I had chosen a short story entitled ‘A Worn Path’ by Eudora Welty. A Worn Path was about an old Negro woman’s ritual journey from the Old Natchez Trace to a town. The main theme from this short story is the hardship of life faced by Phoenix Jackson. From starting of the novel until the end, the Old Phoenix had faced many challenges in life. First, we could see the Old Phoenix had a long journey from her place to the town just for to take the medicine for her grandson. She had to walk by herself with her old and weak body and carried a thin, small cane for support her to walk.
She needed to cross the forest, ran up a hill through pines and walked down the hill through oaks. Next, the other example she had a h
...ardship in life when she met a hunter with his dog during the journey. She had been ridiculed by the man because of different races. She was a Negro woman which a black people while the hunter was a white people. From the story, we could see the white hunter helped her out of a ditch but patronized her and trivialized her journey: “I know you old coloured people! Wouldn’t miss going to town to see Santa Claus! He also taunts her by pointing his loaded gun at her and asking, “Doesn’t the gun scare you? ” Through these exchanges, it shows how some whites regarded blacks. He also calls the Old Phoenix “Granny,” a term common for older African-American women. Often whites would call older blacks “Aunt,” “Granny,” or “Uncle” as a way
of denying them their dignity and individuality. Besides, the attendant talked to her rudely by asking her: “Are you deaf? ” This is because due to the different races but the Old Phoenix faced it neutrally. The black people will face a hardship of life in the white world.
Next, I would like to tell the character that I like most. The character that I like most is the Phoenix Jackson or also known as the Old Phoenix. She was a very old, small, walked very slowly and had wrinkles on her face. She could not walk by herself except with the assistance of her small cane made from the umbrella. Phoenix Jackson also was a brave woman. From the story, we could see she could walk from her own place outside the country to the town. She had done it for many times before. She had faced and met many kinds of animals and people along the journey.
She also had to cross the jungle, bushes, walked up and down the hill and need to cross the swampy part where the moss hung from every limb. She did not scare all of those challenges because of her grandson. She wanted to get the medicine for him. Even me could not do like her. Next, she also a responsible and a caring grandmother. Because of her grandson who was sick, she willing to go out to the town even though she was very old. She wanted her grandson fully recover. She did not care went to the town for many times to take the medicines. She also bought him a little windmill.
This is why
I like her most. Phoenix also perseveres in the face of senility as well. She could not remember why she had made a long journey to the town. It can be proved when the nurse speaks to her at first to no avail and at last she spoke, “My grandson. It was my memory had left me. There I sat and forgot why I made my long trip. ” The other character that I choose is the Nurse. The nurse showed her patient. It can be proved when she kept asking and the Old Phoenix even though the Phoenix never answered her back. From the text, we could see some sentences: “Now, how is the boy? . “Is his throat any better? ”. “Aunt Phoenix, don’t you hear me? ” The nurse kept asking the Phoenix. Besides, the nurse also a kind lady when she asked the Old Phoenix to sit down on a chair after having a long journey: “Well. Aunty Phoenix, why don’t you just take a seat? We don’t keep you standing after your long trip. ” As a nurse, she also responsible towards the Old Phoenix. She remembered all the story of the grandson and brought her a bottle of medicine. In this story, the setting that I had identified was the Old Natchez Trace where the Old Phoenix lived.
The Trace is an old highway that runs from Nashville, Tennessee, to Natchez, Mississippi. “She lives away back off the Old Natchez Trace,” as the nurse said. This indicates that Phoenix lives fairly far from Natchez, which means that the journey was difficult for her. Besides, in the rural area, she
encounters animals, thorny bushes and ditches, streams to be crossed by logs, barbed-wire fences, and even people. Not only that, the setting also was in the clinic where the Old Phoenix came to get the medicines for her grandson. There was also the place where she had been ridiculed by the attendant. A charity case, I suppose,” said the attendant as she arrived at the clinic. The setting of time is also important in the story. Phoenix said that she was “too old at the Surrender” to go to school. If the story takes place in the time it was written, 1941, Phoenix would be anywhere from 80 to 100 years old. The author had raises some issues in this story.
First, the responsibility of grandmother towards her grandson. The Old Phoenix is mobilized by her sense of duty to her grandson because she is the only person her grandson has to rely on. We is the only two left in the world,” she told the nurse. She is determined to make it to town to obtain the medicine that will soothe her grandson injured throat. She had encountered animals, thorny bushes and ditches, streams to be crossed by logs, barbed-wire fences, and even people along the long journey just to get the medicine in town. Next, the race and racism issue. In this story, we could see that the Old Phoenix be humiliated by the white people. We could see the hunter man patronized her : “ I know you old coloured people!
Wouldn’t miss going to town to see Santa Claus! ” He also called her “Granny,” It is a way of denying
their dignity. In another example of this, the nurse calls her “Aunt Phoenix” instead of the more formal “Mrs. Jackson. ” Although no one in the story is actually rude or discriminatory towards Phoenix but it was to demonstrate the subtle persecutions that blacks suffer in a white world. This story told about life and sometimes it is related with our life. From the story, I learnt that we must sacrifice towards the person that we loved and we must respect each other.
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