A Worn Path

A Worn Path

A Worn path by Eudora Welty is a story about an older Negro woman in the south. The story takes place in December, and the story was published in 1941. As we know, colored people were not accepted in that time, racism was a big thing everywhere, but particularly in the South. Colored people were used as slaves and they were mistreated by all. This elderly woman had to go on a journey to get medicine for her grandson who was sick with a sore throat. This is a journey she has taken many times because she says she walks “until her feet knew where to stop.” Along the way she encountered a lot of different animals, and a man who in the end puts his gun up to her face, however Phoenix Jackson doesn’t even flinch when she is in that situation. The story goes, “’Doesn’t the gun scare you?’ he said, still pointing it. ‘No, sir, I seen plenty go off closer by, in my day, and for less than what I done,’ she said, holding utterly still.” This shows that she has had a hard life and that she really isn’t afraid of anything that this man could do to her. I believe that it’s terrible that people had to go through such hardships in order to live and to stay healthy. Also I believe that Phoenix was a smart woman because she managed to get that nickel from the man, managed to get her grandson’s medicine free of charge, and she got a nickel from the nurse that was working at the clinic. She seems like a fragile old woman that really needs help, but she was smart enough to get ten cents and enough to buy her grandson a pinwheel. I think that this was a really good story and that it really shows how colored people had to live back in those times.

This story also reminds me of the book/movie The Help because it is also about how colored people were treated in that time.