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Conflicts In Eudora Welty's A Worn Path

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The short story, “A worn Path” by Eudora Wetly, is about an old African American Woman named Phoenix Jackson who is traveling through harsh terrains in the winter that test the strength and endurance of her old body. The purpose of the trip is to go into town and get more medicine for her grandson who was poisoned by drinking lye, three years prior. There are many obstacles she is faced with that could easy influence her to turn around and go home; however, she keeps going. Throughout the story, Phoenix is faced with many different conflicts like old age, racism, and memory loss that nearly stop her from completing what she has started.
To begin, one of the biggest conflicts that Jackson is faced with is her old age. She has to walk with a cane made from an …show more content…

As she makes it into town, she enters a building and walks up to a desk with an attendant stationed behind it. The attendant asks her various questions; however, Jackson does not answer any of them. A nurse comes up and explains the situation to the attendant and then asks Phoenix to take a seat. She also begins to talk to Phoenix but is ignored until she asks her is her grandson dead. At that moment Phoenix comes to her senses and says “My grandson. It was my memory had left me. There I sat and forgot why I made my long trip.” This part shows that Phoenix has trouble with her memory and it is possible that she may have forgotten that she grandson has been dead all along.
To conclude, in the short story, “A worn Path” Phoenix Jackson is an old African American Woman that is making a long trip into town in order to get medicine for her grandson who was poisoned by drinking lye. Throughout the story, she is faced with many obstacles that could easily make her give up; however, she always finds a way to overcome those obstacles. Conflicts like old age, racism, and memory loss delay her journey and nearly stop her from completing

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