Maninder Singh
Professor Cochrane
English 102
29 January 2014
A Worn Path
In the story A Worn Path, Eudora Welty manifests an elderly lady living in a time period of the early to mid 1900s. Phoenix Jackson embarks on a journey where her only incentive is to raise her grandson back in a healthy manner. The proposition of this narrative is that love can sanction someone to his or her extreme limits. Taking Phoenix Jackson as someone who has to overcome obstacles throughout her journey, the reader is able to distinguish that despite her age, she was able to complete her journey against all odds to show her undying love for her grandson.
Due to her age, Phoenix Jackson is frail and scrawny; this makes her journey very problematic. “The path ran up a hill. ‘Seem like there is chains about my feet, time I get this far,’ she said, in the voice of argument old people keep to use with themselves. ‘Something always take a hold of me on this hill – pleads I should stay.”’ (Welter). Her realization of death throughout this path makes her think about the fate of her grandson, if she were to die.
Phoenix’s love for her grandson is so empowering that she steals a nickel from a hunter she comes across; she steals the nickel save up for a Christmas gift for her grandson. Jackson asks for another nickel in the clinic. Once she has the money, she can buy her grandson a Christmas present. Jackson’s character is strong and is not brought down upon because of her age, racism, or scarceness. A Worn Path is a brilliant story for its connection to the reader. Everyone has someone in their life that they love deeply and would do go through hell for them. Boundaries have no significant meaning to those who fathom the true definition of love.
Work Cited
Welty, Eudora. “A Worn Path.” Literature: Approaches to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 2nd ed. Robert DiYanni. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2008. 172-185. Print.