A Worn Path was first published in The Atlantic Monthly in February 1940, and later in A Curtain of Green, 1941

Phoenix Jackson

Natchez Trace in Mississippi

Racoon

Jack Rabbit

Wild Hog

Bobwhite

“Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals! ... Keep out from under these feet, little bob-whites ... Keep the big wild hogs out of my path. Don't let none of those come running my direction. I got a long way.”

“At the foot of this hill was a place where a log was laid across the creek.”

“So she . . . had to go through a barbed-wire fence. There she had to creep and crawl, spreading her knees and stretching her fingers like a baby trying to climb the steps.”

“She passed through the old cotton and went into a field of dead corn. It whispered and shook, and was taller than her head. 'Through the maze now,' she said, for there was no path.”

POINT OF VIEWThe story is told from a third person limited point of view. The narrator allows us to view the thoughts and feelings of old Phoenix.

SETTINGThe story is set in the Natchez Trace in the

southwestern state of Mississippi. The Trace is an old highway that runs from Nashville, Tennessee, to Natchez, Mississippi (see the map on slide 5). The scene begins in the woods and then shifts to the city of Natchez.

The action takes place in December, the Christmas time, during the 1940s.

THEMESLove Phoenix is determined to complete the hard journey to get the medicine for her grandson. Motivated only by love, she is ready to suffer all the hardships of the path. The message is that love can conquer everything. RacismThe story represents the attitudes of many Southern White Americans towards African Americans during the 1940s. The disrespectful treatment of the Blacks by the Whites is represented by the hunter and the women at the doctor’s office.

SYMBOLISMThe story is full of interesting symbols:

• The journey of the protagonist along the worn path is a symbol of the path of life.• The uphill and downhill phases of the path correspond to the beginning of life

towards its prime and the decline towards death. • The obstacles that Phoenix meets throughout the trip are equivalent to the trials

and tribulations of life. • The thorny bush is a symbol of the deceptive dangers that appear harmless. • The scarecrow is a symbol of the imagined dangers or unjustified physiological

fears that hinder our advance. • The slice of cake on the plate is a symbol of the unfulfilled joys of life. The marble

cake can also be symbolic of the blending of blacks and whites that was not fulfilled.

• The maze in the corn field is a symbol of the confusion, uncertainty, and loss of direction in life in which can happen to people.

• The snake can be a symbol of temptation. • The windmill can be a symbol of the cycle of life that is repeated.

• The most prominent symbol is that related to the mythological phoenix. Phoenix Jackson’s name refers to the phoenix myth in Egyptian mythology. The mythological phoenix was a bird that lived five hundred years, then died in fire and rose from the ashes to new life. Perhaps the most incredible power is the determination of the phoenix to travel to Heliopolis in Egypt, the sun city, towards the end of its life, where her life cycle starts over. It is a symbol of survival, hope, promise, and continuity.

There are many parallels between the phoenix myth and the story of the protagonist. First, Old Phoenix resembles the mythical bird in appearance. She is described in terms of red and gold colors, the colors of the phoenix: "a golden color ran underneath, and the two knobs of her cheeks were illumined by a yellow burning under the dark. Under the red rag her hair came down on her neck.” Phoenix’ age refers to the five hundred years that the phoenix lived before it rose again from fire. The trip to the city to get the medicine represents the mythological trip that the Phoenix takes to the sun to die.

Phoenix’s arrival at the hospital marks a turning point in the story and a moment of change. She unable to talk to anyone, including the attendant who keeps asking her questions: “there was a fixed and ceremonial stiffness over [Phoenix's] body.” Finally, Phoenix comes back to life: “there was a flicker and then a flame of comprehension across her face, and she spoke.” The description of Phoenix’ lapse into oblivion and her recovery from the state of forgetfulness seem to echo the rebirth of the phoenix. She is reborn again and will start her journey back.

CHARACTERSPhoenix JacksonShe is the protagonist of the story. She is an elderly and frail woman. Her age and her weakness make her determination to continue on her journey admirable. She has a sense of humor that makes her laugh at the difficult situations she meets, like when she is caught by the thorny bush, when she falls in the ditch, and when she thinks that the scarecrow is a ghost. She keeps talking to the animals, telling them to keep out of her way.

She is brave and remains fearless in the face of the hunter’s gun. She is not affected by the negative remarks of either the hunter or the attendant at the doctor’s office. Phoenix’s name suggests her as a symbol of survival and of the ability to withstand all the opposite forces that try to break her spirit.