A Worn Path

“It was December—a bright frozen day in the early morning. Far out in the country there was an old Negro woman with her head tied in a red rag, coming along a path through the pinewoods. Her name was Phoenix Jackson. She was very old and small and she walked slowly in the dark pine shadows, moving a little from side to side in her steps, with the balanced heaviness and lightness of a pendulum in a grandfather clock.”

The opening paragraph is significant for two reasons. It establishes the narrative point of view as third-person limited, i.e., an omniscient narrative voice that focuses on one primary character. It also establishes the setting and gives an insightful description of Phoenix in literal and figurative terms. The passage uses a literary device typical of heroic epics. It begins in medias res: Phoenix has already begun the journey that comprises most of the story’s plot.

“Her skin had a pattern all its own of numberless branching wrinkles and as though a whole little tree stood in the middle of her forehead, but a golden color ran underneath, and the two knobs of her cheeks were illumined by a yellow burning under the dark. Under the red rag her hair came down on her neck in the frailest of ringlets, still black, and with an odor like copper.”

The narrator’s description of Phoenix is rich with suggestion. Though her skin is heavily wrinkled, these wrinkles take on the likeness of a tree, which often symbolizes life and vitality. Notably, her hair has not turned gray in her advanced age. The “yellow burning” in her cheeks suggests passion and strength. These traits manifest in her various encounters and challenges.

“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 wild hogs out of my path. Don’t let none of those come running my direction. I got a long way.”

The first words out of Phoenix’s mouth establish a key facet of her personality: her determination to fulfill her goal and refusal to be stopped. It also showcases her distinct voice and intimate awareness of her surroundings.