Final paper Literary Analysis

Running Head: A Worn Path 1

A Worn Path

Kaleena Springsteen

ENG 125 Introduction to Literature

Jennifer Lapinel-Spincken

February 27, 2017

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A Worn Path 2

Week 3

My prompt is #3: “In this story, the character comes into conflict with nature.”

Working Thesis

"A Worn Path” is invested with religious meaning which cannot be only universally felt,

but it endures and goes beyond its regionalism. An elderly black woman named Phoenix Jackson

is seen walking to the Natchez City looking for medicine for her sick grandson. Due to her aging

life, she is struggling with poor eyesight and intense fatigue among many other obstacles along

the way. These are elements that heighten symbolic nature as well as lyricism of the narrative.

Love as being part of nature is another major center of focus in the life of Phoenix (Gale

2016). She walks along the way despite the obstacles she came across in the journey like falling

in the ditch when she was trying to hit the black dog with her walking stick but never gave up.

The young boy she met along the way even tried to ask her to get back home, “Now you go on

home Granny!” but she insisted as quoted in the story “I bound to go town, mister.” The love she

had for her grandson could not allow her just to stay and he wallows in pain since he could not

swallow anything again as she is quoted saying “No Miss, he is not dead, he is just the same.

Every little while his throat begins to close up again, and he was not able to swallow…” She

feels the pain that her grandson has to go through to the extent that she lost her thoughts when

she was being asked by the nurse about the condition of her grandson. She narrated it

accompanied by the frown shown on her face and how withdrawn she was from the rest in the

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1. This is not a thesis

statement. Your thesis needs

to be one sentence. It should

not only clearly address the

prompt (and literary device)

you chose, but also include

the author's name and the

title of the work. [Jennifer

Lapinel-Spincken]

2. An elderly black woman

named Phoenix Jackson is

seen walking to the Natchez

City looking for medicine

for her sick grandson. Due

to her aging life, she is

struggling with poor

eyesight and intense

fatigue among many other

obstacles along

the way.

Please avoid plot summary.

Your mission is to analyze,

not re-tell the story. Write with

the understanding that your

reader already knows all of

these details. [Jennifer

Lapinel-Spincken]

3. Love as being part of

nature is another major

center of focus

Please revise for clarity.

[Jennifer Lapinel-Spincken]

4. walks along the way

despite the obstacles she

came

"walks" is present tense and

"came" is past tense. Please

be consistent with one verb

tense. When discussing the

events in literature we would

write in the present tense.

[Jennifer Lapinel-Spincken]

5. “I bound to go town,

mister.”

Please cite borrowed

language with in-text citation.

[Jennifer Lapinel-Spincken]

6. Because you have no clear

argument in your thesis, you

have no clear direction here.

Please work on finding your

argument so that you can

follow it in the body of your

essay. [Jennifer Lapinel-

Spincken]

A Worn Path 3

clinic. All this struggle and restlessness that have been portrayed in the story brings about the

sense of love nature parents have for their children (Hofer 2014). Her ability to communicate

was affected though that could still not change the love she had for her grandson or even make

her give up in search for medicine for her grandson.

“A Worn Path” further shows kindness and generosity as one of the conflicts of nature

themes (Hofer 2014). When Phoenix was at the clinic, the hospital attendant was generous

enough and wanted to offer her some pennies where she preferred to be given a nickel as quoted

in the story attendant saying “It’s Christmas time, Grandma, could I give you a few pennies out

of my purse?” the grandma said that the five cents the attendant wanted to give her were

equivalent to a nickel, “Five pennies is a nickel,” as stiffly said Phoenix and then she was handed

a penny. “Here is a nickel” “A Worn Path” (Eudora Welty, 1941), which were the words said by

the clinic attendant to the grandma (Phoenix). The feeling of human nature in the hospital

attendant let her feel for the Granny whom she saw helpless with the thoughts of her grandson

sickness. Another instance of kindness in the story is shown through a young boy who met

Phoenix along the way and helped her to get up from the ditch where she was lying after falling

in when she tried to hit the black dog. “What are you doing there?” asked the boy. The Granny

replied “lying on my back like a June-bug waiting to be turned over, mister.” The boy lifted her

up swinging her and raising further concern if the granny was well “Anything Broken, Granny?”

“A Worn Path (Eudora Welty, 1941), this question as used in the story as being asked by the boy

shows a great concern and compassion the young boy had for the Granny (Hofer 2014). The

Granny was as well shown kindness by a lady she met in town when she requested the lady to

help lace up her shoes, “Please, Missy, will you lace up my shoe?” as the Granny. “What do you

want, Grandma?” “Stand still then Grandma.” The lady then lace up her shoes, the lady in town

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1. has [Jennifer Lapinel-

Spincken]

2. Your message is unclear

here. Kindness and

generosity are a conflict of

nature themes? Please make

sure to read carefully.

[Jennifer Lapinel-Spincken]

3. The feeling of human

nature in the hospital

attendant let her feel for the

Granny whom she saw

helpless with the thoughts

of her grandson

sickness. Another

Please proofread for grammar

and sentence structure.

Grammarly can help with this:

https://www.grammarly.com/?

q=sentence&utm_source=bin

g&utm_medium=cpc&utm_ca

mpaign=Search&utm_term=g

rammar%20sentence%20stru

cture&matchtype=e [Jennifer

Lapinel-Spincken]

4. Finding instances of

kindness isn't going to

support a thematic argument.

Please make sure to revise

your thesis. [Jennifer

Lapinel-Spincken]

A Worn Path 4

was just on her own business not having anything to do with the Granny, but upon the request,

Granny made to her, she showed human nature by lacing up the shoes as requested. Phoenix only

chose on the beautiful lady who was loaded with some Christmas shopping to help her lace up

her shoes. She is quoted saying “thank you, missy. I don’t mind requesting a nice lady to tie my

shoe when I get out on the street.” A Worn Path (Eudora Welty 1941), she perceived the lady to

be nice and even associated her appearance to the way she would help in doing the requested

task (Gale 2016).

The health condition of Phoenix’s grandson makes her even lose her memory at the clinic

and she could not even respond to the questions asked by the nurse that made her feel withdrawn.

After that, she now looks on and talked endlessly about the pain she had for her grandson.

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1. This is where you would

need to reiterate your thesis.

[Jennifer Lapinel-Spincken]

2. by the nurse that made

her feel withdrawn. After

that, she now looks on and

talked endlessly about the

pain

You want your conclusion to

wrap things up. This

paragraph should be general

and mirror the introduction in

structure and content.

[Jennifer Lapinel-Spincken]

A Worn Path 5

References

1. Gale, C. L. (2016). A Study Guide to Eudora Welty's A Worn Path. Farmington Hills:

Gale, Cengage Learning.

2. Hofer, F. (2014). Life is a journey - an interpretation of eudora weltys "a worn path.”

Place of publication not identified: Grin Verlag.

3. Welty, E. (1941). A Worn Path. Retrieved February 25, 2017, from

https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUENG125.14.1

Journey into Literature, Second Edition

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1. Please do not number

these. [Jennifer Lapinel-

Spincken]

2. First line is flush left.

Second line is indented five

spaces. [Jennifer Lapinel-

Spincken]