... Heliopolis, where it burned itself on the altar and rose again from its ashes, young and beautiful. Phoenix, the women in the story, represents the myth of the bird because she is described as being elderly and near the end of her life. Phoenix can hardly walk and uses a cane made of an old umbrella to aid her. Her skin is described ... of her old age, it is clear that Phoenix still has many years ahead of her. The author brings realism into the story by frequently describing the realities of old age. After a short while, Phoenix is rescued: "A white man finally came along and found her...

• Word Count: 1331
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

A Worn Path In the short story "A Worn Path" the main character's name is Phoenix, which alludes to "the mythical bird that consumed itself in fire after five hundred years and rose renewed from its ashes." Which relates to the main motif, death. Phoenix, the main character, is a very old woman who has a dying grandson who she goes many times to get medicine in town for him ... best of it by helping out her grandson and she refers to her struggle by showing some of the symbols that make us think of life and death and age are: "Seem like there is chains about my feet" make it clear that Phoeni...

• Word Count: 637
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... mythological bird who lived five hundred years and burned in a tree fire, but arose again from the ashes (Cummings, 2011). Phoenix Jackson is like this mythical bird in that she "arose from the ashes of the Civil War" to lead a long and rewarding life. Birds are a prominent feature in the story; they symbolize Phoenix ... progress she made going from point A to point B, and her determination and love of her grandson made it all worthwhile. Now as we look into the short story by Jean Rhys, "I Used to Live Here Once", this character's name is not mentioned. "She crosses a stream, using the...

• Word Count: 2068
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... her golden undertone. One person even goes as far as to say that Phoenix looked "at least one hundred years old". With assertions like the aforementioned, Welty paints a portrait of Phoenix, as the short story Ponder 2 opens, that is so vivid, it is as if the reader could reach out and touch ... her, enabling the reader to visualize the scenes as they occur. Several times throughout the story, Phoenix becomes a victim to her own age. For instance, during her journey, a black dog comes upon ... she Ponder 3 is as she mistakes a scarecrow for a ghost: "You scarecrow. I ought to be shut u...

• Word Count: 927
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School