A Journy for Undying Love

Love is a strong force in the Christian faith. Such a love can lead a person to show the undying love for someone by overcoming any obstacle presented in front of them. This love will guide a person to go above and beyond to prove that anything will be done for the one that person loves. Love as a Christian theme in Welty’s “A Worn Path”, is shown through the love a grandmother has for her grandson. God has shown in the Christian faith his undying love for his people by sacrificing his only son. In “A Worn Path”, Phoenix also shows the same undying love for her grandson by overcoming many obstacles of trials and life. Welty brings the undying love to life by determination, ability to overcome challenges, and charity of others. Phoenix selfless undying love for her grandson gives her the determination to overcome some difficult challenges along the way. Welty paints a picture of an older black woman that has overcome slavery, become fragile in her age, but still sets out on a journey down the worn path to retrieve some medicine for her sick grandson.

The journey in itself brings many obstacles, but the determination to save her grandson will prevail over anything that will come into count with Phoenix. Determination plays a part of how Phoenix pushes herself to the limit in order for the one person in her life that she could not imagine being without. Welty took the Christian faith of how faith in God’s love will help a person overcome life’s journey. In Welty’s “A Worn Path”, Phoenix’s faith will give her the strength to have the determination of not giving up through the long walk, trials of nature, and even the judgment of her color. The journey of life’s trials through the Christian idea is said that God will not put more on a person than they can handle. Even through the hardships Phoenix faced, Welty used this idea to show with determination and faith anything can be achieved. Phoenix’s own determination to reach her goal was a lesson to show how important it can be to never give up.

The obstacles that was brought before Phoenix showed that for the love of another she had the ability to overcome those challenges. Phoenix encounters a fall that would seem to slow her down, but asking for the help of another still did not make it look as though she would not overcome the obstacle. Phoenix came from an era of racism. So, asking for the help of a white hunter probably would have been difficult if love for her grandson’s life was not the main objective. Welty used the challenge of racism as another obstacle through the struggles Phoenix would have to overcome. Christian faith teaches not to take judgment on others. Even with the statements of some people, Phoenix never let it take her mind off the main objective of getting the medicine for her grandson. After overcoming the obstacle course of the journey, Phoenix is still left with the challenge of getting the medicine. With Phoenix being old, black, and a woman respect is not a giving thing. She still overcomes this obstacle with the thought of how important her grandson and family are to her life. Overcoming the freezing winter weather, the disrespectful comments, and the journey, Phoenix successfully retrieved what she set out to retrieve. Love gave Phoenix the strength to overcome what looked to be impossible. Welty set the story back in the season of Christmas. In Christian faith, Christmas is a time to give to others than receive, do have others than have done, and charity.

Christmas to Christian is the time to celebrate the birth of the Savior. “A Worn Path” uses the time of Christmas to show the charity of others that was given to Phoenix. Even though Phoenix took a nickel from the hunter after it was dropped out of his pocket, the hunter overlooks this by considering her as a charity case. As did the attendant in the doctor’s office, Phoenix was given a nickel as an act of the Christmas giving season. Phoenix is known as a charity case to the doctor’s office, because the doctor would give the medicine as long as she would make the journey to come get it. Charity is a part of the faith of a Christian. God has told to give unto others in poverty. Since Phoenix was an African-American in this era, charity was thought as a gesture. After getting the two nickels, Phoenix’s selfless act was shown when she bought a Christmas gift for her grandson. Phoenix showed her journey was only for the undying love she had for someone other than herself. In God’s eyes, Christian beliefs are that love is the greatest.

Welty took the Christian belief and showed it through a love one grandmother had for her grandson. The Christian theme of love that Welty shows in “A Worn Path”, gives not only the idea of a religious outlook, but leads the reader to a moral lesson of love can conquer the unthinkable. With the selfless act of the grandmother, Welty showed through love the determination to endure pain, self-sacrifice, and challenges were merely a life lesson of how powerful faith in God did see the outcome of life. Welty had the ability to use a person’s experience and emotion and form a fictional story to bring readers the importance of life, life struggles, and life journeys with the undying love of a Christian theme. Welty’s character gave the life lesson of just how certain paths will lead to hardships, but love will succeed through determination. The reader can see just how anyone with love for another can overcome any mountain or obstacle that could “A Worn Path” tells a reader to look at strength of

love can maintain life instead of death. It also shows how the simple act of giving can bring by the meaning of life. Everyone in life will choose a path. Whether it be “a worn path” or “a path less taken”, one simple act of love can change the outcome of what will lie ahead. God took that simple act of love when his son was sacrificed for the entire world. Phoenix in the story took the simple act of love also, in order to see that life would go on through her grandson. She showed that love for her grandson helped her achieve the goal. She used her determination to overcome the impossible. She humbles herself to receive the charity of others to give life to her grandson. Welty’s story in itself seemed to not only reflect the Christian theme of love, but to give an idea of the meaning of life through faith. The faith of continuing on through life’s struggles to having an undying love, whichever way a reader sees the moral outcome it is shown one thing in depth that love is a powerful emotion. Undying love is the truth that inspires a person to go to the extreme of death so that the love will keep that person alive.