Who is phoenix in a worn path

She faces many obstacles including discrimination and assault on the way, but overcomes them in order to aid his suffering.

This selfless journey highlights how love within a family can be stronger than any other love. Natchez is a real city located on the Mississippi river with a population of 15, The shapes redesign themselves in other constellations, until you get a chance to play it over again" qtd.

Beloved's return to Bluestone Road is very symbolic because she has the key to forgiveness for herself, her mother, sister, and the whole Bluestone Road community. A-Recreating a lost Relationship: Sethe and Beloved:. But to say she is a major character does not do her justice, O-Lan is not just a major character, she is the major character.

O-Lan, although a flat and static character, still greatly impacts the main storyline despite her not being very loquacious. What makes O-Lan the major character in The Good Earth is her control over various situations still without violating her vocal reservation.

Crumpler became a nurse, a profession that did not require formal education in that time, and cared for patients in Massachusetts for eight years. She was eventually admitted to the New England Female Medical college in , and graduated in She was the first and only African American to graduate the school due to it closing in Crumpler practiced medicine in Boston until the end of the Civil War, after which she chose to move to Richmond, Virginia.

Virginia was where she believed she would be able to help more people and learn more about the diseases that afflicted women and children. Many say Courageousness is standing up for something you know is wrong, speaking up when no one wants to listen, taking action in something that many others consider unwanted, I believe that courage is a combination of all of these. Stacey deals with problems in a courages way by standing his ground and not taking no as a rebuttal or an answer while taking action.

Stacey will do everything in his power as a black boy in order to provide for his family and will help his family specifically cassie when they start to realize that the world is unfair. Have you ever gone somewhere that you shouldn 't have or that common sense says is a bad idea, because Stacey did exactly that. Stacey has gone to many places that he shouldn 't have or that he knew would be dangerous.

Even after Ismene warns Antigone about burying her brother, she is unstoppable. She goes on with what she partakes to be right even though she does not receive help from her sister. On the part of Creon, he upholds his dedication to leadership so much that he ignores the plea by his son to spare Antigone. Sign Up. Already have an account? Sign in. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better.

Literature Poetry Lit Terms Shakescleare. Download this LitChart! Teachers and parents! Struggling with distance learning? Themes All Themes. Symbols All Symbols. Theme Wheel.

Everything you need for every book you read. Phoenix the woman has many similarities to phoenix the mighty bird. There are frequent references to time and age in the story. For instance, Welty uses the metaphor of a pendulum's motion in a grandfather clock to capture the way Phoenix moves 1 , and Phoenix often refers to how old she is, even going so far as to say, "I the oldest people I ever know" Statements like this give her a kind of immortal feel, like she's been around long enough to know the secrets of the universe and won't be bowing out any time soon.

There are also plenty of images of both life such as scurrying animals and moments of youthful vigor from Phoenix and death such as dead trees and fields in the story to demonstrate that life is a continuous cycle, and the journey Phoenix is on is a cycle as well. She completes the journey only to rise once more and travel to the city all over again the next time her grandson needs the medicine.

Phoenix even has some physical qualities similar to those of the bird. No, she doesn't have wings and a beak, but she does have a red rag tied over her hair, and Welty uses the words "golden" and "yellow" to describe inflections in the color of her skin 1. Red and gold are colors often associated with the feathered phoenix. We think not. The Jackson part of Phoenix's name doesn't seem as unique as the first part.

But even though her last name is much more common, it still has special significance for Welty. See, not only is Jackson the capital of Mississippi, it is the city in which Welty was born and died and lived much of her life. It makes sense then that a story set in Mississippi that's so concerned with the issues people in the state face would use the state's capital as the main character's last name.

However, the story itself does not take place in Jackson, which has led many people who study this story to an alternate theory on the significance of the last name. These critics point out that Jackson was the last name of a doctor, Chevalier Jackson, who treated and advocated for those who suffered from lye poisoning, many of whom were poor children.

It is very possible that Phoenix's last name pays homage to this man, and that the shared last name establishes a connection between Phoenix's quest to ease her grandson's suffering from lye poisoning with Dr. Chevalier Jackson's quest to treat lye poisoning among the rural poor and prevent future cases. Want to read more about lye poisoning in the early 20th century and Dr. Jackson's work? We've got you covered. Phoenix is black during a time when it is considered better to be white.

She's a woman in a time when it is considered better to be a man. She's old in a society that values youth. She's poor in a culture where money is an indicator of power and a practical necessity. All the —ism based odds are stacked against her.

Phoenix is a strong character not just because she loves her grandson so deeply, but because she carries on in the face of these —isms, knowing full well that the world doesn't learn toward her favor.

Through Phoenix's character, the story sheds light on unjust power structures and broken social institutions that oppress people like Phoenix and her grandson. In her willingness to repeatedly make the same difficult trip, it's clear Phoenix is a hardworking and caring person—and yet society treats her like dirt.

Even with all that we know about Phoenix, we hardly know her at all. Say what?