Theme and Narrative Elements in the Short Story Research Paper - 1

Theme and Narrative Elements in the Short Story - Research Paper Example Thus, Eudora Welty abruptly and effectively introduces the time of year (December) and the geographic location (the South) at the beginning section of the story, apart from identifying the main character, an old Negro woman (Phoenix Jackson). Setting plays a crucial role in Welty’s â€Å"A Worn Path† as it is effective in stimulating the reader’s imagination at the initial stage of the story. In fact, the opening five paragraphs of the story offer an introduction to the setting and the readers are carried away to the world of the narrative. â€Å"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 red rag, coming along a path through the pinewoods. Her name was Phoenix Jackson.† (Welty, 1941). This is the way the author opens her story and a detailed description of the character follows in the succeeding sections. It is important to recognize that the setting of the story i s a rural, a cold, early morning in December in the South. A careful analysis of the setting of the story confirms that the storywriter effectively puts boundaries around the action when she introduces the South as the geographic location and December as the time of year in which the action occurs.