Wednesday, November 7, 2007
A Worn Path
This short story is a about an old African American woman who is out on a journey to town. It is winter and there are many obstacles that she encounters on her way (some are nothing more but hallucinations). She does not give up and continues. On her way she is approached by a white man who helps her when she’s down but at the same time lies to her and treats her just the same way colored people were bound to be treated at that time. Her journey is to the doctor’s office to get medicine for her grandson. She takes this journey often. in a way to me it seemed as if her journey represent her constant life at that time with obstacles and people who would be kind enough to offer her help but still not treat her as equal.
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6 comments:
I agree with you on the journey possibly symbolizing her life. it doesn't seem like she had it so easy, especially when she said that it was just him and her left. she probably did have many troubles and obstacles throughout her life and this is just a representation of all those difficulties that she faced.
So that must be what the title means A Worn Path she takes this trip often to get medicine for her grandson. I didn't think she came into town that often but you must be right. And maybe the title also has to do with how she is feeling, all worn out from the difficult life that she is leading.
Yes, i felt the same way. A won path is nothing more but her time left in this world. Also the worn path could state that trip she had to take, in my view, she didn't seem to be the type who would go into town to interact.
I would definitely have to agree with you all and the symbolic meaning of the title; a representation of her life's journeys, the struggle, the joy, the pain and even possible the anger and disappointments.
So the "worn Path" is the worn path of life--the constant struggle of life for people of a particular socio-economic bracket? Are their pains and pleasures? What keeps the her going? You are all asking good guestions, here--now, in your journals, dig into some of the details of the story to support some of these insights...
The opening description of the set and the the old woman herself are chock full of symbols--the color of the rag and the fact that it is a rag, the time of year--look for patterns and repetitions throughout the story, and contrasts--the descriptions of her cheeks in par. 2, her name, the time of year and description of the day in the first sentence....consider details of the path, the journey, the paper windmill...consider her own comments as she progresses on her journey and its symbolic value--the passage of thorns,then sun so high, then the "trial," and so on; consider the people she meets and their interactions, dialogue, etc. It's not just a "walk" for her, right, but a kind of quest? You see her weaving a fictional journey ou of the realities of the path? Chart patterns throughout story and examine some of these details as they attempt to communicate a larger theme... rereading the beginning of a story after coming to its end can also often yield valuable insights--embedded meanings that simply looked like innocent description at first... consider the discussion of the "boy," the final image of the story, and this: is the boy really still alive, or alive only in Phoenix's mind? if the latter, how does this effect your interpretation of details of the story and nderstanding of the protagonist? How does this connect with the final image and the name, "Phoenix" (look up the myth of the Phoenix in Wikipedia, or even Dictionary.com)?
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