Where can you find a fiery, old, African American women yelling at animals? One can only find a quirky character such as this in A Worn Path by Eudora Welty. Phoenix is an frail, elderly lady in this story that is traveling through rough terrain to town in order to get medication for her ill grandson, who swallowed lye a few years ago. Many things Phoenix does on her journey, as well as her physical attributes characterize her as eccentric and a little aloof, such as: her poor memory, she talks to animals, she falls down and laughs about it, and she has cataracts. Just looking at the plot of the story, an old women walking through the forest alone is quite odd in itself. This should cause the reader to be cautious about the reliability of the narrator, and look for things that may not be as they seem.
Right in the beginning of the story, Phoenix encounters some animals, and promptly talks to them, saying “Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals! ...Keep out from under these feet, little bob-whites.” This speech may be a result of a lack of education, or a response to traveling alone, but signifies a quirk in Phoenix’s personality. She talks to the animals as if they understand her, as if she is reciting a grand speech to a deaf audience. Phoenix also talks out loud to herself many times throughout the story, talking to inanimate objects, or mumbling short observations. For instance,when she reaches the top of a hill, Phoenix says to herself “Up through the pines, Now down through the oaks.”
Another instance in the story that would not be typical of an old lady is when Phoenix falls into the ditch after being startled by a dog. Instead of emitting a shriek of fright or a groan of pain, Phoenix is silent. Also she does not get up right away and continue on her journey, she just lays where she fell and dreams and talks to herself.
Phoenix is not shy around people, and doesn’t mind what they think of her. Two encounters that show this are when Phoenix meets the young hunter, and when she has the women tie her shoe in town. When Phoenix meets the hunter, he is quite rude to her, but she acts like herself and boldly talks to the man. Even when the man points the gun at her face, she is not phased. This is not the typical response of a grandmother. Also, Phoenix is not afraid to ask a complete stranger for help tying her shoe, which shows that she doesn’t mind if the lady thinks she is odd or weird.
The final instance that shows that something is a bit off with Phoenix is when she arrives at the clinic. Right when Phoenix arrives, she goes into a mute, non-responsive mode, which is odd because she had been talkative and social during her previous encounters. This hints to the reader that Phoenix may be feeling akward or nervous. Why might Phoenix be feeling nervous when she is just coming to get medication for her grandson? When asked how her grandson is, Phoenix doesn’t respond right away. Phoenix attribute her silence to her memory loss, which is not mentioned earlier in the story. Also, the nurse is quite surprised that Phoenix forgot why she came, which would be odd because the nurse knows Phoenix by name, and sees her often. One would think that the nurse would know about Phoenix’s memory loss if she knows her so well. The nurse also is skeptical of Phoenix, which can be seen when she says “Yes. Swallowed lye. When was it?--January--two--three years ago--.” It is as if the nurse knows that it is not physically possible for the boy to still be sick after so much time. It is almost as if the nurse knows that Phoenix is not telling her the truth, but still gives the medication to her. Overall, this interaction in the clinic is very awkward and weird, this should tip off the reader that all is not as it seems.
Because of Phoenix’s weird personality, and greatly because of the interaction in the clinic, the reader can tell that something is off. While there are multiple ways to interpret these observations, one inference that can be made is that Phoenix’s grandson is dead, or does not exist. This would explain many of the weird occurrences throughout the story, and provides a secondary meaning to the story. This inference would also fit right in with Phoenix’s quirky character, in that she makes the trip in order to get out, or because her grandson died and she makes the trip in his memory. There are multiple shapes and pathways that this inference can take, but there are many different parts of the story that support this, and this inference gives the story a much deeper meaning, and another perspective.
Right in the beginning of the story, Phoenix encounters some animals, and promptly talks to them, saying “Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals! ...Keep out from under these feet, little bob-whites.” This speech may be a result of a lack of education, or a response to traveling alone, but signifies a quirk in Phoenix’s personality. She talks to the animals as if they understand her, as if she is reciting a grand speech to a deaf audience. Phoenix also talks out loud to herself many times throughout the story, talking to inanimate objects, or mumbling short observations. For instance,when she reaches the top of a hill, Phoenix says to herself “Up through the pines, Now down through the oaks.”
Another instance in the story that would not be typical of an old lady is when Phoenix falls into the ditch after being startled by a dog. Instead of emitting a shriek of fright or a groan of pain, Phoenix is silent. Also she does not get up right away and continue on her journey, she just lays where she fell and dreams and talks to herself.
Phoenix is not shy around people, and doesn’t mind what they think of her. Two encounters that show this are when Phoenix meets the young hunter, and when she has the women tie her shoe in town. When Phoenix meets the hunter, he is quite rude to her, but she acts like herself and boldly talks to the man. Even when the man points the gun at her face, she is not phased. This is not the typical response of a grandmother. Also, Phoenix is not afraid to ask a complete stranger for help tying her shoe, which shows that she doesn’t mind if the lady thinks she is odd or weird.
The final instance that shows that something is a bit off with Phoenix is when she arrives at the clinic. Right when Phoenix arrives, she goes into a mute, non-responsive mode, which is odd because she had been talkative and social during her previous encounters. This hints to the reader that Phoenix may be feeling akward or nervous. Why might Phoenix be feeling nervous when she is just coming to get medication for her grandson? When asked how her grandson is, Phoenix doesn’t respond right away. Phoenix attribute her silence to her memory loss, which is not mentioned earlier in the story. Also, the nurse is quite surprised that Phoenix forgot why she came, which would be odd because the nurse knows Phoenix by name, and sees her often. One would think that the nurse would know about Phoenix’s memory loss if she knows her so well. The nurse also is skeptical of Phoenix, which can be seen when she says “Yes. Swallowed lye. When was it?--January--two--three years ago--.” It is as if the nurse knows that it is not physically possible for the boy to still be sick after so much time. It is almost as if the nurse knows that Phoenix is not telling her the truth, but still gives the medication to her. Overall, this interaction in the clinic is very awkward and weird, this should tip off the reader that all is not as it seems.
Because of Phoenix’s weird personality, and greatly because of the interaction in the clinic, the reader can tell that something is off. While there are multiple ways to interpret these observations, one inference that can be made is that Phoenix’s grandson is dead, or does not exist. This would explain many of the weird occurrences throughout the story, and provides a secondary meaning to the story. This inference would also fit right in with Phoenix’s quirky character, in that she makes the trip in order to get out, or because her grandson died and she makes the trip in his memory. There are multiple shapes and pathways that this inference can take, but there are many different parts of the story that support this, and this inference gives the story a much deeper meaning, and another perspective.