Welty `A Worn Path` & Walkers`s `Everday Use`

Running head : WALKER-WELTY

An Essay Comparing and Contrasting Alice Walker 's "Everyday Use " with

Eudora Welty 's "A Worn Path

John Q . Student

Wright State University

An Essay Comparing and Contrasting Alice Walker 's "Everyday Use " with

Eudora Welty 's "A Worn Path

Alice Walker 's "Everyday Use " and Eudora Welty 's "A Worn Path both treat the life of poor , African American women in the deep South Consequently , it is no surprise that there are many similarities between the two stories . However , the differences between the stories provide

much of the interest and value of each story

Both stories are set in the rural , deep South at a time contemporary with their publication dates : the early 1970s for Walker 's story and the early 1940s for Welty 's "A Worn Path " The theme of "Everyday Use " lies in the difference between a quiet , day-to-day life where one lives aware of one 's heritage and a fantasy life with little substance based on the latest fads and crazes . The younger daughter , Maggie represents the sedate life while the other daughter , Dee represents the fantasy life of life in the city . It is the tension between the two lifestyles represented by the two daughters , that drives the plot and provides the theme of the story . Mrs . Johnson , who serves as the second person narrator , has traits of both . Although she lives the sedate , day-to-day life , she sometimes dreams that "Dee and I are suddenly brought together . Out of a dark and soft-seated limousine I am ushered . we are on the stage and Dee is embracing me with tears in her eyes (Walker n .d , however she brings herself back to earth even before the dream ends . It is evident that each daughter represents a different side of Mrs . Johnson "Everyday Use " describes an interruption of this rural life by the event of a visit by Dee and her boyfriend with a name that is "twice as long and three times as hard [to pronounce] (Walker , n .d "A Worn Path " on the other hand , describes a journey from the home of Phoenix Jackson "way back off the Old Natchez Trace (Welty , n .d . Told in the third person with a limited point of view the journey is the story it is the story of Phoenix 's life and her struggle to live . Her name calls to mind the mythology of the Phoenix arising from its own ashes . Phoenix has risen from the dead numerous times when she has overcome the troubles she has faced in her life . This steadfastness and continued efforts to live provide the main theme of the story . Phoenix is resilient and has risen above difficulties to live again . In her advanced age , Phoenix continues to face the hazards of the path through the woods where she confronts wild animals , walks a log over a creek and is confronted by a white racist and his dog . In addition to facing the difficulties of the journey that she has...