...The Journey: Symbolism of “A Worn Path” and “The Road Not Taken” Expedition. Voyage. Excursion. Pilgrimage. There are many words that are used to describe the word journey but what does it really mean? Many people consider the word journey as merely a distance in which they have traveled or will eventually travel; often they fail to recognize that there can be great meaning beyond each step that is taken. Too often, people become more focused on the destination rather than the process that it takes to get them there. While focusing on destination people neglect to recognize the value of whole process that gets them there. A journey can bring forth exhilaration and excitement as well as agony and anguish. A journey always has a power which affects the lives of people and also changes their beliefs, thoughts and ideals, thus changing them ultimately. Have you ever taken a journey? We have all found ourselves on a journey of some kind or another alone, but what is more important is how we choose to end our journey. The two literary works that I have chosen to compare and contrast are “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. At first glance the two literary works appear to be about the same thing, but upon deeper reflection we conclude that they are not, as one is written as a short story and the other is written as a poem. The short story speaks of a “path” while the poem speaks of a “road.” The theme that each of these literary...
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...Robert Frost’s “A Road Not Taken” and Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” both focus upon one set theme within each of their writings, that of journey. While these two writers have displayed the same theme there are two different viewpoints that the readers must clearly establish between Frost and Welty. Both of the authors have shown that the particular journey within their writings is one of which that life can have hurdles and hardships that must be dealt with and come to peace with. Both pieces of literature have different characters, context within historical means and symbolism to show each journey in their full light. Journey has a different meaning to each person that experiences it within their life. Many view a journey as a mode to travel to a destination forgets the meaning beyond each step that they have taken. While the focus is upon the destination, people neglect to recognize the whole process that they have undergone. The joy and thrill of voyage allows people to learn both negative and positive things of other cultures and people that one will meet. This allows the person upon the voyage to learn new experiences within life that will be useful throughout the whole of their lifetime. Going upon a journey allows one to broaden their thinking, concepts along with their ideals that can ultimately change whole individual. The theme of journey within literature was and is very well described by many authors and poets that have shown the different aspects of traveling...
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...Betha, Dean. "Phoenix Has No Coat: Historicity, Eschatology, and Sins of Omission in Eudora Welty's 'A Worn Path'." The International Fiction Review 28, nos. 1 and 2 (2001): 32–41. Quoted as "Phoenix Has No Coat: Historicity, Eschatology, and Sins of Omission in Eudora Welty's 'A Worn Path'" in Bloom, Harold, ed. Eudora Welty, Updated Edition, Bloom's Modern Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2006. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 30 Oct. 2015. Betha offers a critical view of the short story “A Worn Path”, she provides a description of Phoenix Jackson, who is the main character of the short story. She provides a list of difficulties that Phoenix Jackson encounters while doing her journey. Betha describes Phoenix as a woman that has not coat. She gives the interpretations that she has about this story, and along with other critics she describes the historical importance of Phoenix Jackson in the short story “A Worn Path”. She mentions perseverance in the way she describes the attitude Phoenix has towards the difficulties she encounters in her path. Additionally, she mentions other difficulties that Phoenix encounters during her life: Racism, poverty, slavery and many others. These stones that she found during her path were obstacles that gave her...
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...that we all make from birth to death. And many of the journeys in life can be a struggle. Eudora Welty’s short story “A Worn Path” is the story of an old woman experiencing a journey in her life with countless struggles along the way. Eudora Welty’s short story “A Warn Path” gives us the journey that an old woman makes out of love for her family and the strong will and determination she has to complete the journey. Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” is a poem about having to make a hard decision during his journey of life. Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” gives us the journey on a man who has to make a decision and choose what path he wants to spend the rest of his life down. Both “A Warn Path” and “The Road Not Taken” have one particular theme which is “Journey,” but both pieces of literature have different content, form and style. While the journey is the theme of each of these pieces of literature, each author gives a different perspective of the journey through different meaning. In the poem “The Road Not Taken,” Robert Frost portrays the journey as the choices people take in their life and the impact of these choices to their future. Frost shows how a choice today has long term effects on what they will become tomorrow. Frost gives the reader the scenario of choosing the path that many others choose, or choosing the path that few choose to solve their choice. One path has to be chosen and Frost...
