Welty's A Worn Path demonstrates an identity crisis in American culture regarding racism and poverty. Reading from the beginning and not understanding or looking further, she is just an old lady going into town to get some medicine for her sick grandson. Nothing exciting to read, it's a bit boring, without any climax. This would be true if we didn't consider the hidden symbolisms and other issues involved in the story. This story is so simple but it tells so much more than just an old African American man's journey into town to get medicine for his grandson. But from a great intuition, Phoenix Jackson developed a sense of responsibility towards his nephew, who in fact may be the only person in his life in life itself. The moral of the story tells of an elderly African American woman named Phoenix Jackson who was taking a trip from her home to the city to look for medicine for her sick grandson. During this journey the story depicts Phoenix Jackson facing struggles and obstacles with eyesight and old age, as well as the obstacles of nature, thorn bushes and barbed wire. Through these obstacles Phoenix Jackson is able to represent his poetic vision of the world through symbolism. At the time this story was written, in 1941, World War II had just begun, but not only the poverty that was a reality for many, particularly blacks and people from rural areas. The title itself, "A Worn Path", referred to life as the journey itself through a worn path. The obstacles faced by Phoenix Jackson show the real-life hardships, lies, and assaults that minorities face. Despite its simplicity, Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path" shows us some of life's greatest realities. The writer begins the story by using racial description and symbolism to describe Phoenix Jackson. The... middle of paper... offensive act that should have caused guilt. Another example was guilt, demonstrated when the clinic attendant gave Phoenix another dime; although he was polite, this appears to be his way of making up for an earlier offensive statement "Are you deaf?" in Phoenix. What he chose to do didn't come from a kind attitude because it was a sense of duty. The same can be said of the woman who tied Phoenix's shoes: she did so out of Christmas duty rather than out of genuine concern for the elderly. Phoenix Jackson has to endure racial prejudice as part of his daily life. Interestingly, though, the people she meets don't treat her with any respect or kindness. Between now and then perhaps means that America is making progress in racism and discrimination. But only with the civil rights movement did blacks gain all their rights under the law.