A Worn Path
by Eudora Welty
Subject Matter: This story is about the journey of Phoenix Jackson, who walks many time to a town to bring medicine for her grandson, where she went through many obstacles.
Why her name was kept Phoenix?
Her name was kept Phoenix because like the Egyptian Phoenix bird whose life time is about 500 years and again risen from the death form its ashes, the lady too was very old and like the bird gets birth in interval of 500 years, she also goes to town in the particular interval for the medicine.
Themes: Unselfish love, racism & human spirit to endure conflict and poor circumstances within nature and society out of devotion to loved ones.
Character Sketch of Phoenix Jackson:
=> An Old Woman who almost all her senses
by Eudora Welty
Subject Matter: This story is about the journey of Phoenix Jackson, who walks many time to a town to bring medicine for her grandson, where she went through many obstacles.
Why her name was kept Phoenix?
Her name was kept Phoenix because like the Egyptian Phoenix bird whose life time is about 500 years and again risen from the death form its ashes, the lady too was very old and like the bird gets birth in interval of 500 years, she also goes to town in the particular interval for the medicine.
Themes: Unselfish love, racism & human spirit to endure conflict and poor circumstances within nature and society out of devotion to loved ones.
Character Sketch of Phoenix Jackson:
=> An Old Woman who almost all her senses
=> African America (Negro/ From Black Community)
=> Uneducated
=> Speaks wrong English
=> Had a grandson with some defects in the throat form many years
=> She makes journey from village to town to bring the Soothing medicine for her grandson
=> Very poor and had not enough good clothes
=> She murmurs with herself (talks to herself)
=> She murmurs with herself (talks to herself)
Obstacles on the way of her journey
=> This is the story of 25th December, Christmas Day
=> an Extremely cold day, and there was thick layer of snow on the way
=> dense forest of pinewoods and oaks.
=> many animals she encountered in dense forest
=> had to walk and reach on the top of the hill
=> difficult to walk down the hill
=> bushes and bushes with needle caught her gown
=> Creek with great force of the water and had to crossed the creek walking along the block of wood (log wood/ wooden log).
=> barbed wire fence
=> scarecrow that she gets frightened thinking it as a ghost
=> dogs, makes her fell down into a ditch (kind of unexpected event)
Summary
‘A worn Path’ is a beautiful short story extracted from Eudora Welty’s ‘A curtain of green & other stories’. In this story, Miss Welty presents an extremely old woman as the main character, Welty takes us into old phoenix’s mind with great delicacy and discloses her firm dignity. The old woman is an image of courage, she is over a hundred years of age, time has worn her out completely & has almost reduced her to a lump of bones, loosely clung together & she has lost almost all the senses. But her spirit is unbelievable. She is out to overcome all odds & adversities, courage and inspired by her love & attachment to her grandson. Thus ‘A worn path’ is an exquisitely controlled story of unconscious heroism & love.
The story “A Worn Path” is about an old black woman called Phoenix Jackson. She used to live in a village far away from the town. She had no one except a grandson. He was very sick so she had to go to the town at regular intervals to bring medicine for her grandson. The town was very far from her village and the journey was really very difficult.
This story describes one of her such journeys to the town. On the way, she has to face many obstacles. But, every time she faces the obstacles very boldly and at last, reaches to the town. Her journey starts through the hill. It being December, it was very cold and the pathway was covered with snow. She tapped her stick on the snow and continued her journey. She used to talk to herself most of the time and she also talked with all the animals that she met on the way.
