The story is named “A Worn Path”, written by Eudora Welty. Such is a story of an old African-American woman Phoenix. Some stories are simply meant to take the readers on a thought-provoking journey, and while they do not contribute towards a definite plan or pot, they say it all. In a single phrase, the woman reveals the sufferings of slaves, “I seen plenty go off closer by, in my day, and for less than what I done” (Welty n.p.).Literary Analysis - "A Worn Path" Eudora Welty The man helps the old woman stand up, but, at the same time, he is rather disrespectful and he teases the woman with his gun. Thus, the fact that the woman has the hallucination stands for the futility of some attempts to help African Americans in the 1930s.įinally, the conversation between the woman and the hunter is also very symbolic. Notably, even those attempts made were rather ineffective, as any advance or help was followed by even more horrible conditions. In the 1930s, African Americans were discriminated in all spheres of their lives and it was uncommon for a white person to help an African American. Likewise, African Americans had to face lots of constraints and there were few people who were ready to help. Thus, the old woman falls and she is unable to stand up, she sees someone and reaches her hands but “nothing reached down and gave her a pull” (Welty n.p.). To make the matters worse, the woman is all alone on the dangerous road, just like African Americans did not have anyone to support them. Thousands and millions of African Americans had to make the same journey and endure the same ‘worn’ obstacles. Of course, the ‘thorny bushes’ were all over African Americans’ way. The path was full of dangers and “trials” like thorns which were doing their “appointed work” and “never” wanted “to let folk pass” (Welty n.p.). The path African Americans had to walk was a really “long way” which was also very difficult (Welty n.p.). One of the first symbols to be discussed is, of course, the “worn path” (Welty n.p.). However, the symbols mentioned above are more comprehensive as I believe each of these symbols represents a facet of African Americans’ life in the USA. For instance, the name of the main character is also a suggestive symbol of hope. Admittedly, these are only a few symbols. Some of these symbols are the path itself, the absence of support and the hunter. It is possible to find a variety of symbols which stand for racial discrimination.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |