Welty and Hughes the Protagonists of Both Creative Writing

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Welty and Hughes

The protagonists of both Eudora Welty's short story "A Worn Path" and Langston Hughes "The Negro Woman" are elderly African-American woman who sacrifice themselves in order that their offspring will have better lives. Welty writes a touching story about a woman who everyone rebuffs because of how she looks and dresses, but who is so much stronger than all those who would ridicule her. Even with all the odds stacked against her, Phoenix Jackson holds out hope that her efforts will eventually pay off and her grandson will be well again. Hughes's narrator, on the other hand, is angry at her suffering and warning those who live freely now not to forget her and her misery. On the surface, the stories are about an old woman making a very long journey on foot through the south in order to get medicine for her ailing grandson and one reflecting on how much misery she had to endure that the present generation would not have to suffer. One a deeper level, "A Worn Path" and "The Negro Woman" are about the journey each person makes through life, the sacrifices we have to endure for the people we love, and the eventual demise that awaits us all.

When "A Worn Path" begins, the reader does not yet know what it is that sends Phoenix on her lengthy journey. Despite the adjectives that would depict her as old and frail, the words spoken by Phoenix show how strong she is. She says, "Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons, and wild animals!...Keep out from under these feet, little bob-whites…Keep the big hogs out of my path. Don't let none of those come running my direction. I got a long way" (Welty 1). She is unafraid of the wild animals in her path. Instead of quivering at the potential danger, she warns the animals to stay clear of her because she has a long trek in front of her. The fear of the unknown is nothing when compared to her sense of purpose.

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She had to go through dirt and fences of barbed wire, never fearing for her safety. Instead, what concerned her was the chance of ruining her dress which could garner a negative opinion from the people she was going to see.

Similarly, Hughes' narrator went on a miserable back-breaking journey for the spiritual and physical well-being of her children and grandchildren. However, in the poem, the narrator's journey is over and freedom has been won. Her labors are over so her tone is not the same determination of Phoenix. Instead it is a tone of bitterness at the past suffering and an admonishing of the present for not being more grateful. She says, "All you dark children in the world out there, / Remember my sweat, my pain, my despair" (Hughes line 31-32). Phoenix is in the middle of her long journey and so does not have time to think about her suffering, only her goal.

When Phoenix Jackson finally reaches the doctor's office to retrieve medicine for her ailing grandson, she is met with disregard by the white staff. The first person she encounters assumes by the old woman's clothing that hers is a charity case. The staff, even those that know Phoenix's story are rude and abrupt. One says to her, "You mustn't take up our time this way, Aunt Phoenix,' the nurse said. 'Tell us quickly about your grandson, and get it over. He isn't dead, is he?" The nurse can only see Phoenix's appearance and her race. This prejudicial attitude prevents her from being….....

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