is such a strong character, her physical and mental obstinacy are stronger than her dotage and breakability. She strays far from the stereotyped aged adult female. Her love for her grandson Acts of the Apostless like epinephrine and causes her to carry through things that could non hold been done if non for his interest. Alternatively of kneeling to the magnitude of the obstructions in forepart of her she kept on traveling. Even with being plagued by an aging organic structure throughout the journey, Phoenix ne’er deters from the way she has taken, and even becomes heroic in finishing the journey. She is like the fabulous bird that burned itself, and raised a new, immature bird. Every clip she completes this journey she is born-again and becomes ready for the following clip.