A Worn Path: Journey of Love
Kelly Bryan
ENG 125- Introduction to Literature
Shayla Gordon
May 1, 2010
Journey of Love No matter what the journey brings, there isn’t anything you won’t do for unconditional love. That is exactly what Phoenix Jackson did for her grandson in the story “ A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty. The story “ A Worn Path” is a story written about an old Negro woman who lives in the South many years ago with her only grandson. The story is written in first person point of view and third person omniscient point of view. I say this because you have the main character, Phoenix, who is on a journey down a path and she is talking not only to herself but also to the animals that are in her way along the journey on this path. She tells them “Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals!… Keep out from under these feet, little bob-whites… Keep the big wild hogs out of my path. Don’t let none of those come running my direction. I got a long way.”
(as cited in Clugston, 2010 section 6.3). Phoenix is on a journey that she makes on a regular basis and she does this for her sick grandson. On this particular journey, she encounters some rough path and runs into some questionable characters. The path is heavy with brush and thickets but she makes sure that when she has to crawl through some of this unimaginable stuff, she does not tear her dress through all of this. She wants to make herself look presentable and respectful at the end of her journey. Her first encounter she sees what she thinks is someone dancing off in the distance. She gets closer and asks whom it is but no one answers her. She is an old woman and her senses are not like they used to be so she cannot see very well. She reaches up and touches a sleeve but no arm in it. She realizes it is an old scarecrow. She is in a cornfield and goes on her way. The second encounter is when she is drinking from a spring, a dog comes upon her and he startles her so she hits him a little
ENG 125- Introduction to Literature
Shayla Gordon
May 1, 2010
Journey of Love No matter what the journey brings, there isn’t anything you won’t do for unconditional love. That is exactly what Phoenix Jackson did for her grandson in the story “ A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty. The story “ A Worn Path” is a story written about an old Negro woman who lives in the South many years ago with her only grandson. The story is written in first person point of view and third person omniscient point of view. I say this because you have the main character, Phoenix, who is on a journey down a path and she is talking not only to herself but also to the animals that are in her way along the journey on this path. She tells them “Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals!… Keep out from under these feet, little bob-whites… Keep the big wild hogs out of my path. Don’t let none of those come running my direction. I got a long way.”
(as cited in Clugston, 2010 section 6.3). Phoenix is on a journey that she makes on a regular basis and she does this for her sick grandson. On this particular journey, she encounters some rough path and runs into some questionable characters. The path is heavy with brush and thickets but she makes sure that when she has to crawl through some of this unimaginable stuff, she does not tear her dress through all of this. She wants to make herself look presentable and respectful at the end of her journey. Her first encounter she sees what she thinks is someone dancing off in the distance. She gets closer and asks whom it is but no one answers her. She is an old woman and her senses are not like they used to be so she cannot see very well. She reaches up and touches a sleeve but no arm in it. She realizes it is an old scarecrow. She is in a cornfield and goes on her way. The second encounter is when she is drinking from a spring, a dog comes upon her and he startles her so she hits him a little