After climbing the hill with great difficulty, now she had to climb down but by then she got caught by thorny bush with great labor she freed herself and again continued her journey. After sometimes, she came by a creek. She had to cross it. It was not an easy job. She had to cross it through a log. She took it to be a trial. Very carefully, she crossed the creek. She crossed it through a log even with her eyes closed. She again continued her journey but there was another obstacle waiting for her. Now, she had to cross through a barbed-wire fence. She crept and crawled through the wire saving herself and her gown. Again, she faced trouble successfully. Now, she was passing through a cornfield. There she saw a scarecrow. At first, she thought it to be a ghost but very boldly, she talked with it. Finally, when she knew that it was a scarecrow, she even danced with it. After crossing the cornfield as she was going on her way from somewhere, a black dog came before her all of a sudden. She lost her balance and fell down in a ditch there. She raised her hand for help. But, as there was nobody around, she silently remained there.
After some time, a hunter came there. He took her out from the ditch. While talking, a nickel (five-cent coin) dropped down from the man’s pocket. She stole it with a trick. After some time, she reached the town. There she asked a lady to tie her shoelaces. The whole town was decorated with colorful bulbs. But, her eyes were not working properly because it wasn’t broad daylight. But, depending on her senses, she finally reached the medical clinic. There she even forgot why she had been there. She didn’t remember for a short time. However, while talking with the nurse, she remembers her grandson and her purpose of visit. She took medicine. While she was going from there, she got a nickel as a gift. She said that she would buy a paper toy for her grandson. After that, she left the clinic.
The story “A Worn Path” is about an old black woman called Phoenix Jackson. She used to live in a village far away from the town. She had no one except a grandson. He was very sick so she had to go to the town at regular intervals to bring medicine for her grandson. The town was very far from her village and the journey was really very difficult.
This story describes one of her such journeys to the town. On the way, she has to face many obstacles. But, every time she faces the obstacles very boldly and at last, reaches to the town. Her journey starts through the hill. It being December, it was very cold and the pathway was covered with snow. She tapped her stick on the snow and continued her journey. She used to talk to herself most of the time and she also talked with all the animals that she met on the way.
After climbing the hill with great difficulty, now she had to climb down but by then she got caught by thorny bush with great labor she freed herself and again continued her journey. After sometimes, she came by a creek. She had to cross it. It was not an easy job. She had to cross it through a log. She took it to be a trial. Very carefully, she crossed the creek. She crossed it through a log even with her eyes closed. She again continued her journey but there was another obstacle waiting for her. Now, she had to cross through a barbed-wire fence. She crept and crawled through the wire saving herself and her gown. Again, she faced trouble successfully. Now, she was passing through a cornfield. There she saw a scarecrow. At first, she thought it to be a ghost but very boldly, she talked with it. Finally, when she knew that it was a scarecrow, she even danced with it. After crossing the cornfield as she was going on her way from somewhere, a black dog came before her all of a sudden. She lost her balance and fell down in a ditch there. She raised her hand for help. But, as there was nobody around, she silently remained there.
After some time, a hunter came there. He took her out from the ditch. While talking, a nickel (five-cent coin) dropped down from the man’s pocket. She stole it with a trick. After some time, she reached the town. There she asked a lady to tie her shoelaces. The whole town was decorated with colorful bulbs. But, her eyes were not working properly because it wasn’t broad daylight. But, depending on her senses, she finally reached the medical clinic. There she even forgot why she had been there. She didn’t remember for a short time. However, while talking with the nurse, she remembers her grandson and her purpose of visit. She took medicine. While she was going from there, she got a nickel as a gift. She said that she would buy a paper toy for her grandson. After that, she left the clinic.
1. Trace the various obstacles Old Phoenix comes up against between the Valley where we first pick her up and the wagon track, and describe how she deals with each.
