“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
• Introduction:
• Phoenix Jackson, the main character in this
story, addresses the natural world as if it were
an old acquaintance. There are many
instances where Phoenix relates to the
landscape like another person.
“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
• Literary Analysis:
• An archetype is a plot structure, character
type, symbol, or idea that recurs in the
literature or mythology of many different
cultures across the world.
“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
Literary Analysis: The hero’s quest is one archetypal plot
structure. Classic quest tales follow a certain structure
and share certain elements:
• The hero is on a journey to obtain something of great
value.
• The hero encounters obstacles that test his or her
character.
• The hero overcomes these obstacles, often with the aid
of others, and often at great sacrifice.
• The hero receives a boon, or benefit, that is used to
help others.
• The hero’s quest symbolizes the larger journey of life.
“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
• As its title suggests, “A Worn Path” features a
traveler on a familiar road.
• Phoenix Jackson, an elderly black woman in
Depression-era Mississippi, faces a range of
obstacles as she progresses through the
landscape.
• Some of these obstacles are physical and some
are societal.
• Elements of the story mirror the structure of the
hero’s quest archetype.
“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
Vocabulary:
• Grave: serious
• Persistent: repeated; continual
• Limber: flexible
• Obstinate: stubborn
“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
• This story is a portrait of Phoenix Jackson, an elderly
southern black woman who makes an arduous journey
into town to obtain medicine for her grandson.
• She overcomes one real or imagined obstacle after
another.
• Her interactions with white people and nature reveal
character – she is at once determined, confused, and
tired.
• But she leaves the doctor’s office with the medicine,
proudly determined to purchase as simple Christmas
gift for her grandson.
“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
• The Phoenix
• The name Phoenix refers to the mythological
Egyptian bird that was reborn from the ashes
of its own funeral pyre.
• The phoenix was believed to have a very long
life.
“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
• What are some of Phoenix Jackson’s
distinguishing features? p. 849
• Her eyes, her wrinkles, the golden color of her
kin, her burning cheeks, and her black hair.
“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
Archetype of the Quest
• A hero goes on a quest to obtain something
valuable but must overcome many obstacles
to get it.
• What first obstacle does Phoenix encounter?
• p. 850 Her first obstacle is the uphill climb.
She is elderly and feels as if there were chains
weighing down her feet.
“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
• Re-read the passage on p. 850 “Her fingers
were busy and intent…”
• How does Phoenix perceive her situation?
• She thinks she is in serious trouble, in a
metaphorical “thorny bush.”
“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
• P. 851
• Obstacles a hero face are a test of character.
What heroic trait does Phoenix display in her
encounter with “the ghost”?
• Phoenix displays great courage. The way she
laughs at herself also shows humility or
wisdom.
“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
• P. 851 What is Phoenix Jackson’s attitude as
she walks?
• She is determined, even as she struggles with
obstacles and her own confusion.
“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
p. 853 What element of the hero’s quest might
the hunter represent?
• The hunter represents the overcoming of an
obstacle with the help of another.
“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
• Reading Strategy: Asking questions can help you
make predictions about the story.
• What question might you ask about the nickel’s
importance in the story?
• Why does Phoenix steal the nickel? What does
this incident show about her?
• Possible answers: She steals it because she is
very poor. The incident shows both her sense of
poverty and her moral sense.
• Prediction: The reader might predict she will use
it to buy food.
“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
• Who comes along to help Phoenix on her
way?
• A young hunter who is passing by stops to
help her.
“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
• P. 854 Does Phoenix pass the “test” of the
hunter? Explain.
• Phoenix passes the test decisively. At a time
when many whites placed little value on the
lives of African Americans, she showed
tremendous courage by just standing her
ground and facing the hunter when he
pointed his gun at her.
“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
• P. 854 What questions might you ask about the
big building and the goal of Phoenix’s quest?
• Possible Questions: Why does the author not
identify the building with the gold seal? What is
significant about the building?
• Possible answers: The author is describing the
building as Phoenix sees it, the way she described
the other places Phoenix went through. The
building is a clinic or doctor’s office.
“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
• Why is Phoenix at the doctor’s office?
• To get medicine for her grandson, who suffers
the lingering effects of swallowing lye.
“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
p. 856 Critical Reading
#1 a) How does the young hunter address
Phoenix? b) What contradictory attitudes
toward Phoenix does the hunter express?
• a)The hunter speaks to her in a condescending
way. b) The hunter is both kind and mean. He
helps her get out of the ditch and scares away
the dog, but he also points the gun at her and
pretends to threaten her.
“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
p. 856 Critical Reading
#2. In mythology, the phoenix is a bird that rises
from the ashes. Why do you think Welty named
the main character of this story Phoenix?
• She is named Phoenix because she rises from
every obstacle, and completes her journey.
“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
p. 856 Critical Reading
#3 a) At the end of the story, do you think Phoenix’s
grandson is alive? Explain. b) Why do you think Welty
does not clarify this ambiguity?
• a) Possibly, he is alive, and Phoenix undertook the
journey because she saw that he was sick when she
was home, and her forgetting him was a mental lapse
caused by old age.
• b) Welty does not clarify the ambiguity because the
story is about Phoenix’s quest and her courage and
perserverance, not about her grandson.
“A Worn Path”
by Eudora Welty pp. 848-856
p. 856 Critical Reading
#4 Does Phoenix seem more “at home” in the natural
landscape or in the social landscape of Depression-era
Mississippi?
• She is not wholly at home in either landscape, due, at least
in part, to faulty perceptions. Getting around the natural
landscape presents numerous physical trials for Phoenix to
her poor eyesight and advanced age. The social landscape
presents emotional trials because of her lack of status,
resulting from racial differences and whites’ perception of
her as a charity case. Welty uses both settings to develop
her main character’s heroic qualities.