Critical Analysis On 2

Critical Analysis On “A Worn Path” Essay, Research Paper

Critical Analysis

Eudora Welty.s .A Worn Path. depicts the journey of Phoenix Jackson, an elderly black woman. At first, this journey appears to not be for any apparent reason. Phoenix travels over hills and through the woods, enduring multiple hardships, encounters with disrespect, and moments of loneliness. By the end of the story, the reader realizes that Phoenix.s trip does have a goal. She walks to get medicine for her sick grandson who .swallowed lye.(p. 105). The theme that runs through the story is that Phoenix will endure hardship, disrespect, and even loneliness for the love of her grandson.

Phoenix faces two different types of hardship, one being the physical aspects such as her age, blindness, and senility. There.s no doubt that Phoenix is well up in her years. When reaching that golden age there are many obstacles to overcome. The body starts to change in ways that makes us depend on other physical aspects. Welty leaves no doubt in the reader.s mind that Phoenix is old, and that she has the hardships that accompany advancing age. One example of many in the writing is, .Her skin had a pattern all its own of numberless branching wrinkles. (p. 98). Because she continues to think of the health of her grandson, the path to town becomes nothing more than a walk in the park. Welty implies that the memories she has of her grandson seem so real that not even her physical disabilities can keep her from making the journey.

One major physical hardship is the fact that Phoenix is most likely blind. .Her eyes were blue with age,. and .She carried a thin, small cane made from an umbrella, and with this she kept tapping the frozen earth in front of her. (p. 98). The fact that she keeps persistently tapping the earth in front of her could only indicate one thing: that she is visually impaired. Welty conveys to us that Phoenix may not be completely blind, but she has to be substantially impaired to keep tapping her cane in an irritating manner. Someone who is even remotely visually impaired should not be traveling in the forest. However, because of the love Phoenix has for her grandson, she keeps her goal in her mind.s sight and does not need her eyesight.

Phoenix also suffers from a problem that often plagues people at an old age, senility. For instance, she has hallucinations. “But she sat down to rest… She did not dare to close her eyes and when a little boy brought her a plate with a slice of marble cake on it she spoke to him. .That would be acceptable,. she said. But when she went to take it there was just her own hand in the air” (p. 99). This was just one time in the story where Phoenix talks to herself or has hallucinations. Welty leaves us with the impression that Phoenix often behaves this way. Although she may suffer from senility due to old age, Phoenix does not allow these hallucinations to stop her from getting to town to get medicine for her grandson. This proves how much she loves him.

The other type of hardship Phoenix has to contend with is the burden of the trip itself and the obstacles she has to overcome to get to town. The weather itself is unfortunate, .It was December . a bright frozen day in the early morning. (p. 98). But for Phoenix, her grandson is sick and his illness favors no season. She has to endure the deadness of winter. Welty reveals through Phoenix that when it comes to the health of a loved one, no season has sympathy.

Since the trip is far into the valley and through the woods, Phoenix leaves early in the morning to get a head start on the day. Phoenix just comes out of the woods to a steep hill and says, . Seems like there is chains about my feet, time I get this far. (p. 99). Although Phoenix is a strong willed woman, the hill is like a mountain trying to break her will. .Something always take a hold of me on this hill–pleads I should stay. (p. 99). Welty shows how Phoenix endures the hardship and pain of climbing the hill and does not let it keep her from making the trip. The reader sees that even when the pain is excruciating she keeps climbing that mountain of a hill because she loves her grandson so much.

Phoenix passes through many areas where dark and scary animals live. . A pleasure I don.t see no two-headed snake coming around that tree, where it came once. (p. 100) she exclaims, remembering one summer she had to watch for such creatures. This is not surprising, since down in the southern part of United States there are many deadly snakes. It is obvious that because Phoenix lives so far back in the woods, no help would reach her in time if a snake bit her, and death would creep in. Through Phoenix, Welty shows that not even deadly snakes or animals can keep her from seeking the medicine needed for her beloved grandson.

Along her journey, Phoenix has three exchanges with people, and everyone she meets is white. Each of them treats her with the same disrespectful attitude, although to varying degrees of severity. Though she is treated so poorly, Phoenix keeps her eye on her purpose, getting medicine for the grandson she loves so much.

The first person Phoenix encounters is a hunter who pulls her up out of the ditch she has fallen in. His surprise at finding her there is evident when he exclaims, .Well, Granny!. (p. 101). He continues to call her Granny, hardly a respectful term for someone he does