I haven't forgotten. I've been away for a bit, and I decided to wait until I returned to post a new question or two. I've received a paper over a film from one of your number. Good job. Early papers are always welcome. I hope everyone has enjoyed the summer thus far. I'll see many of you on August 14th for "Meet the Teacher".
You have a copy of the short stories "A&P" and "A Worn Path". I would like for you to either defend or refute the following assertion. Both of these stories are examples of the heroic journey. Please, no one sentence answers. Also give five examples from the text to support your answer.
A hero's journey usually involves overcoming obstacles to reach a goal or even to achieve self-actualization. Think Frodo Baggins, Luke Skywalker, Katniss Everdeen, or even, Harold and Kumar.
I agree with the statement that the stories are examples of a hero's journey. IN "A&P" the girls must overcome social structure in order to get what they need from the store. The cashier must also overcome his own challenge by making a choice about whether he thought what his boss had done was right or not. In "A Worn Path" the old woman faces many challenges and obstacles on her journey. She has to overcome feebleness, hallucinations, and the forest seemingly working against her. When she fall in the ditch she has to find the will to survive and complete her quest. She survives the white man by amusing him. When she finally gets to town she has only one thing left to do: return home. All of these small encounters are very reminiscent of a hero's quest.
ReplyDeleteNo, I do not believe that "A&P" had a heroic journey. I do however believe that it had a heroic ending. The girls traveled through the store without any problems. They had two creepy store clerks drooling over them, but they did not overcome that in any way (they simply ignored it because it wasn't a real problem). The only problem they had was in the very end, and when confronted they argued for a minute, bought their items, and left. The only obstacle the store clerk overcame was his manager embarrassing the girls to which he quit. If the story had continued then it may have been a hero's journey but it did not. However, "A Worn Path" does include a hero's journey. The old lady has many obstacles she has to overcome. She must carry on despite a thorn bush (which latches onto her skirt), walking across a log (which is laid over a river), a dog (which shoved her over and then sat there happily), being knocked unconscious, hallucinations, memory loss, and simply walking a very long distance.
ReplyDeleteI agree that both of these stories are heroic journeys. In the story "A Worm Path" an elderly black women has to over come odds, and use her will, and her brains to survive. She had to get threw many challenges like her hallucinations, and a white man. These qualities make her very heroic. In the story "A&P" The cashier must show patients to deal with the lady who points out his mistake. He also has to question his manager the boss, and wonder if what he was doing is right or not. these acts show heroic behavior in both stories thats why I defended them.
ReplyDeleteI do not agree that both of these short stories are concidered heroic journeys. "A&P", by John Updike, I thinnk had heroic qualities, but as far as being a heroic journey as a whole, it does not fit the bill in my eyes. The store clerk telling the story had heroic intentions when he quit his jobfor the sake of the three underdressed girls, but he did that almost instantaneously. He did not put almost any thought into what he was doing. Yes, it made him look brave in front of the three girls but it did not help the girls any. It did not help he or they overcome any obsticals. Either way those girls were going to get to buy there items. Now, if the story would ahev been about him trying to hide the girls from his manager throught the story or him trying to find something for them to cover themselves up, then I think it could be considered a heroic journey.
ReplyDeleteAs far as "A Worn Path", by Eudora Welty, I think it has all the qualities of a heroic journey. This little old woman basically risking her life to get medicine for her sick grandson. I say "risking her life" because she walked all the way to town of foot and she is very old. Anything could have happened, but she did it anyway because of the love for her grandson. She overcame many obstacles like getting stuck in bushes and barbed wire. She also walked the entire way with her shoes untied. And I think the best part about this story is because she was doing it all for someone other than herself. That, in my eyes, is a very good quality of a heroic journey.
A&P by John Updike to me was not very heroic. Yes I agree it had some qualities but in the end Sammy only hurt himself. If he wanted to be a real big hero he would have confronted his manager in front of the girls.
