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The Hero In Eudora Welty's A Worn Path

575 Words3 Pages

In “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, many hero qualities are displayed by the main character, Phoenix Jackson. She is a strong-willed and brave old lady who is going from her home out in the country to the city to get her grandson medicine her needs. Even though she does not physically look like a typical hero, her emotions are at the same level as any superhero. Phoenix may seem as though she doesn’t have everything together a lot of the time, but she gets the job done.She also falls under the category of hero due to the many qualities she portrays.

‘The hero’s way isn’t always direct or clear.’ This is very true to Phoenix in several ways. She finds herself lost a lot of the time trying to find her way around. “ ‘Through the maze now,’ she said, ‘for there was no path’. “( pg. 49) Phoenix always has to reassure herself of where she is …show more content…

“So she left that tree, and had to go through a barbed-wire fence.” (pg. 48) She physically had to go through a fence to carry on with her quest. Many things happened to her where she had to put herself in danger in order to keep going. “Over she went in the ditch, like a little puff of milkweed.” (pg. 50) But the physical darkness isn’t the only thing that Phoenix falls into. her mind and how she get confused multiple times along her quest can also be a form of darkness as well.

Phoenix Jackson isn’t your typical hero but, she does fulfill her goal of wanting to get her grandson the medicine he needs. Her ability to physically get things done has decreased as she has gotten older and that is clear to see but her mind and spirit has not aged. Throughout the story there were many examples of how she can outsmart people who might think they were above her. She proves that not all heros have to be the stereotypical strong, young man, but can be an old woman with a smart

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