A Worn Path Short Story

Short stories are poignant pieces of literature, as pithy and powerful as poetry but in a more straightforward and relatable package. Like poetry, a short story relies on literary devices like symbolism and imagery, characterization and setting, to convey the author’s themes. Also like poetry, the short story reflects the cultural and historical context in which it was written. While the canon of American literature is rich with examples of iconic, enduring short stories with the timeless qualities that have allowed them to rise to the status of being classics, there are a few that have risen higher than the others, and among those few there is one that is superior to all others. That exemplary short story is Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path,” which uses characterization, setting, and symbolism to capture the themes of faith and perseverance.
In an exemplary short story, setting becomes like a character with a personality and life of its own. No other short story personifies setting as well as “A Worn Path,” the title of which hearkens to the way a person is always interacting with the environment. The path Phoenix Jackson takes is not worn from the repetitive footsteps of others, but from the persistent nature of love. Phoenix walks on and on, in spite of the dismissive attitudes of others, the physical, economic, and psychological hardships she endures. Through this intense and heavy-hearted setting, Welty paints a portrait of what it means to be black in America. Thus, setting promotes the power of symbolism in the short story, showing how Welty manages to blend together multiple literary devices in one masterful work.
“A Worn Path” is set in the middle of winter, and starts on a “frozen day” that drives home the environmental conditions the protagonist must face. The freezing environment also represents the cold-heartedness of people around her, including those Phoenix encounters along the way to her grandson. At times, Phoenix risks losing her own dignity: “Phoenix was like an old woman begging a dignified forgiveness.” She has so thoroughly surrendered her ego to save her grandson that “A Worn Path” becomes representative of the theme of martyrdom that makes for an archetypal hero. After all, a hero is celebrated for surrendering to a purpose much bigger and more important than the self. The grandson symbolizes that higher purpose for Phoenix Jackson.
Setting and symbolism also interact to deliver the central theme of perseverance. The wintry setting creates harsh external conditions that make it tougher for the old woman to achieve her goal. Already slowed down by the ravages of age, Phoenix now contends with icy roads and “frozen earth,” which even threaten to kill her. Welty cleverly uses diction like the “grave” noise made by the old woman’s cane to anchor home for the reader how precarious her situation is and how much she puts herself at risk for her grandson. In addition to using symbolism and diction to capture the protagonist’s spirit, Welty also uses straightforward descriptions that alert the reader that a “persistent” nature, mentioned in the first paragraph of the story, is the number one feature of a survivor, of someone who overcomes all obstacles not because she has something to prove but because she has a purpose greater than herself to serve.
Just as the revolutionaries sacrificed their lives so that posterity could enjoy a land of liberty and justice for all, Phoenix Jackson sacrifices her life and her comfort in order to provide for her grandson. Welty describes her protagonist delicately, while still pointing out at the onset that Phoenix is an “old Negro woman.” Describing Phoenix in the first line of the story alerts the reader to the importance of gender, age, and race in characterization. Welty emphasizes the woman’s age more than any of her other features, to show how difficult it must be for Phoenix to trudge along the path to her grandson day after day, rain or shine. She has cataracts, evident by the description of her eyes that are “blue with age.” Her skin is compared with a tree—a plant that can long outlive a human being. Indeed, just as setting serves as a symbol, so too does the wizened tree-like nature of the old woman whose “branching wrinkles” make it look as if “a whole little tree stood in the middle of her forehead.” Immediately thereafter, Welty peppers the surrounding imagery—the setting—with the trees in the woods. Welty links characterization, setting, and symbolism in a deft, clever, and unparalleled way, which is why “A Worn Path” is superior to any other short story. The author also paints for the reader a character that is immortal with a message to share for current and future generations, making “A Worn Path” timeless, too. Many short stories offer temporal heroes, or even anti-heroes who offer instructive advice about how not to be, but Welty offers readers an inspirational, albeit tragic hero whose virtuous character and selflessness becomes an ideal. That ideal comes to symbolize the struggles of a people, of whole generations, of whole classes that struggle with hardship and oppression. The name of her protagonist, Phoenix, offers insight into her idealized character of rising up from the ashes of death and destruction, beyond the realm of possibility.
Without even mentioning racism by name or raging against the structures and institutions that perpetuate injustice in America, Eudora Welty offers a story that is certainly about these difficult themes. Symbolism is the literary device that allows Welty to elevate her prose to the level of poetry, allowing the author to speak the truth about social and political issues in a metaphorical way that has the potential to reach readers that might ignore a more pedantic message. Welty also employs symbolism to make the themes of the short story universal and timeless, transcending the barriers of geography or historical era. As Phoenix deals with prickly thorns, seemingly insurmountable hills, mean dogs and mean men, and ghostly frights, she faces each head on, fearlessly and never once hesitating or doubting. Phoenix also relies on her own conviction and inner strength. Whether or not she is religious or attributes her power to God is irrelevant; it is as if Welty foresaw the increasingly secular nature of American society and knew that her hero needed to cultivate God within her rather than to seek for sources of strength outside herself. In fact, one of the main themes of “A Worn Path” is the ability to push through obstacles with grace, ease, and aplomb. The obstacles Phoenix encounters serve both a literal and symbolic function, impeding the journey of the old woman but also representing the perceived barriers to social justice in America.
Welty wrote “A Worn Path” long before the Civil Rights movement had taken root. Her tale captures the long and winding road the nation has taken since its founding, when the principles of freedom and justice were not fully realized and when equality was a mere dream. The struggles Phoenix endures are still encountered every day by those who experience prejudice, hardship, and despair. Welty’s short story stands alone among giants because no other tale can capture the essence of what it means to be American, to have faith that no matter what, it will be possible to achieve genuine liberty and justice for all.
Since the days of its founding, American society has characterized itself by perseverance and faith as much as the spirit of independence and freedom. Eudora Welty’s short story “A Worn Path” is the most important of its kind in American literature because in such a short space manages to capture the crux of American identity. The optimism, the undying and unconditional love, and the submission of self to a greater good that are themes running through Welty’s short story are the same as those that have undergirded American society. For this reason, the story of the old woman named Phoenix Jackson represents American literature more than any other work.







Works Cited

Welty, Eudora. “A Worn Path.” http://xroads.virginia.edu/~drbr/ew_path.html