Family Unit- A Warn Path

A Worn Path

By: Eudora Welty

Allusions arise in culture and history, connecting the past to the present. From literature to poems or plays and even everyday life, allusions become references and connections. Like two arms, separate but united, allusions connect elements of literature.

In the short story, A Worn Path, the author, Eudora Welty makes allusions to both culture and history. The focus of the story, the path and journey of Phoenix Jackson, illustrates and alludes to the famous “path” of love and life. Just as life’s path is full of challenges and rough terrain, so to is Phoenix’s path as she must overcome daunting woods, cross narrow logs, and travel through cotton fields, corn mazes, and down seemingly endless roads. Additionally, life is full of encounters both mental and physical like the illusion of the boy, buzzard, scarecrow, quail, and dog that Phoenix confronts on her journey to the town. Other allusions in the piece include Pheonix’s own name. Just as the mythical phoenix arises from ashes, Phoenix arises from her age and completes the daunting journey to obtain the medicine for her grandson. Like the bird which serves as a symbol of perseverance, Phoenix displays personal determination as described by the man she meets who states, “You must be a hundred years old, and scared of nothing (Page 227).”

While allusions do not directly address outside references, they create a connection both within a work and between a reader and literary piece. Allusions provide a greater meaning and expand upon ideas presented. Thus, allusions connect the past to the present and literature to culture and history.