A Worn Path

Analysis

"A Worn Path," by Eudora Welty is a a tail of an old black woman named Phoenix Jackson. Throughout the story the author portrays the actions and thought of the older woman using beautiful description and dialogue. This story brought back to life the time during the great depression and was very captivating. One can see the protagonist of the story clearly through the authors description of her and one can tell she is almost blind, "her eyes were blue with age." Through that she manages to make it all the way to town, a long ways we can tell because of the conversation she has with the hunter she meets. In the end the woman makes it to town and receives the medicine her grandson needs. The author does an excellent job in describing the atmosphere by the way the nurses and others refer to Phoenix. The hunter calls her, "Granny," and the nurses called her, "Grandma" and fefer to her as a "charity case." This story shows a wonderful, yet sad scene of what America was during the time of the Great Depression. Although the people were strong, and perserverent, they also had to deal with a lot. The story depicts this beautifully.

Response

I enjoyed this story alot, because even through all of the seriousness and sadness that goes along with the short story, it still made me giggle. The old lady had a wondeful sense of humor even though she was old, decrepit, and her grandson was ill. When the hunter found her, lying in the weeds she made the comment, " Lying on my back like a June-bug waiting to be turned over." This made me laugh, and also showed me that she didn't care what other people thought of her. She was a black woman with dignity and a sense of who she was and that's how she lived, and that's what gave her strength. I also liked the sense of mystery it gave off towards the beginning. Why was she going into town? What was so important? When I realized that it made a lot of sense and I understood why she was so persistent. The story made you feel a sense of compassion for this woman and her grandson and a sense of appreciation for those who fight for what they want.