'A Worn Path' - Literary Analysis Essay

Introduction

"The woods were deep and still." This is one of the statements which was used to describe the setting of the novel "A worn path" by Eudora Welty. Every book has a unique place of setting. This refers to where the story is taking place and its environs. The setting of a narrative is an essential building block in a narrative, and also the setting can sometimes build a character itself. The setting of a story revolves mainly around two broad elements; place and time. In a story, this is where and when the events of a chapter unfold. Consequently, the setting also helps set off the primary milieu and disposition for a story. The setting of this novel is set in a faraway countryside where it is a cold day in the early morning.

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The element of time is also a significant element when it comes to the setting of the narrative. Concerning the setting time, this novel is set in a period very long ago before technology was invented. We see the persona walking through the hills and forest just to go and buy medicine for her grandson. There are no bridges that have been built because we see the persona crossing a river through a log. This shows that the plot of the story was set in an uncivilized world. We even witness the persona walking through wild animal infested forests, whereby we see animals like foxes and jackrabbits. In the modern world, it is unlikely to hear about people walking in wild animals infested forest due to a lack of alternative routes.

The tale talks about the expedition of a rather old Negro woman called Phoenix Jackson, who navigates through the cold dark pine shadows. The road that led to town was too tricky, so the persona faced many problems on the road. However, every time she faced the obstacles very courageously. Her journey begins through the hill. Overall, the narrative can be said to have been set deep in the snowy woods, whereby there are pine needles and animals. "Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jackrabbits, coons and wild animals. . . Keep out from under these feet, little bob-whites. Keep the big wild hogs out of my path," the persona is heard saying (Welty, 1974). This implies the presence of all the animals which are in this environment. Character, setting, and plot are intricately woven together to form a cohesive story. Technically, without a setting, a character would exist in a void space. The persona wouldn't be able to affect anything or be affected by anything.

Consequently, the persona is set as an old Negro woman who wears a very long dress, which she keeps on dragging through the cold woods. The author describes the dress as a sinister stripy dress that reached down to her ankles. She also dressed in a uniformly lengthy apron of lightened sacks with full pockets. Her shoelaces dragged through the ground from her unlaced shoes, making her almost trip and fall every time she takes a step. Phoenix Jackson even carried a relatively thin, small walking stick that was made from a sunshade. On her head, she tied on a red rag. Basically, in this setting, the author portrays the old woman's character as a poor person. While on her way, the persona passes through deep and still woods with pine needles and cones. She describes the environment as being calm. "The sun made the pine needles almost too bright to look at, up where the wind rocked. The cones dropped as light as feathers," said the persona about the setting (Welty, 1974).

During her endeavors, the persona also describes a path that runs up a hill. She claims that the hill always takes hold of her and considers staying there. This shows the importance of setting whereby the hill setting affects the character of the persona. The hill is said to have oak trees and pines. The author's setting of the hill and trees portrays how it will affect the character of the old lady, therefore, giving us a transparent backdrop of her location. We also see the presence of bushes that catch the persona's long dress keeping her fingers busy trying to free her dress. The persona describes the bushes as thorny. She says, "I in the thorny bush." In this, the author attempts to show the difficulty of the terrain. The persona even says that the thorns prevent people from passing.

Consequently, the author also sets a log across a creek whereby the persona has to cross to the other side. Since the story is set in a cold and freezing morning, the water in the river is probably frigid; thus, the author tries to illustrate the intricate journey in which the old woman has to bear. As stated earlier, the setting provides a clear picture that makes up the character. Luckily, the old woman crosses without much hustle. She manages to cross through the log with her closed. This setting of the log depicts the difficulty of the journey. The persona values her dress so much that when she comes upon a barbed-wire barrier, she has to slither and creep, like a baby, she spread her knees so as not to tear her dress. She says that she cannot afford to reimburse for her arm or leg to be sawn off is it gets torn, and also she can't let her dress be ripped so early in the day. The presence of the barbed-wire fence setting, the author, was illustrating the poor financial status of the persona whereby she cannot afford to have her dress sawn if it got torn.