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...there and can it be saved? These questions that are shaped in the readers mind is indicative of a short story that uses not only imagery but symbols to tell a story. The picture you have formed in your head of the small, sad little girl and her beloved dog is an example of symbolism of the journey. While literally the dog is dead this may also be a symbolism of a girl losing the only thing in her little life that she trusted in a world that has abandoned her like the empty road she finds herself on. The symbolism of the journey and how two authors used this theme is the topic of this paper. Thesis While both Jean Rhys “Used to Live Here Once” and Eudora Weltly, in “A Worn Path” use symbolism and exposition one story is also about death and the other is about helping her grandchild’s life, yet many of the words used in “A Worn Path” as indicative of death. Each story uses symbolism of the journey. Both stories also include an omniscient point of view and using imagery, which doubles as symbolism. Also using motif the narrators guide us through their stories also bringing a racism theme. Both authors Rhys and Weltly take us on journeys through the stories told. Symbolism and Motif in Rhys, “Used to Live Here Once”...
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...Literary works are often comprised of symbolisms that convey a message to the reader. In the two literary works, A Worn Path by Eudora Welty and The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost, symbolism is used to capture the nature of both pieces. They both reflect a journey through imagery and metaphors. Each literary work has its unique way of expressing its message, one through the alliteration, ambiguity and visual sensation of poetry, and the other through a short, but evocative story about an elderly woman on her journey through a long, treacherous path. The Worn Path begins with an African-American grandmother that has begun her journey to get medicine for her grandson who lives in ‘town’. Her name is Phoenix Jackson and is described as an elderly woman on a mission. The beginning of the story explains that she is making her way down a long and difficult path to retrieve a much needed medicine that will help cure her grandson’s ailment. The dialect and manner in which the story is told suggests that the story takes place in the late 19th century after the ‘Surrender’ or a reference to the defeat of the Confederate army and the victory of the Union. It also makes implies that Phoenix resides in the south, or what would be the former Confederacy. Phoenix begins her path without question; only after the exposition does she glance back to where she had first begun her path. “After she got to the top she turned and gave a full, severe look behind her where she had come. "Up through...
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...Taken" and "A Worn Path" ENG125: Introduction to Literature Instructor: Deborah Cunningham Amber Huntley April 9, 2013 Symbolism of the Journey in "The Road Not Taken" and "A Worn Path" When reading a short story or a poem it is not possible to comprehend the author’s true meaning of his or her written word without using symbolism to bring the literary work to life. Oftentimes the symbolism can be interpreted differently by each individual. We do know that the symbolism of literary works are created in the imagination of the writer to show certain events or interrelated facets of the literary work. Moreover, the joy of reading is so that the reader can interpret what these symbols mean to them and begin the wonderful journey into the world of literature. As we read, we begin to unravel and decode the symbolic nature of the characters journey throughout the written word. Also; the journey is not only in the reading of the literary work but, in deciphering the symbolism to find its true meaning as it relates to you, the reader of the short story or poem. Therefore, we can see from Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken,” and Eudora Welty’s short story, “A Worn Path” that the symbolism a writer uses is the journey to discovering the path of the literary work itself. The best example of this symbolic journey is Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken.”. In this poem we read about a man who is walking along a path and then it forks...
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...story, a poem, or a play introduces you to an imaginary world (Clugston, W.R. (2010). When reading literature we must enter the imaginary world; enter the world the author is creating. The story “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty in 1941 and the poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost in 1916 both use the theme of journey to symbolize life decisions. One speaks of a “Path” the other a “Road” the theme that each of these writings share is presented differently throughout the piece of literature. These two pieces of literature symbolize a journey, through using content, form, style, symbolism and imagination, although used differently in many ways they both are symbolizing a journey through life. The theme in a story is a representation of the idea behind the story (Clugston, W.R.(2010). In the pieces of literature I have chosen, the theme is speaking of journeys, one journey for love and the other life, but both having to make life decisions. The authors took different approaches in showing the reader the journey, the life decisions that had to be made. Both works have characters making a journey. In the poem “The Road Not Taken”, the narrator has been traveling and has reached a point where the road divides. The narrator is a traveler. Likewise, in the short story “A Worn Path”, the main character is on a trip to town. She is travelling from home through the pines up the hill and down the valley. In both the poem and the short story, the characters are walking. When reading...
