A worn path
This is a short story written by Eudora Welty. The first thing to be observed about the short story is the manner in which it has been narrated. The writer has made use of the third person to narrate the story here. With this, the reader automatically gets to think of someone who is observing the object of the story as she moves along the long path. To the observer the fright that the woman feels and the way she gets tired would be more apparent this way.
The person in the story is Phoenix Jackson, an African American woman, who undertakes a familiar journey from her home to the market to buy medicines for her grandson. Her grandson had swallowed lye accidently a couple of years ago because of which his throat had become severely damaged which never fully recovered. Whenever his throat starts swelling, Phoenix has to make the journey into town to get the medicine for him so that he does not die of suffocation. On the way, she faces several obstacles. Although difficult, each time she faces the impediments with great courage and finally reaches her town. Her journey initiates from the hill. Due to extremely cold weather in the month of December, the complete pathway was laden with snow. On her way, she used to talk to animals she met on her way and to herself most of the time. As Phoenix makes the journey down the path, she keeps up a running commentary about the things she sees, how tired she feels and whatever comes along in her path. She comes across a large dog, barbed wire, a hunter from whom she picks a nickel and a woman who ties her shoelaces. She even says things out like “out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, rabbits Don’t let none of those come running in my direction” (Pg 1).
She has been described as an old woman who has very little money, which can be interpreted from the clothes that she wears. In many places in the story Phoenix can be heard saying that she is tired and old, for example, when she speaks to the thorns, “Old eyes thought you was a pretty little bush” (Pg 2). Out of fatigue she even hallucinates on the way when she sits down to rest, “But when she went to take it there was just her own hand in the air” (Pg 3). When she speaks to the hunter she says about guns, “I seen plenty go off close by in my day and for less than what I done” (Pg 7). This reference can be taken to speak about the harsh times that colored people had to face in the South during and before the Depression.
The viewpoint expressed in this story is directly connected to the emotions of the heart. At its heart, this short story is about the undying love of a grandmother for her grandson. When she says, “We are the only two left in the world” (Pg 10); it speaks of the care and concern she feels for her grandson. It is in keeping with the same emotion of love that forces people towards devotion and accomplishment of goals. “I am not going to forget him again” (Pg 11) shows that she puts up a fight against her age for the sake of her grandson, and she is determined to keep him safe and healthy. This raw emotion is the underlying message in this short story.
