Other Rhetorical Strategies
Rhetorical strategy used in the dialogue, ""Lying on my back like a June-bug waiting to be turned over, mister," she said, reaching up her hand."
What is simile?
Theme shown during Phoenix's physically taxing journey to get medicine for her grandson because of his throat problems
What is sacrifice and enduring love of older generations to pave a better future for younger ones?
Purpose of the journey
What is getting medicine for the grandson?
The setting of the story
What is Christmas time?
Meaning of the metaphor "Big dead trees, like black men with one arm."
What is a reference to the violence and death experienced by African Americans during the South's history?
What is vernacular/dialect?
Theme shown when Phoenix steals the nickel from the white man
What are the economic problems people faced during the Great Depression?
The point of view of the text
What is third person?
Symbolism of her name, Phoenix
What is resurrection?
What is a metaphor for the issues like poverty & inequality that held African Americans to a life of hardship during the early 1900s.
Welty's reason to include descriptions of the landscape, temperature, and textures
What is it to immerse readers in the Southern setting & Phoenix's experience?
Theme that is shown when Phoenix talks to the white man
What is racial tension during the Jim Crow era?
Setting and time in which the story takes place
What is the rural south during the Great Depression?
The two headed snake
What is Biblical reference to the snake that led Eve to sin?
Meaning of the description of Phoenix's cane "limber as a buggy whip"
What is a reference to slavery and how the effects of it still linger in the lives of African Americans, especially in the South?
The type of iron exhibited when Phoenix forgets why she came to town after a long and perilous journey
Theme shown when Phoenix collects nickels from the nurse and white man
What is devotion to her son and economic struggles during this time?
Significance of the title "A Worn Path"
What is a literal reference to the path Phoenix takes and a symbolic reference to struggles of African Americans?
Phoenix resting under the Mistletoe tree
What is a symbol of suffering for a higher purpose and christ like qualities?
Meaning of describing Phoenix's movement as "a pendulum in a grandfather clock."
What is a metaphor describing Phoenix's unbalanced posture, her old age, or referring to the frequent back & forth journeys she takes?
Authors purpose for the open ending
What is emphasizing the journey and hardships she faced for her grandson rather than if the grandson is alive?
The overall themes of the story
What is one's love and devotion towards something/someone that can motivate them to endure strenuous hardships and risks for what they love or believe in?
The type of hero (modern or classical) portrayed by Phoenix
What is a modern hero?
Symbolism of Phoenix's dress being caught in a thorn bush
What is a reference to Jesus's thorn crown and Phoenix's Christ-like suffering?
Symbolism behind the marble cake
What is a symbol of racial cohesion and future generations bringing together the black and white people?