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Characteristics Of Phoenix Jackson In A Worn Path

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In the story “A Worn Path” Phoenix Jackson has many different characteristics. For example, one of her characteristics is that she is delusional and she might have a mental disability(like alzheimer's) because she is old as in the story it says she is “ a hundreds years old”. In the story it proves that she is delusional because she speaks to herself for example, in the story it says “Ghost” she said sharply, “who be you the ghost of”? Which justs means she making up things for cope with the fact that her grandson is dead and she can’t get over that. Also, she walks the long worn path everyday just for medicine for her dead grandson that died from lye poisoning, according to the nurses at the end of the story, they say “she makes these trips on the regular”, “she lives way back off Old Natchez Trace” which probably means that she walks an exceedingly long time just for “medicine” that their is no use for. Furthermore, another reason why Phoenix Jackson is delusional is because …show more content…

According to the story “I in the thorn bush”, finally she stood free and after the moment dared to stoop for her cane”. That just shows how determined she is because most people would never walk as far as she did to get that medicine. Most people would just turn around once they encounter a hard situation. Just like the author intended “Worn Path” to be an allegory, and she's used the path that Phoenix takes to be a metaphor of “life is a journey, just like in life you see the path that is easy, and one that is hard”. Phoenix takes the harder path every day because if not her grandson might “die” which shows her determination by not taking the easy way out of things are choosing the “hard path to

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Pheonix Jackson’s grandson is dead because she shows signs of dementia, she hesitates when asked about how the boy is doing, and she says words that imply the boy isn’t changing. The story “ A Worn Path” follows the difficult trip routinely made by Pheonix on foot to a nearby town for her grandson’s medicine which he needs for his swollen throat. Pheonix shows signs of dementia which would affect her perception of reality and her grandson being alive or dead. In the line, “At first she took it as a man,” referring to her encountering a scarecrow, Pheonix shows that her senses are inadequate enough to believe a scarecrow is a man dancing in a field (762). Pheonix is more reliant on her body remembering the trail than her sense of sight

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every time he burnt himself up he sprang out of the ashes, he got himself born all over again” (Bradbury 156). So in this situation the phoenix represents people and them making mistakes. He’s basically saying that the bird does this because it’s natural; but people on the other hand, will learn from their mistakes and hopefully not make

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This serves as an example of how a lack of familial ties can prevent an individual from overcoming intergenerational trauma. The relationship between Phoenix and her mother Elsie is portrayed as distant and estranged. This is exemplified in a scene where Phoenix is going to prison and Elsie attempts to reach out to her, but she rejects the gesture by moving away and refusing to touch her mother. Phoenix also expressed disdain for her mother's weakness, “she does not want to look at her, does not want to see Elsie groveling in her Elsie way, being weak. She does not want to feel sorry for her, or feel anything for her” (Vermette 323).

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Also like Everyday Use, A Worn Path takes place at a time in the 1900s when racism existed. Just like Mama, Phoenix also takes care and protects a child. However, the child she takes care of is her grandson. Many years ago, her grandson swallowed lye. This is a strong substance which is used in making soap.

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When she was young, she could not process the way her father raised and treated her, so she believed everything he said. When she is able to understand, her tone changes and becomes clinical and critical remembering the way he constantly let her

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This exemplifies how intergenerational trauma has left victims desiring to be loved. Phoenix leaves the St. Vital Center and makes her way across town to her uncle's house. Phoenix decides to walk in the cold for hours until she has "lost feeling in her legs" (Vermette 25), all to impress her uncle. Phoenix’s decision to walk to her uncle’s house instead of asking for help continues to reveal to the reader how Phoenix has adopted a mindset of not showing weakness by asking for help, all while trying to gain admiration from her uncle. Additionally, as soon as she arrives at her uncle's house, she begins to plan ways to make her uncle happy.

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In the short story Welty’s want the reader to be comfortable with Phoenix as a character. Welty describes Phoenix wearing a long dress reaching her shoe top and a long apron of bleached sugar sacks. When Phoenix talks aloud to herself the author wants the reader to imagine an old woman with characteristics of a warm, comical, young spirited woman side of her. The short story also uses images which evoke from the biblical imagery. Phoenix’s uses biblical connection to show the reader how important her story and the

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She exemplifies Christ along her journey when she stops under a mistletoe tree; the same type of tree in which the cross was made. The thorns she encounters also relate to Christ’s death on the cross, the crown of thorns he wears on his head. The journey she takes to get her grandson’s medicine, is considered to be an example of self-sacrifice. Phoenix gives others the opportunity to help her and accomplish good things. One example is when the hunter helps her out of the ditch.

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Given her grandson’s injuries that hope is as fragile as the paper windmill. This reminds us that hope is fragile, and is contingent on historical and civil efforts beyond Phoenix and her grandson.     Phoenix Jackson perseveres to achieve a purposeful goal. Phoenix Jackson stayed true to her faith in times of desperation. Against the obstacles, she was willing to reach her destination to provide her grandson with the medicine he is in need of.

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Phoenix Jackson is a woman who will not give up, despite the odds. Which leads to her being successful and reaching her purpose, in the

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While walking up the path, Phoenix has had to overcome obstacles while it seems like death is in the form of chains around her feet. Even so, she continues onward to freedom. The scene continues while Phoenix passes trees and birds and animals, and suddenly she is crawling through a barbed-wire fence. The change in scenery indicates how Phoenix might be somewhat confused, especially because she is old. It also indicates how Phoenix’s journey was not one of peacefulness, rather, it was one of survival.

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Some references even suggest Phoenix may have once been a slave; such as the chains the old woman feels on her feet as she climbs the path uphill. Racial inequality is unmistakably clear when the old woman falls in the ditch and is confronted by the white hunter. One would believe the hunter calling Phoenix Granny to be a harmless reference to her age; however, Granny is a term coined by southern whites in the thirties and forties and refers to a single elderly black woman: a granny is an old black woman who takes care of the white

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In the story “A Worn Path” Phoenix Jackson was an old African American women. She takes a small journey that can be an allegory of someone's whole life. The journey had hard and easy parts, beauty, danger, and confusion. But her quest was to get the medicine for her sick grandson who laid at home waiting for her return. Phoenix was a delusional yet heroic, caring grandmother who would stop at nothing to get what she needed.

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However, is father is unsupportive and wishes that Biff would follow in his father’s footsteps, rather than making his own path. Similar to the idea of making choices on what path to take for the future, is a poem called The Road Not Taken. This poem perfectly depicts imagery on how one chooses a path to take. One can either choose the worn down path, the path which majority will take, or they can

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By the end of the poem, we have learned that the difficulty of choices is that sometimes you really have to let fate take the lead. The use of symbolism with the paths shows that it doesn’t matter which side has been taken more but which is the best one for you. Frost’s use of a metaphor and symbolism helps us clearly understand the meaning of the poem and what he is really trying to say. “The Road Not Taken” is a poem in which we learn that sometimes we have to let fate take the lead. With the use of literary devices and tone we acquire that this poem is trying to show us that life is a mixture of both life decisions and fate.

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