In “A Worn Path”, Eudora Welty uses a narrator as a non-participating character to reveal hidden characteristics of the protagonist, Phoenix Jackson, in order to convey the theme of perseverance and unconditional love to the reader. The narrator impartially suggests that Phoenix is an “old negro woman” with “eyes blue with age”. Although these characteristics are basic, they blossom into complex traits of the protagonist that shadow her astounding tenacity. As the audience, we know Phoenix’s age, since the narrator mentioned her elderliness multiple times. Considering that the narrator objectively shares this information, the reader knows how the difficulties she faced on her trek, from having “to go through a barbed-wire fence” to falling into a ditch “like a little puff of milkweed”, add into a critical characterization of the protagonist that, in the end, alludes to the theme. Despite her elderly age, Phoenix’s refusal to end the …show more content…
On her way to town, Phoenix receives unrequested assistance by “ a white man… a hunter, a young man”. Throughout this encounter, the white hunter “laughed and lifted his gun and pointed it at Phoenix.” During this era, white male domination was very prevalent and caused intimidation of white people for negroes. In this particular scenario, Phoenix faced a potential life or death experience, but persevered through in order to give her grandson a greater chance at life. Furthermore, this characterization reveals how Phoenix struggles during her journey, but still endlessly fights for what she needs. Phoenix oftenly felt as though she needed to look presentable, as she asked a stranger to lace up her shoe (page 5 line 26) and claimed that “it was not possible to allow the dress to tear.” If Phoenix wasn’t a negro, she would not have needed to worry about her untied shoes or unkempt clothing in order to guarantee that she left with her grandson’s