ReplyDeleteA Worn Path by Eudora Welty to me is a very heroic story. Little ol Phoenix Jackson walks to town by herself just to get medicine for her grandson. Yes I belive that is very heroic because not only is she old but it's in the middle of winter. She had to pass a stream by going over a log. She could have slipped and fell in the water and froze to death. To me she risked herror life for the health of a loved one.
I do not think "A&P" by John Updike is a great example of a heroic journey, although it was a courageous thing Sammy did. I don't think it was heroic because, in the end, Sammy did not really help the girls in any way. He also put himself out of a job.
ReplyDelete"A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty was a great heroic journey. Phoenix Jackson, a scrawny elderly woman, walks all the way into town to help her grandson. She is on her way from way out in the country, in the midst of a cold, frozen, winter day to get some medicine to help her grandson get well. She walked all that way, knowing she could have died in the extreme cold, to help someone else. Phoenix Jackson was a true hero.
To me, "A&P" was not a heroic story. The fact that the guy stood up to his manager in the end, made the ending a bit heroic. The story as a whole, however, was not heroic.
ReplyDelete"A Worn Path" was a heroic type of journey. The fact that the elderly woman walked all the way through the country side and into town, just to help someone, made this story heroic.
"A&P" by John Updike in my eyes was not a heroic story. The store clerk watched the three girls enter and walk throughout the store in their bathing suits. This is against store policy. As the girls are about to checkout the manager comes out and sees this. He begins to grip at them for not having decent clothing on. The store clerk thinks that he s going to look like a hero to the girls, he says he quits. This is not a heroic journey the young boy went on, it was just a heroic intention that failed to work. The girls got their item no mater what happened with him quitting his job.
ReplyDelete"A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty is a true heroic journey. Phoenix Jackson is an elderly woman who puts her own life at risk to help someone other than herself. She travels in the harsh winter cold to take medicine to her grandson. She obtained many obstacles throughout her journey such as crossing a stream and getting stuck by bushes and barbed wire. She shoes true heroism by putting her elderly body in physicals conditions that could have easily hurt or killed herself during the process. In my eyes Phoenix Jackson is a true hero and the short story "A Worn Path" has a Heroic Journey in it.
The story "A&P" is not a heroic journey. When you think of a heroic journey, you think of truly extraordinary people facing insurmountable odds. There's not really any of that happening to the cashier in this story. All he does is stand over his cash register and observe everyone and everything that's in the store. Yes, I know he stood up to his bland boss, but he only did it to "win" over a group of under dressed girls. That's hardly heroic.
ReplyDeleteThe story "A Worn Path", however, is a great example of a heroic. The main character is an old and feeble woman that must make the long and tiring journey to town to get medicine for her suffering grandson. While making the trip, she must traverse a fallen log over a running creek, crawl through a barb wire fence, and make it through thorn bushes without getting her dress caught. But the truly heroic aspect about this is that she has to make this journey on a regular basis.
I do not agree that A&P and A Worn Path are both examples of the heroic journey. There was nothing heroic in A&P, not even Sammy quitting his job. He did not make a difference in anyone's life because the girls would have been able to buy their item either way. He just made a bad decision for a stupid reason- if the girls were unattractive he would not have had the same reaction. However, A Worn Path is the very definition of heroic. Phoenix Jackson is a frail, elderly woman who, in the winter, makes a dangerous journey to get medicine for her grandson, simply by relying on her feet to take her where she needs to go. She overcomes many obstacles that would be difficult for anyone, especially an older woman.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe A&P was a heroic journey. In the end it was heroic when Sammy stood up to his manager for humiliating those girls in front of everyone. Also the leader of the girls was heroic when she acted like a grown up and stood her ground to the manager instead of just walking out without buying what she needed. A Worn Path was definitely a heroic journey. Simply put the grandmother made a very long tiring journey just to get her grandson medicine. She also bought the child a toy to make him happy instead of spending that money on something else she needed.