Moreover, after the persona crosses the dreaded barbed-wire, she is met about by big black trees. She describes the trees saying that," they resembled black men with one arm standing in the purple stalks of the withered cotton field" (Welty, 1974). Phoenix Jackson gets scared and asks, "Who are you watching?" In this chapter setting, the author is keen on illustrating the cotton field and how scared the persona becomes after seeing what she terms as black men standing with one arm. The author even goes ahead and sets the mood of the story by setting the presence of a field of dead corn and old cotton. There in the field, she saw a statue which resembled a ghost. Firstly, she thought it was a ghost, but very courageously, she talked with it. Finally, she realizes that it was a scarecrow, she gets relieved. The setting of the scarecrow illustrates the change of mood by the author to scare the persona.

After all these endeavors, the persona comes to a wagon truck. She depicts the environment as where silver grass blew between the red buts. In this scene, the author sets a relaxed and serene environment changing the mood from scaring to illustrate a peaceful and calming atmosphere. The persona even goes ahead and says that that place was easy. "Walk pretty," she said. By setting this serene environment, the author allows the readers to picture a calm and peaceful environment. The fields were quite bare, and the weather was mild. As an illustration, the setting of serene scenery can be used to change the mood of the character and also creates a backdrop of the story. The story also takes a twist whereby the author sets a ravine with a spring where the persona goes to drink water.

Consequently, on continuing her journey through the high green-colored banks, she comes upon a dog with a lied back speech. The dog troubles her, and she hits it with her staff, but she ends up falling down the ditch. The setting up of the fierce dog and the ditch gives the reader a clear picture of the difficulties the old woman had to go through to reach her destination. She is later rescued by a hunter who is passing by. Notably, the setting of the ditch and the hunter who helped the old woman was a way of creating a somber yet calm mood. The hunter even laughs at the old woman while asking her what she is doing there. This set up depicts the spirit of helping one another.

When the old woman and the hunter part ways, she comes upon a road whereby there were shadows that formed a canopy. This accurate description of this set up shows a clear picture to the reader about the road and its environs. The setting also includes a tower and other log cabins on their steep steps. The persona recalls the smell of the river and wood-smoke. The story is set during Christmas time. Since it is December, it is freezing, and the pathway was sheltered with snow. When the old woman arrives at the city, she describes the town as very decorated with colorful lights and all. The green and red electric lights were hanging ubiquitously, being turned on even during the day. This setting was used to show the festive season and its entire jolly mood. The streets were so colorful that the old woman almost got distracted and lost in the lights. The lights were crisscrossing everywhere, depicting people's excitement towards the Christmas season.

Notably, as the old woman was wandering in the streets, she came across a lady whose setting depicted her Christmas spirit. She carried red and green silver-wrapped presents. Her ambiance also gave out a red rose fragrance, which symbolized her commitment to Christmas. The author set up of the city, and its streets was intentional to give off the Christmas mood. This is also evident in the creating of the lady in the street who has red and green colors, which symbolize the festive season. The old woman goes ahead and asks the lady to help her tie her laces, and the lady is beneficial and assists her.

Moreover, the old lady then comes upon a large building. The building was so huge that the persona describes it, saying it had a tower of staircases. The author's setting of the big building depicts the transition of the mood to a more official one. This is whereby the old woman goes to the doctor's office. At this big building, she finds an attendant seated behind a desk. The setting of the desk also depicts official matters. The author is so quick to guide us through the transition from the Christmas theme in the streets to the formal issues in which the persona is undertaking. This is made possible by the changing of setting from one place to the other with a clear and vivid description.

The story of Phoenix Jackson truly depicts the intense love in which a grandmother has towards his only grandson. She portrays unconscious heroism when it comes to her grandson's health. Here we are shown how she crossed every challenging situation without taking into consideration her own in the hope that she will preserve the health of her only grandson. The story mainly takes into consideration on the kin love between Phoenix Jackson and her grandson.

As illustrated above, the setting of a novel is very vital in creation and building of a story. A story is made up of different elements that make it a whole. The setting is one of these elements. It creates a backdrop for the persona's character and influences the mood of the story. The setting of a story can change throughout the plot. In addition to being a crucial element in the development of a story, the setting also provides readers with a visible picture of the persona's environment and character. The setting is also considered very important in character molding and interaction with the readers. For the story to be captivating, the author needs to provide a suitable setting for each scene and describe it vividly. In conclusion, the setting of a narrative provides mood and imagery to the readers.

References

Welty, E. (1974). A Worn Path. Critical Inquiry, 1(1), 222-228. doi: 10.1086/447785