A Worn Path by Eudora Welty

1. A Worn Path was first published
in The Atlantic Monthly in
February 1940, and later in A
Curtain of Green, 1941

2. Phoenix Jackson

3. Natchez Trace
in Mississippi

4. Racoon
Jack Rabbit
Wild Hog
Bobwhite
“Out of my way, all
you foxes, owls,
beetles, jack rabbits,
coons and wild
animals! ... Keep out
from under these feet,
little bob-whites ...
Keep the big wild hogs
out of my path. Don't
let none of those come
running my direction. I
got a long way.”

5. “At the foot of this hill was a place where a log
was laid across the creek.”

6. “So she . . . had to go through a barbed-
wire fence. There she had to creep and
crawl, spreading her knees and
stretching her fingers like a baby trying
to climb the steps.”

7. “She passed through the old
cotton and went into a field
of dead corn. It whispered
and shook, and was taller
than her head. 'Through the
maze now,' she said, for
there was no path.”

8. POINT OF VIEW
The story is told from a third person limited
point of view. The narrator allows us to view
the thoughts and feelings of old Phoenix.

9. SETTING
The story is set in the Natchez Trace in the
southwestern state of Mississippi. The Trace is an
old highway that runs from Nashville, Tennessee,
to Natchez, Mississippi (see the map on slide 5).
The scene begins in the woods and then shifts to
the city of Natchez.
The action takes place in December, the
Christmas time, during the 1940s.

10. THEMES
Love
Phoenix is determined to complete the hard journey to
get the medicine for her grandson. Motivated only by
love, she is ready to suffer all the hardships of the path.
The message is that love can conquer everything.
Racism
The story represents the attitudes of many Southern
White Americans towards African Americans during the
1940s. The disrespectful treatment of the Blacks by the
Whites is represented by the hunter and the women at
the doctor’s office.

11. SYMBOLISM
The story is full of interesting symbols:
• The journey of the protagonist along the worn path is a symbol of the path
of life.
• The uphill and downhill phases of the path correspond to the beginning of
life towards its prime and the decline towards death.
• The obstacles that Phoenix meets throughout the trip are equivalent to the
trials and tribulations of life.
• The thorny bush is a symbol of the deceptive dangers that appear
harmless.
• The scarecrow is a symbol of the imagined dangers or unjustified
physiological fears that hinder our advance.
• The slice of cake on the plate is a symbol of the unfulfilled joys of life. The
marble cake can also be symbolic of the blending of blacks and whites that
was not fulfilled.
• The maze in the corn field is a symbol of the confusion, uncertainty, and
loss of direction in life in which can happen to people.
• The snake can be a symbol of temptation.
• The windmill can be a symbol of the cycle of life that is repeated.

12. • The most prominent symbol is that related to the mythological
phoenix. Phoenix Jackson’s name refers to the phoenix myth in
Egyptian mythology. The mythological phoenix was a bird that lived
five hundred years, then died in fire and rose from the ashes to new
life. Perhaps the most incredible power is the determination of the
phoenix to travel to Heliopolis in Egypt, the sun city, towards the
end of its life, where her life cycle starts over. It is a symbol of
survival, hope, promise, and continuity.
There are many parallels between the phoenix myth and the
story of the protagonist. First, Old Phoenix resembles the mythical
bird in appearance. She is described in terms of red and gold
colors, the colors of the phoenix: "a golden color ran
underneath, and the two knobs of her cheeks were illumined
by a yellow burning under the dark. Under the red rag her hair
came down on her neck.” Phoenix’ age refers to the five hundred
years that the phoenix lived before it rose again from fire. The trip
to the city to get the medicine represents the mythological trip that
the Phoenix takes to the sun to die.

13. Phoenix’s arrival at the hospital marks a
turning point in the story and a moment of
change. She unable to talk to anyone, including
the attendant who keeps asking her questions:
“there was a fixed and ceremonial stiffness over
[Phoenix's] body.” Finally, Phoenix comes back to
life: “there was a flicker and then a flame of
comprehension across her face, and she spoke.”
The description of Phoenix’ lapse into oblivion
and her recovery from the state of forgetfulness
seem to echo the rebirth of the phoenix. She is
reborn again and will start her journey back.

14. CHARACTERS
Phoenix Jackson
She is the protagonist of the story. She is an
elderly and frail woman. Her age and her weakness
make her determination to continue on her journey
admirable.
She has a sense of humor that makes her laugh at
the difficult situations she meets, like when she is
caught by the thorny bush, when she falls in the ditch,
and when she thinks that the scarecrow is a ghost.
She keeps talking to the animals, telling them to keep
out of her way.

15. She is brave and remains fearless in the face
of the hunter’s gun. She is not affected by the
negative remarks of either the hunter or the
attendant at the doctor’s office.
Phoenix’s name suggests her as a symbol of
survival and of the ability to withstand all the
opposite forces that try to break her spirit.