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The Scarecrow
At the very end of the story, newly equipped with two nickels, Phoenix decides to buy her grandson a paper windmill. While before she has been concerned only with practicalities, her newfound money—a kind of economic freedom—allows Phoenix to think about a wonder of the world that she can give to her grandson. Though the windmill is beautiful, it is also something that harnesses nature into energy, and reflects the hope that her grandson might use his natural abilities, now that they are both free, to some greater good. However, the fact that the windmill is paper reminds us that the hope is a fragile one, and one that is contingent on historical and social forces beyond Phoenix and her grandson.
The Paper Windmill Quotes in A Worn Path
The A Worn Path quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Paper Windmill. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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A Worn Path
Quotes
“This is what come to me to do…I going to the store and buy my child a little windmill they sells, made out of paper. He going to find it hard to believe there such a thing in the world.”
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She lifted her free hand, gave a little nod, turned around…Then her slow step began on the stairs, going down.
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The Paper Windmill Symbol Timeline in A Worn Path
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Paper Windmill appears in A Worn Path. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
A Worn Path
...taps her cane on the floor, and declares that she is going to buy a paper windmill for her grandson, that “he will find it hard to believe there is such a...
(full context)
