The Physical, Social and Mental Obstacles in Eudora...

â€Å"A Worn Path† by Eudora Welty is a short story in which fulfills all aspects of literary connotations. Phoenix Jackson’s only true motivation to keep living was to help keep her young grandson live. While there are a multitude of literary elements and devices splurged throughout the story, some of the first ones to spot make the biggest impact. Phoenix Jackson’s name is revealed in the first three lines of text, and leads the reader to make an immediate assumption. She makes this trek over and over again, continuously, and as she nears the end of her life she will nourish her own son back to health. Her journey to Natchez is filled with a multitude of impediments, but can mainly be broken down into the physical, social, and mental†¦show more content†¦Phoenix powers through all of these harsh situations with a force powered not so much by physical ability, but by the love she has for her grandson. The social obstacles she faces do not make up a great part of the story, but is the one factor that dominates her trip. Phoenix encounters the white hunter on her way to Natchez. Her age and race lead the young white man to mock her, but have a certain sympathy for her. He realizes she is adamant on achieving her goal to go into town, and passes by her at the realization. While in town she is subject to the direct ridicule of the secretary in the pharmacy. The racial barriers present in this time period makes Phoenix’s ordeal even that much harder. She lives in extreme poverty, but does what she must in order to survive. The receptionist realizes that Phoenix is both illiterate and nearly blind, but instead of aiding her she scolds her for not speaking and stating her reason for being in the building. The mental obstacles Phoenix faces are terrifying. Along her path into town, her own mind tricks her into seeing many objects and figures that are not physically present. She knows the trip into town will be long and tiresome, but her mind overcomes her well-being and tricks her into making up things that would distract her from her ultimate goal. PhoenixShow MoreRelatedPhoenix Jackson in A Worn Path Essay499 Words   |  2 PagesPhoenix Jackson in A Worn Path â€Å"’Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals!†¦ Keep the big wild hogs out of my path. Don’t let none of those come running my direction. I got a long way’† (116). Through the character of Phoenix Jackson in â€Å"A Worn Path† Welty produces a picture of an aging African-American woman in the Jim Crow South. In â€Å"A Worn Path† we learn of the hardships Jackson faces on her weekly journey for medicine to sooth the pain ofRead MoreThe Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost and A Worn Path, by Eudora Welty2347 Words   |  10 Pagesforms. For this assignment, I have chosen to compare and contrast two separate literary works from â€Å"Journey into Literature† (Clugston, 2010), with similar themes. . The poems I will discuss are â€Å"The Road Not Taken†, by Robert Frost and â€Å"A Worn Path†, by Eudora Welty. I have chosen these works over the others in our course text because they both offer a deeper look at life, from an outside perspective, as the reader looks into the lives of the main characters and relates with the journeys they are