A Reader's Response: Eudora Welty's A Worn Path

When I first read this story, I was a bit confused about the story. At first read, Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path" seems to be about the character in the story, Phoenix Jackson, walking down a path while talking to animals and having hallucinations. Sounds strange, doesn't it?

However, when I went over the story again, there's more meaning to it. After reading, I now understand certain clues to the story.

The story's title might describe the road Phoenix walks along, but as the case with Kate Chopin's "The Storm", there's another meaning; the path of the title most likely refers to her age. Phoenix's hallucinations could be a hint made by Welty about her age, such as her confusing a scarecrow for a ghost. Also, it's subtly hinted that Phoenix isn't well educated. She speaks with bad grammar, and when the nurse spoke to her when she visited town, she didn't know when to respond. It seems the path resembles her life, as she is walking towards the end.

In addition, I discovered the path Phoenix walks on has a destination: to help her grandson.

When she visits the nurse at the small town, Phoenix states that he has a condition in which his throat closes up, leaving him unable to breathe. There was a hint in the story in which she imagined a boy giving her a piece of cake. The boy was most likely her grandson. This could be a sign that she cares for her grandson dearly, and would help him in anyway possible. When Phoenix meets a hunter during her trip, he drops a nickel, which leads to Phoenix picking it up without him noticing. With that nickel, she purchased medicine for her grandson.

In addition, there was another piece of the puzzle. The setting was around Christmastime. This meant that Phoenix braved the long path to give the grandson medicine as a gift to him.

"A Worn Path" may seem odd at first read, but if you carefully watch for clues of meaning and symbolism that Welty places along the story, you'll find a better understanding.