The Path of the Phoenix Authors try to incorporate symbols into their stories to help display the qualities of characters, lifestyles, or foreshadowing of things to come. Symbols to any author are just another tool to explain a story a little better. In Eudora Welty’s tale “A Worn Path” symbols help draw the reader closer to the lead character. Welty uses symbols like the name chosen for the lead, the weather, and the colors …showed first 75 words of 529 total…

…showed last 75 words of 529 total…symbolic uses in this story are overwhelming to those who know to look for them. With a morbid setting such as a cold winter and the lead being an elder woman the symbols start from the very beginning. Welty has Phoenix triumph in her battle against nature and herself, but leaves you wondering how many more times she will be able to win that battle. Eudora Welty uses symbols that could possibly answer that question.