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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 5 page paper analyzes Eudora Welty's story, A Worn Path, for symbolism and themes. Quotes and specific examples given from the text. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_MBwelty.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
celebrates their victories. In her work, A Worn Path, the main character is Phoenix Jackson, a grandmother. It has fallen to her to raise her nephew and as such she
must travel a good distance to town to get the medicine that he needs. Her journey to town becomes a symbolic heros journey, filled with symbolism and Universal truths about
the human condition. Phoenixs name is symbolic of the legendary Phoenix bird that rises from the ashes of destruction. As such, she is the determined to save her nephew from
the ashes of his illness. Also, though she is elderly and her physical strength is waning, this journey to town draws upon a wellspring of strength and courage and like
a Phoenix out of the ashes of a terrible situation Phoenix rises to the challenge. "This death-birth motif gives a meaningful context for details which seem merely descriptive"(Seidl, 53). From
the onset of the journey there are symbols. For example, Phoenix observes that as she begins that "The woods were deep and still" and "Down in the hollow was the
Mourning Dove"(Welty 159). Both of these symbols and the use of imagery sets the scene for one who will face death. Deep and still makes one think of the stillness
of death, while the Mourning Dove reminds one of the mourners at ones funeral. This also sets the tone for the frame of mind that Phoenix is in. She knows
she is old and half blind, but it is her love for her nephew that pushes her on to undertake this journey.
As she plods along images that seem reminiscent of slavery are utilized. She says, "Seem like there is chains about my feet" (Welty, 159). And, to add to this imagery
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