Inspiration Through Storytelling: Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path" Anonymous College

Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” is a heartwarming and inspiring narrative. Welty takes readers on a dangerous, vulnerable, slightly thrilling, and heartening journey that works to remind people of the power of limitless and unconditional love. Welty illustrates this through Phoenix Jackson’s trip to acquire crucial medicine for her sickly grandchild—he is also the sole incentive for making the journey, yet this is not the point of the story. Although the purpose of the story at first seems uncomplicated because it appears to be a short errand, it is quickly revealed through the backstory and details Welty provides that the errand is one of a love that is unwavering and will never die out. While such a concept may appear unrealistic, of idealistic, in real life, the initial scene Welty provides—a poor, elderly, and sickly grandmother in tattered clothes with a makeshift cane walking in cold weather—helps readers realize it is not so far from real life as it may seem. Welty reveals the power of love through Phoenix Jackson’s bravery and determination—she tells of an inspiring story that illustrates the concept that love is a habit and that love is so penetrating that it can break through all the human emotions that tend to destroy...