"A Worn Path"
Eudora Welty
In this short story, Phoenix Jackson faces several obstacles alone in order to collect the medicine in town for her grandson who swallowed lye several years prior. To highlight Phoenix's solitude in her acts, both brave and deprave, Welty relies extensively on apostrophe and personification.
On her way to town, Phoenix's exhaustion results in delusion. She imagines that a young boy is offering her a slice of cake while she rests. " 'That would be acceptable,' she said. But when she went to take it there was just her own hand in the air" (Welty, 224). Even though she is receiving no help at this point from anyone, she thanks the child as if he were really there. This delusion reinforces the idea that Phoenix, in her old and vulnerable state, carries out her quest for someone in particular who would assist her if he could.
In addition to a seemingly nonsensical apostrophe, Welty utilizes personification to create a tangible conflict to reflect an intangible conflict. During her trek, Phoenix gets caught in a thorny bush. However, she points out that, like a security guard, the bush is simply carrying out a function it was designed to carry out. Her only option is to outmaneuver the bush. Similarly her economic standing is something with which she cannot negotiate; she can only take actions to alleviate her position. In her struggle with intangible poverty, she steals and accepts charity: two options only facilitated through Phoenix's swallowing of pride and conscience.
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