A Worn Path During the era of slavery and in the decades that followed, social class struggles were evident and prevalent. In a white world, African Americans struggled against great oppression and even after being freed from slavery, they were still held by the bondage of social status. Eudora Welty's short story "A Worn Path" gives a clear view of this slavery and shows the reader the hardships African Americans endured even after being legally freed. The lack of racial harmony is easily seen throughout "A Worn Path", particularly when the old woman approaches the town, and Welty makes it a point to show how social status influences and affects Phoenix, the main character and subject of the short film. history and the people she meets on her trip to the city. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay One of the most important points of social ranking discussed in history is white people, especially men, considering themselves better than black people. Knowledge of the era allows us to understand that many white people saw themselves as superior and more powerful than black people simply because they were white and had held control for so long. The white hunter who helped old Phoenix out of the ditch gives many examples of this attitude of white people. One of the first things he did after helping her and finding out where she was going, described her journey. He calls out to him, saying: “Well, it’s too far! When I go out myself, I can't walk any further, and I get something for my trouble. In this we see him full of himself as a young white man and trying to say that since he is only going so far, there is no way an old black woman can make the trip. This idea that white people are better than black people simply because of their social status is echoed a few paragraphs later in Phoenix's response to the white man after a gun is pointed at her. When he asks her if she is afraid, she simply replies: “No, sir, I have seen much closer, in my day, and for less than what I did. We see here that she has experienced similar things before, which shows the reader that it is not just this hunter who sees himself as better than the blacks. His willingness, and that of others to which Phoenix alludes, to point a gun at a black woman without fear of consequences only drives home the point that white men really did not fear blacks because they saw themselves as better than blacks. black. Social status, in addition to causing whites to place themselves above blacks, also caused most white Americans to interact with African Americans in a condescending manner. The first example of this is when the young white hunter mocks the old woman's insistence on going to town. “I know you, old colored people!” I would definitely go to town to see Santa! he said to her, laughing. He has no knowledge of why she is going to town, but he stereotypes her and attempts to bring her down with his tone and attitude. Since he thinks he's better than her, he has no problem speaking to her in such a rude tone. This same tone is echoed once Phoenix reaches the city when she first enters the "big building" and the attendant sees her. Without even asking why she's there or who she is, the attendant comments, "A charity case, I suppose." » This comment illustrates the attitude of whites towards African-Americans. Since Welty has already shownto the reader that whites believe themselves to be better than blacks, the attendant's comment allows us to see to what extent whites have a condescending tone with their "inferiors". To them, an old black woman entering the building must surely be nothing more than a poor elderly person coming for help or something similar. There is no sign that the attendant has actually thought about Phoenix's true needs. Social class clearly plays an important role in this story, and one can understand its influence as we begin to understand the depth of the old woman's poverty. When the attendant gives her a second nickel, her exuberance is shown when she says that she is going to buy her grandson a gift and that "he will have a hard time believing that there is such a thing in the world" . She is delighted to bring her grandson a small gift along with the medicine, and the fact that he is surprised to see something so small helps explain the poverty in which they both live. This poverty comes largely from their social status as African Americans. Knowing a little history, it is easy to understand this poverty, as many African Americans still lived in excessive poverty even after "the surrender" and their freedom from slavery. However, even without this knowledge, we can understand Phoenix's poverty when she explains to the nurse: “I never went to school; I was too old at the time of the Surrender. This surrender refers to the time when the last of the slaves became a free and legal person living in America, and since she was too old to be allowed to go to school after the slaves were freed, she never was able to learn the necessary things. find a job or earn a living for herself and her grandson. Along with this, they both live alone in the woods, and this alone shows their separation from the white man's world and its riches. The struggles of the old woman herself are clear throughout “A Worn Path.” and social structure clearly plays a major role in his difficulties, but Welty not only used Phoenix and his encounters to provide examples of the differences observed between the position of whites and blacks on the social ladder. In fact, when looking at the short story as a whole, it is clear that Welty intended the entire trip to be a symbol in itself of the struggle that black people waged against the social classes of the time. Phoenix's journey from his home to the city is a symbol of the long and difficult path that African Americans have traveled even after "The Surrender." When Phoenix begins her journey, she comes to a hill where she says, “Something always grabs me on this hill – begs me to stay.” » This hill is an example of the Phoenix journey that symbolizes one of the many obstacles that African Americans had to overcome on their path to racial freedom and social equality. Then, as she was walking down the other side, “a bush caught her dress.” She speaks to the thorns saying, “You are doing the work assigned to you. I never want to let people pass, no sir. Thorns are yet another example of people and social classes preventing Phoenix and other black people from realizing their full potential. As she continues her journey, this idea of ​​the story itself being about a large symbol becomes clearer and clearer as Welty accumulates more and more examples, such as the log of the other side of the stream and the dog who throws her into the ditch where she meets the white hunter. .Keep in mind: This is just a sample.Get a personalized article from our expert writers now.Get a, 168(2),, 45(3), 413-420.