ReplyDeleteI do not think "A&P" was a heroic story. Sammy was kind of like a fake hero. He quit for all the wrong reasons. He tried to act like a hero just to impress those girls and it failed miserably. He also messed up the good stuff in his life like his job just to try and look cool and make those girls think he was being a hero.
ReplyDelete"A Worn Path" was a heroic story for sure. Phoenix is the oldest person she knows, and still makes the trip to Natchez just to get the medicine for her grandson. It is not just a long trip either, she faces danger in the form of wildlife and other obstacles. She cannot read which makes things even more difficult for her. She does it all for her grandson who she loves even though one day could be her last trip. She does everything for her grandson and nothing for her own benefit
"A&P" has no substance of a heroic story. All of his actions are purely because of his attaction to one girl. Him quitting did not save him from anything, small or little. Same for the girls, him quitting effected their lives in no way whatsoever. There's no act of true heroism here.
ReplyDelete"A Worn Path" on the other hand, is a different story. This shows more substance to me and also was a definte true act of heroism for her grandson. The she has for him the reason she makes this a regular thing. She could easily say she is too old and feeble for the journey but decides different. She goes through streams, crossing large logs.
I do not believe that A&P was a heroic journey. The story focuses around a man who busies himself by watching a girl as she strolls through the store. He does stand up for them somewhat as they are trying to check out, but the boss has a point that the girls are not dressed appropriately to be in the store. The whole incident was unnecessary. "A Worn Path" is a different story. I find it to be a very heroic journey. An old black woman must teach herself her way to town and now she knows every step. She must also overcome the troubles she faces as a white man gives her a hard time. I think this story is a remarkable heroic story.
ReplyDeleteI do not agree with both A&P and A Worn Path being labeled heroic journeys. In A&P, there were no acts of heroism. There was one act of ignorance and stupidity of which I do not find heroic. By quitting, the boy changed nothing about the way the business ran nor did he help himself out by quitting. He lost a job, embarrassed himself as well as his employer, and did not help the girls. A Worn Path, on the other hand, was a very heroic journey in my opinion. This feeble and elderly black woman went out into harsh temperatures, was hung up by a bush and pulled free, walked on a log to cross a creek, went through strange hallucinations, encountered a rude white man, and made it to the doctor's office all to get her grandson medicine. This was a very heroic journey.
ReplyDeleteI do not agree that A&P and A Worn Path are both examples of a heroic journey. A&P wasn't even remotely heroic until the end, and then it didn't make any real difference. Sammy's actions were too late to be considered heroic. He didn't change anything by quitting. The girls didn't benefit from him quitting because they had already left the store. His intensions were good, but it was too much too late. However, A Worn Path would definitely be considered a heroic journey. This very elderly woman walked a great distance and overcame several obstacles all for the love of her grandson. She walked over rugged terrain, faced hallucinations, fell in a ditch, and dealt with some rude people. In the end, she completed her journey by getting her grandson the medicine he needed. This was most certainly a heroic journey.
ReplyDeleteI do not see A&P as a heroic journey. All Sammy did was quit his job to try and win over some half dressed girls. To me that is not heroic at all, if anything thats far from heroic. A Worm Path is in my eyes a heroic journey. An old black lady overcomes every obstacle she faces for the love of her grandson. She had hallucinations and people were very mean to her but still she went on and got her grandsons medicine and to me that is heroic.
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ReplyDeleteI do not agree that A&P and A Worn Path were both heroic journeys. In A&P, Sammy did not do anything heroic. Although he quit his job because Lengel had embarrassed the girls, he merely did this to catch the attention of one of the girls. However, I do believe that A Worn Path could be considered a heroic journey. The old woman walked for miles trusting only her feet to take her where she needed to go. She encountered many obstacles on the way but she knew she had to keep going because she needed to get medicine for her grandson.
