The Hero's Journey: "A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty
and "1.7 to Tennessee" by Jamie Quatro

The first four paragraphs of the Daly article are not pertinent to this assignment. Many scholars who have written about "A Worn Path" have fixated on seeing Christian imagery throughout the story. Also, there are very few times where Daly has comments that are quotable. Instead, paraphrase or summarize her ideas as you apply them to "A Worn Path."

Daly suggests that Phoenix Jackson's comments about the bob whites reflect her concern with harming them, but I think it is more likely that, if they were under her feet and suddenly flew up, they would startle her and possibly cause her to fall. That seems a much more likely view that better fits the pattern of things within the story. The wild hogs are dangerous, but I would question associating them with the hogs that Christ sent the demons into.

The references to the color green in the story do seem to be references to life, but with the green bush, the issue is that she has been tricked by the bush. Jackson's reference that the "Sun so high!" (Welty, par. 10) could not be a reference to noon, as Daly suggests, or it would be impossible for Phoenix to return from her journey before dark. Instead, it seems just to suggest that the morning is passing too quickly.

The next several paragraphs in the Daly article have useful ideas as Phoenix faces death in many guises. Daly's suggestion that the incident where the hunter threatens Phoenix Jackson is "puzzling" (Daly, par. 14) is, I think, more about Daly's white privilege than about the story. In fact, after all of the symbolism of death that Phoenix has faced and overcome, now she faces death in reality at the hands of the hunter, who in that culture and at that time, could have killed her with impunity. Rather than "puzzling" (Daly, par. 10), this incident is the culmination of all of Phoenix Jackson's confrontations with death, and once again, she is triumphant.

Daly's suggestion of the doctor's office at the top of the stairs as a journey to heaven may be useful, but, if so, the attendant is hardly a welcoming angel, so I am not sure whether it would be helpful to use these ideas from Daly.

Rather than seeing the windmill as referencing Don Quixote, which would actually undercut everything that Phoenix has done by suggesting her efforts are, like Don Quixote's, a response in madness, I think the windmill better represents the cycle of time and a promise of her continual journey on the worn path.

The first long paragraph, which includes a quotation from the beginning of the story, discusses the significance of cyclical time and is an important part of understanding the story. Phoenix Jackson is committed to traveling the "worn path" for a long as she needs to in order to take care of her grandson.

The next four paragraphs (beginning with "Atypically," "Despite its simplicity," "Another commentator," and "My interpretation") are not very useful.

The next several paragraph have useful information of the colors associated with Phoenix Jackson, which suggest the fire of the Phoenix, the deliberateness of her journey, the significance of her overcoming obstacles that reveal her determination, and elements of time, symbolizing her making the journey forever, from the beginning of time to its end.

The section contrasting Phoenix with the young hunter also has some useful ideas as do the remaining paragraphs on her encounters in town and in the doctor's office.

The section of the essay beginning with "The plot of "A Worn Path, analysis has shown" through the paragraph that begins with "Iser's phenomenology" can be ignored.

The remainder of the essay focuses again on time, especially as it relates to the windmill. These ideas may be useful for students regarding the symbolism of time in the story as an indication that Phoenix Jackson will continue on her "worn path" for her grandson.

Students do not have to use all of these ideas. Use whatever ideas seem relevant to Phoenix Jackson's determination to continue despite all odds and how the symbolism of the phoenix and the continuation of time reveal that she will continue, use Daly and Walter as support for those ideas.

Use ideas from the articles to help identify significant and relevant details. Make notes on the various obstacles that Phoenix faces, what those obstacles might symbolize, and how she overcomes them. How do the people that she meets serve as either obstacles, helpers, or both, and how do her responses to these encounters help her on her journey? Think about the symbolism of the various things along her journey. What is the significance of Phoenix's lapse of memory in the doctor's office, and how does it lead to the climax through the epiphany that she has? Some have speculated that her grandson is dead and that her journey is part of a delusion. The story does not support this. The lye would have left a chemical burn in the boy's throat, which is the reason for the "soothing medicine." Instead, what is the significance of the epiphany that she has, and why does that explain the reason that the story ends without recording her trip home? What is the significance of the "windmill" (pinwheel)? While obtaining the medicine is the object of her journey, what is the real purpose of Phoenix Jackson's journey?

• Allusions: What allusions are made to "A Worn Path"? How do these allusions reveal the similarities and the differences between the quests of both women?
• Social Status: What details in the story suggest that Eva Bock has belonged to upper middle class or upper class society, and why is that significant to the purpose for her journey?
• Physical health: What details indicate that she is somewhat frail? What is the significance of this to her difficulty in finishing her quest?
• The Letter: As the story progresses, what details explain her excitement about sending a letter to the President protesting the war? What is her strong motivation in sending the letter, and how does that relate to the other aspects of her journey along Lula Lake Road, especially on previous trips? What is the significance of the final disposition of the letter, and how does that relate to her quest? How does it relate to her hallucination as she lies dying by the road? While the letter to the President is the occasion of her journey, what is her real purpose?
• Parallels to "A Worn Path": What details about her walking on Lula Lake Road reveal some parallels to Phoenix Jackson?
• Traffic: What details suggest her motivation for not step out of the way of traffic and how does this relate to the purpose of her journey?
• Hugh and her son: What is the significance of the death of her son? What details suggest the emotional trauma she suffers? What is the significance of her distancing herself emotionally from his death or forgetting the experience altogether? While there is evidence in the story that she currently suffers from dementia, her earlier memory lapses over her son occurred when she was much younger. Why does she react so violently to her husband Hugh's acceptance of his son's death as an act of patriotic duty? What is the significance of the image of the young Hugh Bock? How long ago did her husband die, and how does this correlate to the death of their son?What does all of this have to do with the purpose of her journey?
• Sweater: What is the significance of the sweater she wears? How does it relate to her quest? How does it relate to the outcome of her quest?
• Prayers: What is the significance of her stopping her prayers when she reaches the statement "Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven"? How does that relate to the success of her journey?
• Radio Broadcast/Two boys playing: What is the significance of her meeting the two boys by the pond? How does her responses to them relate to what she is hearing on the news? How does the news broadcast relate to her quest?
• Meeting with the Corley family: How does her meeting with the Corley family foreshadow the success of her quest? How does her encounter relate to the death of her son? to the letter she is sending to the President? How does the limerick connects Eva Bock to Phoenix Jackson, and how do the changes in the last line foreshadow the success of her quest?.
• Obstacles: How do the obstacles that she faces reveal her motivations for her journey and how do they foreshadows the outcome of her journey? What is the significance of her deteriorating condition memory lapses? What is the significance of her taking the wrong turn? While the black spots she sees are related to her physical health, what do they foreshadow (besides her death)?
• The Two Presidents: What is it significant that her memory shifts through time to President Johnson and the Vietnam War rather than about President Bush and the Iraq War?
• Black Dog: What is the significance of the black dog?
• What is the significance of her hallucination involving soldiers, her son, and her husband? What is the significance of Hugh's answer to her question? What is the epiphany that she has? How does it relate to her quest?
• Denoument: How does the denoument of the story--the circumstances surrounding the discovery of her body, the immigrant opening her letter, the funeral, the President's response, and the disposal of the letter--relate to the significance of her journey?
• Dr. Bailey: What is the significance of the futile efforts of Dr. Bailey to revive her? What is his motivation? Why is he applauded for his effort? What does this suggest about Eva Bock's journey?
• Tourists: What is the significance of the constant negative comments about tourists? Who would these tourists be who were visiting a Civil War area? How does this further explain the outcome of Eva Bock's journey?