A Worn Path

Phillip Derrickson

10/23/2011

Written Communications 3

"A Worn Path"

Eudora Welty is the author of the story "A Worn Path". "A Worn Path" is a short story about an old black woman named Phoenix Jackson who sets out on a journey to retrieve medicine for her ill grandson. Along the way she encounters many different obstacles that she must overcome to obtain her goal. Some of these obstacles are physical because of her age and aliments. But others are problems that show up in society, nature and in life.

One of the many problems she must overcome is nature. When she first starts out she encounters a very steep hill. She complains about the hill, almost fussing at it like it was a person. She catches her skirt on a thorn bush. She fights to keep from tearing her skirt on the bush. She also encounters a log that goes across a stream. You can tell she is afraid of it because she closes her eyes. She runs into a dog and in her effort to run him off she falls into a ditch. These are just a few examples of how the terrain and the environment was a problem for old Phoenix Jackson to negotiate.

Some of the social problems that Phoenix Jackson faced were that of the times. She had to endure racial bigotry and age discrimination along her journey. One example is the hunter. The hunter shows that he is willing to help a person in need, nut in their conversation he shows disrespect towards blacks by his Santa Claus comment. He also tells her he would give her money if he had it not knowing he already dropped some on the ground and she picked it up. He also disrespects her by pointing the gun at her. These are just a few instances that show how whites viewed blacks in that time. Even though people were not downright mean to Phoenix, the way the author showed the interaction of Phoenix and the other white characters demonstrates the views of the whites in that era.

Phoenix must also overcome guilt and responsibility. I believe that Phoenix feels guilt for the situation she is in because of some of the comments she makes about how her and her grandson are the only two left in the world. She feels the pressure of being the only one to take care of him. She also feels guilty when she takes the money from the hunter. Her comment to the hunter about being shot tell you how she feels. I think that some of the other characters feel some sort of guilt too. The hunter and the nurse probably helped Phoenix because they felt obligated or guilty.

Nature, racism, physical and mental short comings, and guilt and responsibility were all obstacles that Phoenix Jackson had to overcome. These were also obstacles that she had to deal with all her life. But in the end she was able to use all of these plus her