ReplyDeleteBoth of the stories, A&P and A Worn Path, are not examples of heroic journeys. A&P had nothing to do with anyone being a hero. In an unheroic kind of way Sammy stands up for what he believes is right. When the girls leave the store Sammy quits working there because he did not like the way his boss treated the girls. He did not receive anything from doing that other than free time and no paycheck. The girls were not there to see him quit and would not have cared if they were. Sammy quitting his job did nothing to or for anyone.
ReplyDeleteHowever, A Worn Path had a heroic journey in the story. An old woman went through many different obstacles to do what she thought needed to be done. She faced wild animals, thorns, barbed-wire fences, falling into ditches, and a rude man. In the end she was able to make it to town to receive the medicine she believed her grandson needed to recover.She battled all of these conditions to make it to the doctors office for medicine for her grandson who had died two to three years earlier.
I did not see "A&P" as a heroic journey, although Sammy did a very courageous thing it was not very heroic. Plus it cost him a job in the end. Then there's "A Worn Path". Its about a little old woman named Phoenix Jackson and how she travels on foot through many difficult obstacles the get the medicine for her grandson. That is very heroic of her.
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ReplyDeleteI do not see either "A&P" or "A Worn Path" as heroic journeys.
ReplyDeleteA&P did not have very heroic things going on, but it did have Sammy doing idiotic things that had greater detriment than it had benefit. In the end Sammy did not make a change to the business he quit or cause any benefit to his life.
A Worn Path did have a journey that could be seen as Heroic, but I personally did not see it as so. She went through all of the hurdles that the long difficult road threw at her, but at the end of the day her grandson was already gone long before she got the medicine.
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ReplyDeleteThe story "A&P" was not a heroic journey at all. It was about a boy named Sammy who was a cashier that ended up quitting his job after his boss mistreated some girls that had previously walked in the store. His choice did not effect anybody but himself by him losing his job.
ReplyDeleteIn "A Worn Path" an old lady went through a very heroic journey by going through dangerous obstacles in order to get medicine for her grandson. This was very heroic for an old lady.
I believe that "A&P" is not a heroic story whatsoever. The “hero” is a young man that quits his job because his boss embarrases three girls that do not follow the rules of the store. He is trying to prove a point to his boss, one that makes not much sense at all and that he does not make, about three girls, who could not care less about him. The story does not even tell whether the girls realize what he did, thus every part of his “heroic” plan failed. I do not know if I consider "A Worn Path" to be a heroic tale. The protagonist finds a form of self actualization from her journey. However, the protagonist seems to be crazy, thus making me wonder if she really found what she was looking for.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that the story "A&P" has a heroic journey in it. All Sammy does is watch three girls from his counter. The girls are under dressed which is against store policy so as any manager would do he comes out to tell them next time dress appropriate. Sammy quits to try and seem cool in front of the girls. Not heroic at all more like idiotic.
ReplyDeleteHowever the story "A Worn Path" is a very heroic story. The main character who is an old lady who is not in great health condition must travel to town to get her grandson medication. She must get past a log over a creek and through thorn bushes without tearing her dress. The fact that she even thought about going is heroic.
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ReplyDeleteI think the story "A Worn Path" is heroic. This little old black woman must go through obsticles to get to town, and get things for her grandson. She gets cuaght in thorns, falls in a ditch, and goes through barbed wire to reach town. This is a little old woman going through this ... pretty heroic. As for "A & P", i do not believe it has a heroic journey. It is just about a cashier quiting his job because he does not like how his boss treated a girl in the store he thought was cute. He really does not go through any challenging obsticles. After he quits, he doesnt even see the girl again. It just doesnt have anything heroic except for the fact that he had the courage to quit.
ReplyDeleteI think that the story A&P was not heroic at all. The kid does nothing but quit his job for these girls who do not follow the rules of the store. He was hoping to impress one of the girls which did not even happen anyways.
