A WORN PATH

Eudora Welty

The Story takes place in December on a worn out path. It's about an old Negro woman named Phoenix who goes through this path where she has to go through so many obstacles to get medication for her grandson who was suffering from throat pain. She faced different obstacles like the long path, animals, bridges and people. Also she doesn't receive that much respect from people because of her Elderly age and her racial appearance. Finally at the end she gets to the town of Natchez and goes into the building where she is suppose to get the medication when she forgets why she came to the city for. The Nurses would ask if she were okay and she would only stay quiet, until finally a nurse asked her if Phoenix grandson was okay or if he was dead. From there on we don't know if Phoenix grandson is dead, but we do know that she walked that worn path, because the love she felt for her grandson.

Phoenix Jackson used to live in a village far away from the town. She had no one except a grandson. He was very sick so she had to go to the town at regular intervals to bring medicine for her grandson. The town was very far from her village and the journey was really very difficult. This story describes one of her such journeys to the town. On the way, she has to face many obstacles. But, every time she faces the obstacles, she deals with it very boldly and at last, reaches to the town. Her journey starts through the hill in the month of December. It was cold early December morning. She had a cane (A stick that people can lean on to help them walk) to walk. She has wrinkled face and unlaced shoes. It was very cold and the path way was covered with snow. She tapped her stick on the snow and continued her journey. She used to talk to herself most of the time and she also talked with all the animals that she met on the way.

After climbing the hill with a great difficulty, now she had to climb down but by then she got caught by thorny bush with a great labor she freed herself and again continued her journey. After sometimes, she came by a creek (A natural stream of water smaller than a river). She had to cross it. It was not an easy job. She had to cross it through a log. She took it to be a trial (test). Very carefully, she crossed the creek. She crossed it through a log even with her eyes closed. She again continued her journey but there was another obstacle waiting her. Now, she had to cross through a barbed wire (काडे तार) fence. She crept and crawled through the wire saving herself and her gown. Again, she faced the trouble successfully. Now, she was passing through a corn field. There she saw a scarecrow (An effigy in the shape of a man to frighten birds away from seeds). At first, she thought it to be a ghost but very boldly, she talked with it. Finally, when she knew that it was scarecrow, she even danced with it. After crossing the corn field as she was going on her way from somewhere, a black dog came before her all of a sudden. She lost her balance and fell down in a ditch (dump) there. She raised her hand for help. But, as there was nobody around, she silently remained there.

After sometime, a hunter came there. He took her out from the ditch. While talking, a nickel (five-cent coin) dropped down from the man’s pocket. She stole it with a trick. After sometime, she reached to the town. There she asked a lady to tie her shoe laces. The whole town was decorated with colorful bulbs. But, her eyes were not working properly because it wasn't a broad day light. But, depending on her senses, she finally reached the medical clinic. There she even forgot why she had been there. She didn't remember for a short time. However, while talking with the nurse, she remembers her grandson and her purpose of visit. She took the medicine. While she was going from there, she got a nickel (Five dollars worth of a drug) as a gift. She said that she would buy a paper toy for her grandson. After that, she left the clinic.