A Worn Path

The story of "A Worn Path" goes beyond what you can actually read. The true story goes further than being about an old woman, Phoenix Jackson, who is on her way to get her grandson medicine because he is ill. Her journey is a long one, with many obstacles to overcome including how "She was very old and small" (par. 1), her eyesight was failing, and the path was full of twists and turns and the unexpected. This journey symbolizes the journey of life. Especially as she was an old Negro woman in the south in the 1930's. Although she had all these obstacles to overcome, she was bound and determined to make it to town. You only hear the ergency of her errand at the end of the story when she is at the doctor's office to get the grandson's medicine. "old Phoenix would have been lost if she had not distrusted her eyesight and depended on her feet to know where to take her." She had obviously taken this trip many times before, and hard as it may have been for her in her old age, she did it out of love and caring for her grandson. I think that on these long journeys to get her grandson's medicine, she perhaps worried that he might pass away before she would arrive home. There are many references to death and darkness in this story, which could give the reader the idea that the grandson may already be dead such as "Down in the hollow was the mourning dove (symbolic for death) - it was not too late for him." (par. 4) Though the reality of death is all around her, she trudges forward for the life of her grandson.