ReplyDeleteThe story A Worn Path was somewhat heroic. An old woman went through many different obstacles to get her grandson the medicine he needs. She made it through all of these conditions and got him the medicine he needed but found out he died two to three years earlier.
Honestly, I found there to be nothing heroic about the story A&P by John Updike. I do not find anything heroic about a man quitting his job in an attempt to stand up to his boss. I can not believe that his stupid decision was made all because of a couple of girls that he did not even know. In fact, I believe that if he had not found the girls to be attractive then he would not have ever stood up for them in the first place. Sammy even says "so I say "I quit" to Lengel quick enough for them to hear, hoping they'll stop and watch me, their unsuspected hero.". From this line I can gather that Sammy expected himself to be the girls hero from the beginning. However, I found the story A Worn Path by Eudora Welty to be a true heroic journey. The fact that Phoenix risked her life in so many ways just to get her sick grandson some medication to me makes her a true hero. Phoenix counted on her feeble and frail feet to carry her to get the medicine for her grandson. This shows just how much she loves her grandson. She was willing to die to get he sick grandson what he needed. Even the barbed wire and the bushes that she encountered could not keep her from getting to town. She overcame so many obstacles during her journey. I believe this makes Phoenix Jackson a true hero.
ReplyDeleteThe story "A&P" is not heroic. A young boy quits his job because his manager embarrassed 3 girls that the boy had been watching all day. & the girls didn't even see or hear him quit in honor of them.
ReplyDelete"A Worn Path" is heroic. This little old grandma walks miles through forests, fields, and over water to get into town to get her grandson some medicine.
The story A&P was not a heroic journey it just had an heroic end. The tree girls had no problem walking through the store. Although a lot of people were starting at them they did not seem to care. At the end Sammy stood up for the girls after the left. He lost his job and upset his family, but he did what he thought was right.
ReplyDeleteIn the story A Worn Path, Phoenix goes on a very long and dangerous trip that he could have been harmed or even killed on. She goes on this for her son because he was sick and dying. She not only got the medicine but she found enough money to buy him a toy to make him a little happier in his troubled times. She did this not for herself but for a child in need, I consider this a very heroic journey.
I refute that the story "A&P" is heroic. It is not heroic because he really doesn't do anything to help or save the girls. He just simplify quits his job after the manager kicks the girls out. That is just him standing up for what he beleives in.
ReplyDeleteI defend that the story "A Worn Path" is heroic. It is heroic because this old lady named Phoenix goes on a hard and long journey to get her deathly ill grandson medication. She does this out of the kindness of her heart to help someone other than herself, which makes her her heroic.
ReplyDeleteI do not think the story "A&P is heroic. Sammy did nothing to help the girls. He only watches the girls. He does not even stand up to his boss in front of the girls.
ReplyDeleteI do see the story "A Worn Path" as heroic story. The little old lady was in bad health. She went by foot trying to get the grandson medication. She never gives up.
In he story "A&P", Sammy is not being heroic. He doesn't help the girls in any way. Even if the girls had heard him stand up for them, he would have been doing it just to get noticed, not to help the girls.
ReplyDeleteIn "A Worn Path", the old lady is heroic. She risks her health and safety to get her grandson medicine. She knows he needs the medicine and will do anything in her power to get it to him, no matter what it costs her. That's a true selfless hero.
I do not believe that the story "A&P" has a heroic journey in it. All Sammy does is watch three girls from his counter. The girls are under dressed which is against store policy so as any manager would do he comes out to tell them next time dress appropriate. Sammy quits to try and seem cool in front of the girls. it's more idiotic than heroic.
ReplyDeleteHowever the story "A Worn Path" is a very heroic story. The main character who is an old lady who is not in great health condition must travel to town to get her grandson medication. She must get past a log over a creek and through thorn bushes without thrashing her dress.