literature assignments
Negar Tabrizi
Professor Paul
LIT-204-WIO1
January 21, 2021
The Power of Love
One of the favorite books that I read this semester is Eudora Welty’s story “A Worn Path”. I love this piece because of its sense of symbolism that the author used to capturing the struggles of life and love. The author meticulously used Symbolism of how love can an individual persist challenges and obstacles to meet their objectives. The audience is taken on a precarious, risky, and slightly exciting journey where an old woman, Phoenix Jackson is determined to ensure that she completes the journey even though she is fragile and suffering from poverty and hallucination illustrating the theme of struggles and unconditional love.
Through the old woman’s journey into the town, we realize that she was going to buy medication for her grandson who was sick. This was an illustration that loves and affection trumps everything because the aged woman known as Phoenix Jackson is determined to ensure that she completes the journey even though she is fragile and suffering from poverty and hallucination. The author shows a poor, old and weak grandmother who is in torn clothes with an improvised cane and who is walking in chilly weather conditions. This helps in creating a vivid and real-life as it may seem to the reader.
Upon reading further, we realize that the only motivation of this old woman living is seeing her grandson back to good health. The central idea is that love is capable of empowering a person making it easy for them to overcome very many obstacles. Phoenix Jackson comes across many obstacles on her way. These obstacles hinder her journey but she stays put and determined. One of the major obstacles that she faces is her old age. These are physical aspects that hinder her from realizing her dream. Phoenix Jackson is described by the author as a weak and feeble woman something that makes her journey very arduous. A good example of how this obstacle is shown as a very big impediment for her to realize her dream is when she wanted to cross a log that laid crossways a stream. Another instance was when she was required to creep through the barbed wire fence. However, Phoenix Jackson was determined to endure all these for her grandson to regain back his health.
Nature is another obstacle that she faces in her journey to the town. a good example is that she was required to go down a hill and she got trapped by some spikes along her way to getting her son’s medication. She was seen talking to the thorns as they held her dress. “Thorns, you are doing your appointed work. Never want to let folks pass, no sir. Old eyes thought you were a pretty little green bush” (Welty p22). All these obstacles that she faces along the journey are used as symbols to illustrate the unexpected obstacles that we face and are required to triumph over on the course of life. Phoenix Jackson keeps going forward and winning over the obstacles that she faces on her journey with courageous stoicism. During her journey, Phoenix Jackson signifies the walk of life that people go through to make sure that their loved ones are happy. The story has illustrated that indeed, the journey was very long. The speaker for example says that “out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack, rabbits, cocoons…. I got a long way” (Welty p1). The hunter that she meets along the way also in their conversation illustrated that the journey to town was indeed a long one. “That’s too far! That is as far as I walk when I come out of myself, and I get something for my trouble” (Welty p3). This journey can be compared with stories of family members donating body organs like kidney to their loved ones as a form of love despite the risks associated with the exercise. Worn Path also represents the walk of life in the course of many challenges but with determination, she gets to the destination.
In surmise, we can say that “The worn path” is a reflection of love. The readers see her leap of determination and commitment of the woman making sure that she gets the medication for her grandson despite the challenges she encounters. The love Phoenix Jackson had for her grandson is what gave her the strength and determination to reach her destination. Although many of us may have never had to deal with hardships and had to deal with them as much as Phoenix did, there is something about this tale that reminds us of our own lives. At some time, we may have felt alone and thus we have something similar with this situation.
Work cited
Welty, Eudora, and Elizabeth Sarcone. A worn path. Creative Education, 1991