Old Phoenix is very old and small. Even walking is a
problem for her. Nevertheless (in spite of that), she pushes on with the help
of her cane. For a person of her age, obstacles are, more or less, at every
step of the trip. However, the chief obstacles she comes up against between
those places are as given below:
a) As she walks through the pinewoods to
get to the hilltop, she fears wild animals. The path is full of thickets and
dense bushes. Now and then there is quivering in the thicket, made by wild
animals such as foxes, owls, beetles, jackrabbits, coons. Bobwhites and wild
hogs wander around. But old phoenix is unperturbed (not worrying about,
untroubled). She gently strikes (hits) her cane at the bush and firmly warns
all such creatures to make way for her.
b) The hill side is too steep for a woman
of her age. But on she goes with firm steps. She feels tired but doesn’t stop.
c)
Before Phoenix gets to the bottom of the
hill, a thorny bush catches her dress. She gets busy in pulling her skirts free
but before she frees the skirts in one place, another side is caught in the
thorns. In the end, she frees herself with much difficulty.
d) At the bottom of the hill is a creek. A log
is laid across it and made into a bridge. This is an ordeal for her. However,
she would not lose heart. She mounts the log, shuts her eyes, lifts her skirt
and, leveling her cane before her fiercely, and marches across. She reaches
safe on the other side.
e) Having crossed the creek, she sits down
to rest under a bushy tree, she feels very hungry and wishes someone had
brought a slice of marble cake.
f) As she leaves the tree, she comes up against
a barbed fence. She creeps and crawls through it by spreading her knees and
stretching her fingers. Thus she escaped the danger of having her arm or her
leg sawed off.
2. What does old Phoenix do when she is knocked down by the dog?
Ans:
When old Phoenix is knocked down by the dog, she falls in the ditch.
Down there, she suddenly loses control over her senses. A dream visits her and
she reaches her hand up to stand up but she finds nothing to hold on. She feels
too tired and weak to stand up. So she gives up and presently goes to talking.
She
says to herself, “Old woman, that black dog comes up out of the weeds to stall
you off, and now there he sitting on his fine tail, smiling at you.”
3.
In Egyptian mythology the Phoenix
was a bird of great splendor that every five hundred years consumed itself by
fire and rose renewed from its own ashes. In what way is Phoenix Jackson like
the bird?
Ans:
Phoenix Jackson is like the bird Phoenix in the like the last years of the
bird, Phoenix is in her last years. The bird rose renewed from its ashes. In
the same way, old Phoenix overcomes the hurdles with a renewed vigor of a young
woman as though, like the bird, she had risen from the death. She regularly
visits the town to get a medicine for her grandson. It is a long journey full
of difficulties. It is an uphill task even for a young woman but she
accomplishes it with surprising ease.
4.
Why does Phoenix keep talking to
herself? What do her monologues add to the total portrait of her?
Ans:
Phoenix
keeps talking to herself primarily because she is very old and old people
usually keep talking with themselves. She does so to avoid loneliness while of
passing through the jungle. She faces many troubles on the way and she has no
one to talk with. She, thus, gives vent to her feelings through these
monologues. These monologues reveal that old Phoenix lives talking with people.
It is through her monologues that we come to know that she is fearless,
light-hearted and serious, too. She is afraid of no one: wild animals, guns,
ghost, and dogs.
5.
What is the meaning of the episode
in which Phoenix steals the nickle? Does the act offend our sense of honesty?
Explain your answer.
Ans:
The
episode in which Phoenix steals the nickle in my opinion signifies the fact
that she is beyond the notions of honesty or dishonesty. She has reached an age
in which the whole world belongs to her and she belongs to the whole word.
Secondly, she does not steal the
nickle for her personal benefit. She lives only for her grandson. She is an old
woman living in extreme poverty and destitution. She cannot earn, too. It is on
her old, crumbling shoulders that her grandson’s life rests.
Thirdly, according to Christianity,
all sins are washed out if the guilty person realizes his or her sin and makes
an honest confession before god. Phoenix confesses the sin and asks god to
forgive her.
I firmly believe virtue and vice are
relative terms. Theft, in the case of Phoenix, attains a status of virtue. The
act does not at all offend our sense of honesty.
6.
What significance can you attach to
the fact that the journey takes place at Christmas time?
