For this reason, more medicine is required. She informs the nurse that her grandson’s throat closes up on occasion and he has trouble swallowing. As if waking from a dream, Phoenix apologizes for a temporary loss of memory. When the nurse inquires if the medicine the doctor gave did anything to improve the condition of her grandson’s throat and Phoenix once again does not reply, the nurse complains that she is wasting their valuable time. A nurse appears, who recognizes Phoenix and informs the attendant that she is there to get medicine for her grandson who swallowed lye a few years earlier.
When asked why she is here, Phoenix does not respond, leading the attendant to rudely question if she is deaf. Phoenix enters a building and goes up to a woman seated at a desk, who assumes that Phoenix is another charity case. She sees a white woman in the street carrying Christmas presents, and asks her if she will tie her shoelaces for her. It is festooned with Christmas decorations and lights. Phoenix finally arrives at the city of Natchez, Mississippi. His last words are warning her to go back home and stay out of harm, but she is determined to fulfill her mission.
She manages to take it when he is distracted by his dog, and slips it into her apron pocket. When she answers that she is headed into town, he laughs that “colored people” never want to miss “going to town to see Santa Claus.”ĭuring their conversation, Phoenix notices that a nickel falls out of his pocket but the man does not notice. He starts out nicely by asking her if she all right and then asks where she is going. A white man-a hunter-helps her from the spill she took into the ditch. When the dog comes at her, she gives it a snap of the cane but falls over in turn. Then it is through a swampy area and a long stretch of road on which she encounters a threatening black dog. Next comes a ravine where she stops to take a sip of water from a spring. Once on the other side, she makes her way through a cornfield complete with buzzards and a scarecrow. Setting off once again, Phoenix soon encounters another obstruction: a fence of barbed wire under which she must crawl on her hands and knees. Upon reaching for the cake, however, all she grasps is air, and the boy is no longer there. As she does, she imagines she sees a small boy appearing before her holding a slice of marble-cake on a plate. Once on the other side, she finally takes a moment to rest. When she reaches the bottom of the hill, she is forced to make her way over a creek by inching across a fallen log.
#Eudora welty a worn path summary free
A thorny bush catches her dress, but she finds the strength to pull herself free and keep up her momentum. Once she reaches the top of the hill she rests only a moment to look at what is spread out before her.
When the path starts to run uphill, Phoenix complains that it feels as chains are around her feet, but still she presses on. When there is movement in thick vegetation lining the path, she vocally threatens the mysterious animals who may be living there and steadfastly refuses to push back or pull up.
#Eudora welty a worn path summary skin
Her skin is a “golden color” and covered with “numberless branching wrinkles.” Her shoelaces are untied but she does not trip, even as she keeps her eyes in front of her. Armed with a cane in her hand and red rag to keep her head warm, she sways side to side a bit as she walks in the still air. It is a bright but cold morning in December when an old woman named Phoenix Jackson sets out along a worn path she knows well.
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