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...emotion, and even setting. Symbolism which is used in most literary works such as, The Worn path, by Eudora Welty and Good country people by Flannery O’Connor which also have similar themes. Theme consistent in both works is similar due to the religious nature portrayed in, The Worn path and Good country people. Though each are similar each portray a different aspect of faith, from redemption to triumph. Perception of literary elements based on the characters within each work, are portrayed differently the overall themes are similar. Symbolism can be described as one thing meaning more than its literal meaning. (Clugston, 2014) For instance, Welty’s, The Worn path, is seen instantly like: “Seem like there is chains about my feet, time I get this far, she said, in the voice of argument old people keep to use with themselves. Something always take a hold of me on this hill-pleads I should stay.” (Saunders, 1992) The worn path itself is symbolic of the journey of life that has been traveled many times over. Even the character, Phoenix Jackson, her name alone is a symbol. Phoenix is representative of a mystical bird that rises in the air and burst into flames. A new phoenix arises from the ashes, stronger than the one before it. While, Phoenix is an old woman, consistently realizes how strong she truly is as she overcomes the different obstacles along her journey. Similar to, The Worn path by Welty, O’Connor’s’ literary work, Good Country People also uses characters names as...
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...Symbolism of the Journey Paths and Roads Student Name ENG125 Instructor Name Date “A Worn Path and “The Road Not Taken” are literary works that take us on a literary journey exploring choices and obstacles the protagonists encounter adding dimension to the stories. The authors of “A Worn Path” and “The Road Not Taken” use different point of views to narrate their stories. Point of view is the way the author allows you to "see" and "hear" what's going on. Skillful authors can fix their readers' attention on exactly the detail, opinion, or emotion the author wants to emphasize by manipulating the point of view of the story” (Woods, 2010). Both stories use symbolism to show the hardship of life the characters endure along their journey and that how life can change along the way. The readers’ perceptions about the events are changed by the symbolism surrounding the characters and the conflicts that are presented. When it comes to literary works there’s always a deeper implication hidden behind the piece, and it’s up to the reader to dig around to find it. Both forms share a similar theme with different point of views along with several literary devices. Both of these literary pieces focus on one particular theme that is “Life’s Journey”. A theme of a story should give the reader its point of view and a reader should be able to understand the theme from the story through the characters, action, and setting that make up the story. Both show how the decisions we make...
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...characters are what separated the south from the north. In Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” and Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the reader learns about the journeys of two old ladies. While these journeys are both life journeys they are different in nature. The protagonist in “A Worn Path’s” story is about a journey of race and the obstacles in life that she has had to overcome and still has to face each day of her life, while the protagonist in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is about a spiritual journey that one must take in order to find favor with God and receive His grace and all of His goodness. Both of these stories transcend time and please because the themes in both of these while different can be seen in the world around us today. Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” is a journey about race and the obstacles the old lady has to overcome in order to help her grandson whom swallowed lye a few years back and occasionally gets sick so Phoenix Jackson has to travel through the woods into town to get him medicine. The time of year that this particular journey takes place is significant because it is at Christmas, which in literature is symbolic of rebirth and/or change for the better. This may also represent the idea that slavery is over and while there still may be some obstacles to overcome life is only going to get better from now on for the African American race. The story is suggestive of the poverty that Phoenix Jackson lives...