Ans:
Christmas is the yearly celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. It is the
time of charity, love and forgiveness. This is a festival of presents and
perfumes. Houses and streets are decorated with colorful electric lights.
Everybody is happy.
Christmas
holds a special significance for children. Parents never want to see their
children unhappy. They buy them gifts. They feast and rejoice together. People,
especially children, exchange gifts Children receive gifts from Santa Claus.
Old
Phoenix who, it seems, lives only for the sake of her grandson takes the trip
because she wants to bring some gift for her grandson. She is taking a paper
windmill for her grandson. It will be the most valuable and delightful gift for
him, that even Santa Claus may not avail to any boy.
Rhetorical
Strategies:
1. How does Phoenix describe her situation to the
white man who helps her up?
Ans: Knocked
down by the dog, Phoenix falls in a ditch and unable to stand up, she lies
there until a white man arrives there. When he asks her what she is doing
there, she says that she is lying on her back like a June-bug waiting to be turned
over. This obviously shows that she is lying on her back and cannot right
herself up without any body’s help just as a June-bug is helpless in that
condition.
2. How does she feel about stealing the nickel he
dropped?
Ans: When
the nickel falls down, Phoenix’s face brightens up in the hope that the coin
would come into her hand. And, a little later when the Whiteman is busy
fighting with the black dog, she picks it up from the ground secretly and keeps
in her pocket. But she does not feel happy about stealing the coin. She is a
good fearing woman. A bird flies by overhead and she feels God was watching
her. She definitely feels bad about it. The act offends her moral sense. She
says “I come to stealing,” which means, ‘I have gone to the extent of stealing
or ‘ I have been morally corrupt.’ She regrets the act.
3. How does she explain where she is going to him?
How do we know how much old phoenix loves her grandson?
Ans: She
explains him saying, “ I am going to town,” and “I bound to go to town,
master,” and “The time come around.”
We know that phoenix
loves her grandson very much. Her love is evident form the fact that she makes
these extremely difficult and dangerous trips to the hospital as regularly as
clockwork. Secondly, she wants to buy a paper windmill for him. And thirdly she
even resorts to dishonesty to see her grandson happy.
4. How does phoenix know she is in the doctor’s
office?
Ans: She
knows that she is in the doctor’s office when she sees the document nailed on
the wall. The document is stamped with a gold seal and framed in the gold
frame. The image of this framed document has been indelibly pictured on her
mind.
5. Analyze phoenix’s language. What is conveyed
through her speech?
Ans:
Phoenix’s language consists of sentence fragments, ungrammatical structures,
incomplete and colloquial (conversation) expressions. Her language seems to be
a highly conversational form of some regional dialect. It speaks her mind.
Some examples:
a) “No sir, them old dead weeds is springy enough.”
b) “I come to stealing.”
c) “My little grandson, he sit up there.”
d) “We is the only two left.”
her language suggests that she is not only
obviously uneducated but also comes from very low-class society. The use of
sentence fragments and incomplete expression may also be the result of the loss
of language efficiency in her old age.
6. Point out some specific instances of humor.
7. In lines 298-299 we read: “With her hand on her
knees, the old woman waited, silent, erect and motionless, just as if she were
in armor.” What meaning do you attribute to this passage?
Ans: This
passage shows that phoenix has gone completely absent minded for the time
being. She has made a very long trip to bring the soothing medicine. But her
memory temporarily fails and she does not remember why she is there. This is
characteristic of extreme old age. Besides, I think, the exhaustion of the long
trip tells upon her.
8. What happens when old phoenix is spoken to by the
receptionist and the nurse?
Ans: When
phoenix is spoken to by the receptionist and the nurse, she gives a twitch to
her face or simply waits, silent, erect and motionless, in the chair. She makes
to no reply to their question: Obviously, her extreme old age and the exertions
(labor/ hard work) of long trip tell upon her. She goes completely absent
minded temporarily. Such complete loss of memory seems to be a characteristic
of old age.
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