Eudora worldy, born 13th April 1909, died 23rd July 2001 in Jackson, Mississippi. Welty studied at Mississippi State College and then transferred to University of Wisconsin. In 1936, her first short story appeared. Before she was awarded the book, she worked in a Jackson radio station. Even after her death, she continued to write humorous stories with some speech patterns. Welty worked as a photographer for the Works Progress Administration Guide to Mississippi during the Great Depression. Photography remained a hobby throughout her life. She worked at two newspaper and radio stations in her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi before receiving critical and popular acclaim. Welty first published a short story in 1937. She then began to publish her stories regularly in newspapers and magazines.
Phoenix Jackson is a woman of color who had to travel a distance from rural Mississippi, where she lived, to Natchez in order to purchase medicine for her grandson. She starts off her journey through a pine forest. She is all alone but for the forest creatures that she can hear, see and talk to. She passes through pine trees, then oaks. Her dress gets caught in a thorny bushes after she has passed through them. She is in a tense situation, but manages to get free without tearing the dress. She comes upon a small creek, which has a piece of wood laid over it. It’s easy if your a young athlete, but it can be tricky for an older woman who is walking with an umbrella-made cane. She manages to make it through. Phoenix lays down to rest and imagines the boy who brought her cake. Next, she crawls through barbed wire, walks through cotton fields that are dying out for winter, and passes through a cornfield of dead corn. Phoenix laughs, attributing her mistake to aging. Phoenix continues to what she believes is the easy section. She follows the tracks of the wagons through fields until she reaches a ravine. There she takes a break to drink some water. Next, she crosses the swampy portion. Phoenix is knocked off her feet by a black dog, which leaps up from the weeds. A hunter lifts Phoenix up when he passes. She is unable to get up by herself. Phoenix’s age, her origin and destination are asked by the hunter. He thinks that she is going to Santa Claus town for Christmas and marvels at her distance traveled. Phoenix commands the black to attack the hunters and their dogs. The hunter shoots his gun and unleashes his dog to try and scare off the black canine. The hunter laughs because he scared him. Phoenix finds a penny on the floor while the hunter’s attention is focused on the dogs. Phoenix takes the nickel despite knowing it’s not really hers. Phoenix doesn’t seem to be afraid of the gun that is pointed at her by the hunter. He offers to give her money if she would go home. She refuses.
Phoenix has finally arrived in Natchez. Phoenix asks an elderly woman to tie up her shoes, as she cannot do it. She feels that the laces that drag are inappropriate for entering a city-building. Nobody likes being underdressed. Phoenix walks to the top of the stairs at a huge building. The attendant sees her and immediately thinks that Phoenix is a case for charity. The attendant is unable to find out what Phoenix wants or who she is. Phoenix is recognized by the nurse who recognizes her as a frequent visitor to the facility. She comes in regularly to purchase medicine for a grandson. The nurse inquires as to how the boy is feeling. Phoenix is unable to answer any of her questions. The nurse wonders if there has been a death. Phoenix replies that the boy is not dead, but it’s time to go back and get the medicine for his throat. The nurse marks the medication as a gift in her record book. Phoenix gets a nickel as she leaves. It is Christmas. Phoenix thinks about the two nickels, and decides it would be a good idea to buy something for her grandson.
This is a very mysterious threshold between dream and waking in several of Welty’s experiences. Phoenix’s obstacles include a confrontation with a ghost that turns out to be a scarecrow, a hallucinatory visitation from a boy, the medicine that awaits her in the doctor’s office, at the top of a “tower” or steps, has the almost magical power to restore breath to the small boy, whose throat closes up every once in a while. This is a mysterious transition between dreaming and waking that I have found in many of Welty’s stories. Phoenix has to overcome a number of obstacles, including a frightening scarecrow and a hallucinatory boy. The medicine she receives in the doctor’s room, located at the top of the ‘tower’ of steps, can restore the boy’s breath.
Phoenix is a female-centric version of heroism. Women’s roles are to protect children, while men’s quests revolve around dominance battles and the need for self-definition. Welty contrasts a woman in her 80s with a hunter in a white shirt who saves her from a ditch and then becomes the most formidable obstacle to her progress. This hunter also offers her some cake.
“A Worn Path”, a play with many themes such as love, morality and charity. The theme of love is a great way to analyze, compare and relate real-world examples. Phoenix, her grandson and “A Worn Path”, use love as a theme to compare, relate and analyze a real world example. Naja Mazie, The CNN 10 Hero can serve as a great example of real love. She opened a shelter for homeless women and their children in Detroit, Michigan.
She takes them in and teaches how to do everyday things like cooking, sewing and even getting a diploma for highschool and college. Naja is a preacher and doctor who practices her religion openly at shelter. Shelter’s main goal is to show love no matter the outcome of any situation.