User:Tre Flagg/sandbox

Article Review:
The article I chose to review involved Information  Visualization. I noticed that the entire article was organized to make the structure of the page more uniform. The tone was neutral and didn't seek to advertise a certain method of information visualization or a product that could help to do so. The paragraphs themselves included only the necessary details in order to remain concise but still managed to present a significant amount of information nevertheless. Additionally a lot of sources were included on case there was a need for fact-checking or the reader wanted more information (or just for the need to avoid plagiarism). Edited English 1102.69

'A Worn Path' Wikipedia Article Review
Wikipedia currently has an article over the short story i was assigned: A Worn Path by Eudora Welty. While reading the article, i noticed that the tone was in fact neutral as it showed no discernible bias towards any corporation or set up an agenda of any kind. It also doesn't present any opinion or attempt to interpret the text. In the talk section of the article, there was an edited section that removed what was originally an interpretation of the state of the protagonists son (deceased or alive).

In order to improve this article, I would add detail. While the article remains neutral, it also doesn't compile any thorough detail. The contents of the sections explain the foundation basis of the topic, it lacks any further depth that becomes a Wikipedia article. This will be the focus of my improvements- to add a more thorough insight of the components of the Wikipedia article.

Article 1:
1) This article, written by David Piwinski, outlined the significance of the symbolism that occurred within Eudora Welty's: "A Worn Path". Specifically, Piwinski speaks on what the mistletoe noted in the story symbolizes. According to him, the mistletoe represents how Phoenix is a "Christ-like figure" as she repeatedly overcomes adversity with the mistletoe serving as the link between the two. Similarly, he notes how mistletoe is an "evergreen" which additionally alludes to the idea that Phoenix is an "immortal" figure who carries on despite the progression of time around her. This central theme compares the humanity common to all people to the longevity of abstract concepts like spirit, love, and even fear. These concepts are commonly explored in short works and the same occurs in Welty's work. Relating again to "immortality", Piwinski notes how the name of the main character (Phoenix) may likely "allude to the mythological bird" whose characteristics include an immortal cycle of rebirth. The cycle, in this case, would refer to the repeated trip that Phoenix makes in order to save her grandson whose throat was damaged by the lye.

Article 2:
2) This article, written by Kevin Moberly, explores the viewpoint of Phoenix, the black protagonist (or hero) of Eudora Welty's short story: A Worn Path. Moberly initially comments on how Welty consciously "omitted the word negro" as well as any specific mention "of the protagonists race" throughout her description of Phoenix (1). Moberly additionally goes on to point out the significance of phoenix's race given the period she lived in which was indicative of "an African American woman struggling to negotiate the wilderness of the depression-era South" (1). This point of view, Moberly concedes, is often contested with many articles using a form of "revisionist criticism" wherein an author "reinterprets" the significance or meaning of an event, often in order to dilute some of the negative connotation it garners. Moberly maintains that the racial tension is critical not only to the plot, but to the "theme of rebirth" itself, and thus, this point of view can not be overlooked.

Article 3:
3) This article, written at the University of California, further explores the symbolism in Eudora Welty's: A Worn Path, in the chronological order in which she encounters them. Two significant symbols are mentioned which derive from the theme of rebirth. The first is the road on which Phoenix, the protagonist, walks which represents "both a literal and metaphorical journey". The road is representative as life itself being a single construct through which we simply "journey through". The road contains "obstacles" which we must overcome just as life contains hardships, and throughout it we reinvent ourselves in a number of ways that it almost akin to a total "rebirth"- which is one of the heaviest themes in A Worn Path. Similarly the article references a "ditch that Phoenix falls into being overlooked by a black dog". This dog represents how opponents in our lives "wish to see us fail", but even more so, the dog, being black, is a symbol of death- which is usually the first component in a rebirth if the process is to truly carry out.

Synopsis:
"A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty follows the journey of its main protagonist Phoenix, a "African American woman" implied to be elderly by Welty, as she ventures along a road for a seemingly unknown purpose in. As the events unfold chronologically, Phoenix periodically encounters obstacles that hinder her progress for varying amounts of time, but she proceeds nevertheless. The short story is set in "Natchez, Mississippi" with the trail itself belonging to the larger Natchez Trace at some point during the Great Depression era. As the protagonist eventually reaches this destination, Welty reveals Phoenix's motivation for repeating such a large journey. Phoenix's grandson had swallowed lye at some point in the past damaging his throat and resulting in a recurring need for medicine that prevented his throat from swelling to the point of suffocation. With this revelation Phoenix leaves the town and the cycle begins anew fulfilling the namesake for her persistent mission.

Theme:
"A Worn Path" has a central focus revolving around concepts of longevity and rebirth. The protagonist's name has a direct relationship with the mythological bird: the Phoenix. In mythology, the bird has the ability to "reform itself" periodically resulting in a continuous cycle that prolongs the life of the bird indefinitely. As it relates to Welty's story, Phoenix's journey is akin to the recurring cycle of the bird. She repeats it periodically for the sake of her grand child with each trip representing a rebirth of sorts. This unsubtle nod towards to the mythos related to the Phoenix is paramount in understanding the theme. The idea of longevity is represented by Phoenix's seemingly unending mission that restarts, like the aforementioned bird of the same name, and exemplified again by Phoenix's old age. In contrast to a typical protagonist, Phoenix's elderly state represents the long period throughout she has maintained this cycle, again referring to longevity as a central theme.

References:

 * 1) Symbolism
 * 2) Wikipedia Article "A Worn Path"
 * 3) POV article