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...Hannah Doe Dr. Whitton EH 104 February 7, 2013 The Path of Life In Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path,” the main character, Phoenix Jackson, is embarked on a very important journey to town. The reason for her trip is to retrieve medication for her ill grandson who swallowed lye years before. The reader has reason to believe that her grandson is no longer living, but Phoenix embarks on this journey every month regardless. This trip is what gives meaning to her life. In “A Worn Path,” the journey that Phoenix Jackson goes on for the medication is a symbol for the journey people take throughout life to find purpose. In the story, the long and tiring trip is Phoenix Jackson’s purpose. It keeps her going month after month. Just as people do in life, she has to overcome obstacles on her way to town. These obstacles are what define the journey for a purpose. Her main deterrent is the people she encounters, which is also true with life. People always seem to interfere with and get in the way of others. The first person that stands in her way is a hunter that she stumbles upon in the woods. He is rude to her and tries to get her to turn around and go home after learning of her destination. He even goes so far as to put his gun in her face. Phoenix stands her ground and refuses to give in to the hunter. Not only does the man not frighten her, she hustles a nickel out of him after he drops it. This is a perfect example of how people should handle situations in life....
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...Symbolism in Journey “A Worn Path” and “A Road not Taken” The symbolism of a journey is represented in the short story “A worn Path” and the poem “The Road Not taken”. In each a journey is being taken. While representing two different types of journeys, they each display symbolism that is representative of each story. In “A Worn Path”, the journey of struggle to overcome racism and in “The Road not Taken” is regret of having to choice between two paths. Using symbolism in each form makes the story and poem more reverent to the reader. The symbolism is like imagery for both the short story and the poem. The short story “A Worn Path” is written by Eudora Welty. The story is set in the south during a time when racial tension was still prevalent. African Americans are just moving out of slavery and into being free. The story tells of the journey of an old woman making the familiar trip to town for medicine for her grandchild. She is met with obstacles, adversity and also with respect. The old woman’s name is Phoenix Jackson. The author takes care not to describe Phoenix as a black woman, but instead describes her with colors that are representation of the mythical creature of the same name. The author description of Phoenix as” her skin had a pattern all its own of numberless branching wrinkles and as though a whole little tree stood in the middle of her forehead, but a golden color ran underneath, and the two knobs of her cheeks were illumined by a yellow...
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...Two Similar Paths Eng125: Introduction To Literature February 7, 2011 The short stories entitled A Worn Path by Eudora Welty and The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost are extremely opposites in many different aspects however they can have somewhat of a similar meaning. They were both written twenty years apart. Either piece of literature has a long list of characters. A Worn Path’s main focus is about a black woman in the year of 1941. The journeys that are characterized in these writings are symbolic of some meaningful lifelong precedence that one should adhere to. I intend to show that these to paths may not cross one another but they do symbolize hope and promise is at the end of the journey. In The Road Not Taken, roads in the woods and forks in roads symbolize crises and decisions. Similar forks symbolize for us the center of free will and fate. (Frost, 1916) We are free to choose, but we do not really know beforehand what we are choosing between. Our direction is determined by a choice and it is impossible to separate the two. This poem does not advise. It does not say, “When you come to a fork in the road, study the footprints and take the road less traveled by. Frost’s focus is more complicated. First, there is no less-traveled road in this poem; it isn’t even an option. Next, the poem seems more concerned with the question of how the concrete present will look from a future vantage point. (Frost, 1916) In A Worn Path, is the tale of the unstoppable love and care...
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...(book, 2011) Symbolism of the Journey ENG 125 September 11, 2011 Symbolism of the Journey, a comparison of two stories The short stories “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost are both stories that involve using the journey as a symbol. The symbol that the journey portrays in both of these pieces of literature is that of life. Life as a human being involves the right of choice in one of the literary works, and a lack of choice in the second. This paper will compare and contrast these two literary works which share the same theme. The comparison of the two stories will involve a comparison of the content, form, and style in an effort to provide deep insight into the theme of the stories; as well as insight into the hidden meanings poetry offers its readers to touch us on a deeper level. Content In the story “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, content is developed through a complex series of descriptions. The story begins with a description of the setting which is a cold December morning in a far off path through a pinewood forest. The character is an old Negro woman who is described as being very old and small and wearing a head tied red rag. The woman is further described as wearing a dark red stripped dress and apron and carrying a cane and an umbrella. These descriptions of the setting give the reader a clear picture of the setting and character in the story as well as how the character moves when the author describes her as moving...
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