A Worn Path: Why the Phoenix Jackson's Grandson in Actually Dead

A Worn Path is a short story about an old elderly woman who takes a trip down a path. During the path she is put into dangerous situations. Instances where so had to crawl under barbed wire and cross a creek with the bridge as a log. She eventually gets laid out by this dog and is helped up by a hunter. They talk it up and after hearing what she’d been through the hunter told her to head back home but she keeps going. Once she reaches her destination a nurse recognizes her and we get the first mention of Phoenix Jacksons grandson. Now many readers have come to the conclusion that he is dead. The reasons as to why they think this because he not even in the story only mentioned by the nurse, she asks Phoenix if he is okay several times with no answer, and the boy and ghost she imagines could be a representation of her grandson.

The first reason readers come to the conclusion that the grandson is dead is that he isn’t present in the story. He is a absent character in the story and is only mentioned by the nurse. There are many stories that have absent characters in them. Like for example in Avatar the Last Airbender Zuko’s mom was mentioned but it was a mystery if she was alive or not. Kind of like how Phoenix’s grandson was in this story. Next the nurse asked Phoenix several times is doing okay with no answer from her as if he died. So, it was a sigh of relief when she asked if he had died to Phoenix and she said no. Although that could be her being an old woman in denial. All the readers are saying is why didn’t she immediately answer the nurse with a “oh he’s fine” or “he’s doing better” she just had to not answer and add to the suspense.

Finally, and probably the best evidence we have that the grandson is dead is the fact that on her journey to get the medicine she imagines a boy giving her a cake after crossing a stream. When she opens her eyes, nothing is there but hear outstretched hands. When she is going through a dead corn field, she “sees” a ghost in reality it’s just a scarecrow. She just acts like it’s her old age but what if it’s her mind reminding her that her son is dead. So, then you can see the imaginary boy and ghost as symbols of her dead grandson.

In conclusion A Worn Path’s grandson is most likely dead. According to the evidence laid out there are three main reasons we people believe this. The fact that he is not even in the story he is just mentioned, the fact that nurse couldn’t get a straight answer out of Phoenix when she was asked how was he doing. Can’t forget about how the boy and the ghost could be representations of her grandson. But who knows this is just a fan theory at the end of the day.

References

1. Welty, E. (1998). A worn path. In A curtain of green and other stories (pp. 134-142). Mariner Books.
2. Greenwood, E. (2012). Phoenix has no coat: historicity, eschatology, and sins of omission in Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path". The Mississippi Quarterly, 65(1-2), 37-56.
3. Ulrich, V. B. (1998). Mistletoe in Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path": A healing myth. The Southern Literary Journal, 31(2), 43-50.
4. Warner, S. (2016). "A Worn Path": Struggling through obstacles. In Student companion to Eudora Welty (pp. 29-38). Greenwood.
5. Jones, C. D. (2015). "A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty: An analysis. The Explicator, 73(4), 243-246.