Never Give Up

Eudora Welty presents the theme that one should "never give up" in her short story A Worn Path. Phoenix Jackson is charactarized as an old and tried woman who walks with a cane and may be slightly senile. Despite these obstacles, however, Phoenix trecks through the woods climbing over logs, through thorn bushes, and passed a hunter who points a gun to her face. Nonetheless, through all of this, Phoenix trecks on. Thus, Welty elucidates the theme "never give up." In addition to through Phoenix herself, Welty uses syntax to present this theme. With phrases such as "On she went" (223), "'Now comes the trial'" (224), "'I wasn't as old as I thought'" (224), "In the furrow she made her way along" (225), "Then she went on..." (225), and "'I bound to go to town mister'" (227), Welty shows Phoenix's resiliency. Welty makes a point of beginning each new section of the journey with a phrase such as "On she went" (223) to show that despite the obstacles Phoenix faced in the previous part of the journey, she chooses to continue on. Moreover, each of these phrases are short and "to the point" and thus, more impactful. The reader is able to grasp the theme more easily through the structure in which Welty presents it.