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
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).
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.
When Montag flees the city after his wild manhunt when he burned captain Beatty and was found to be storing books, he ends up finding a group of hobos that live on the abandoned railroad tracks. After Montag is introduced to the group, Granger tells Montag the story of the phoenix and explains to him, “And it looks like we’re doing the same thing over and over, but we’ve got one damn thing the phoenix never had. We know the damn silly thing we just did. ”(156). In this quote, Granger is using the myth to describe the city Montag just fled from.
Phoenix encounters several obstacles in order to achieve her goal. The path she walks in represents her life, with the obstacle she faces new one appears and through her perseverance she slowly conquers each one of them. At the end Phoenix buy a paper windmill for her grandson. The paper windmill represents the nature into the energy that her grandson can use his natural abilities since they are both free, to something
Heiko A. Oberman’s biography Luther: Man between God and the Devil is set up more as a series of interconnected essays than a typical biography. Nevertheless, it should still be categorized as a biography. Throughout the book, Oberman focuses on the origins of the Reformation in Germany and the shaping of Luther’s thought as a young man. He also gives substantial attention to the major episodes of Luther’s life from his birth in 1483 to his death in 1546.
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.
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.
Phoenix said, “Seem like there is chains about my feet, time I get this far” (Welty 464). This was the first occurrence were Eudora shows the strong desire that Phoenix has to persevere.
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.
Nicolaos, in disbelief of what had just happened, dug through the pile of sand until he discovered the hot glass encasement of the phoenix. He had done it. He had defeated the phoenix, but, there was one last thing he needed to
To pass a barbed-wire fence, Phoenix must “creep and crawl... stretching her fingers like a baby trying to climb the steps”(par 16). When the small thorny bush gets in Phoenix’s way she stays persistent. Even though she is worn out and tired she does not slow down. The hunter came back with his dog “ Well, I scared him off that time, he said, and then he laughed and lifted his gun and pointed it at Phoenix.
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.
Phoenix quest is to get to town to get her grandson the medicine he needs. Her grandson is very ill and can not get his own medicine. That 's why everyday she take the longer journey to go into town. She knows the journey is going to be long and hard, but she is willing to push through the struggle to help her grandson.
Jackson is an old and poor grandmother whose senses are beginning to fail her, but she goes through seemingly unbearable trials in order to get to town and pick up her grandson’s medicine that will keep him alive. In this heartwarming story, Welty uses symbolism and various conflicts to create the theme of sacrificial love. In A Worn Path, Welty uses symbolism to illustrate her theme by giving the protagonist the name Phoenix. A phoenix is often used as a symbol of death and resurrection from the ashes ("Ancient Symbolism of
