The Road Not Taken - Essay Example

 Being the main character of his piece ‘The Road Not Taken’, Frost fully acknowledges that life is practically a matter of choice made by virtue of wise reflections yet Madame Loisel, rather consumed and impaired by self-reproach on losing a diamond necklace fails to discern even the freedom to contemplate on choices. Guy de Maupassant’s presentation of Mathilde’s character appears to be one of constant struggle with tragic fate from the beginning of the story up to its regretful ending. Perhaps by portraying life according to his excruciating encounters with reality does de Maupassant justify Madame Loisel as a married woman whose series of misfortunes cause her to have a narrow view of life. Robert Frost, on the other hand, subjects such narrow view to defiance and creates instead a world where he could avail of options and take time to use his intellect over the choices represented by diverged paths. In form, Frost’s ‘The Road Not Taken’ is a poem of regular pattern and exact measure while de Maupassant’s ‘The Diamond Necklace’ assumes a short story narrative. While de Maupassant is gender-specific with his story in developing the intended morale, Frost takes the form that demonstrates an argument to be responded to regardless of sex, race, and socio-economic status which are otherwise taken into account in studying Mathilde’s disposition. Apparently, Robert’s poem whose less figurative theme bears much equivalence to that of Guy’s short story may be claimed to have required profound thought in demonstrating the major concept with brief details to work on. It occurs subtly imperative or that which aims to command the reader toward prompt response whereas the author’s approach in ‘The Diamond Necklace’ leaves no further action to consider but an attainment if there be of a most enlightened realization. On a more literal sense, a reader is initially taken to a trance of imagining ‘two roads diverged in a yellow wood’ such that the effect of the first line being preceded by the title invites one to adapt to the common sensibility of comparing and contrasting between two of life’s ultimate choices. Whether right or wrong, however, the poet clearly indicates the necessity to eliminate ambiguity or half-heartedness on stating ‘And sorry I could not travel both.’ ‘And be one traveler, long I stood’ marks a position that suggests freedom of thought in which the traveler can opt to liberate either inspiration or unpleasant sentiments at wondering how it would be like having each road to cover, given equally opportune possibilities. At this stage, Frost hints at certain wonders where one road allows the person in journey to delight in psychologically concretizing every form of goodness, perhaps in acquiring material desires for real, on perceiving truth form out of noble ambitions, or with remarkable pleasures that actual love and comfortable living could hold out. Where the two diverged roads are ever present in Frost’s ability to seek and analyze options, the opposing character of Mathilde is bound to be governed by a burden of conscience. By becoming a slave of guilty feeling, the choice to be flexible to choose a course of action toward proper resolution is lost. De Maupassant likely utilizes the poor quality of living the couple manage themselves to get by with to demonstrate how difficult it could get to account for alternatives from which to draw hope and favor. Since Madame Loisel and her husband are deeply buried in crisis, they would rather act on impulse to address the current situation and judge the choice to meditate as unnecessary or a trifle. The other road ‘less traveled’, on the contrary, characterizes the exact opposites as it depicts sufferings or hardships which humans would most often prefer to get rid of. Because it was ‘grassy’ and ‘wanted wear’ likely points to the attribute of such road with passers in rare count to none which justifies the personification in the road’s plea of wanting to wear as it would probably not as long as it is less opted for. ‘Grassy’, equivalently, gives indication to the plainness of this road that it appears somewhat dull or lifeless to those who would rather seek to tread upon paths of exquisite colors. This is to further allude that the environmental and corporal aspects of the road make great significance for they determine the vivid elements or factors that affect the basic nature of man who normally understands, yearns, and judges based on instincts. Frost then leads the critic to observe that a natural man, despite moral reasons, is quite inseparable from his senses when deciding whether or not to stay with earthly matters. As applied to the case of Mathilde, the road less traveled is taken right away as if the consequences foreseen have already been engaged to acceptance that she finds no point of suffering otherwise yet if only she had told her friend of the incident, she just might be surprised at the twist and turn of fate. When at last, she is through paying for the replacement of the diamond necklace that is missing ten years ago, and by the time being is sufficiently confident to confront her friend Madame Jeanne Forestier by divulging to her what exactly took place, Madame Loisel is thus in a deserving position to fit herself in the pride of admitting ‘I took the one less traveled by’. For indeed, it is such a noble undertaking to have made a consistent decision to punish oneself by paying an immensely dear price secretly than to afford breaking a friend’s heart on confessing the loss of something enormously precious due to neglect. Because Mathilde has not been able to forgive herself but relishes the anxiety until salvation is granted them after dues are completely settled, such act of nobility on her part is an indication of willful submission to a destiny which others would surely think twice for or leave behind. While ‘I took the one less traveled by’ has become famous for the principle of making a typical righteous decision, at depth, the poet is discovered to render his creation under some degree of irony. Since he necessitates having to look ‘down one as far as I could’ in the first stanza, ‘Then took the other, as just as fair’ on the second which proceeds to amount to an inference in ‘Had worn them really about the same’, Frost has by this time already established the heart of discerning that the endeavor of taking one road is no less significant than taking the other which diverges from it. As it turns out, ‘Somewhere ages and ages hence’, even as the single traveler does not obtain any relevant experience of the alternative path, after a long-term analysis by examining with the lives that have walked or been through it, the ‘road not taken’ provides around the same advantage as its counterpart. To some extent, Madame Loisel may find herself ‘worn out just the same’ on obtaining resolve by a different path but not like Frost’s broad-minded character in the poem, she lacks the trait of taking a moment to assess what has been accomplished. She is the type who would only dare stop to examine things once told or encouraged to do so after the other party is able to help clear her mind of shameful recollections for her to proceed to attempt looking at a variety of possibilities. Given their impoverished condition and an exceedingly kind friend who would probably understand and support her appalling situation, Mathilde must have every choice to excuse herself from going through great lengths and put herself in a gradual and thoughtful process of settling her debts for anyway, humans by nature are weak. With lost charms, negative outlook, and exhausted physique, ages of confinement to the goal of redeeming the lost necklace have really made her wear and become severely drained of youth which would not have happened if a choice to think of checking the real worth and authenticity of the diamond is made along the way. Based on style, one may recognize that the compactness of Frost’s poem leads for it to achieve an idealistic tone while de Maupassant’s ‘The Diamond Necklace’ conceptualizes around psychological realism. Noting how realistically and vividly portrayed the dilemma of the young wife and her fortitude in meeting the challenge of extricating herself from a desperate circumstance, the author specifies the main character with conspicuous distinction from the rest as opposed to Frost’s more general rendition of the traveler. Moreover, the consequences of the choice made in de Maupassant’s short story are revealed except for the reactions that should follow in the story’s latter portion. ‘The Road Not Taken’, however, merely presents a useful philosophy about making choices and the expectations and scenarios which may come with it without detailing any particular consequences yielded at. It is as if, in the end, all that counts besides the choice made is the way by which it is dealt in the long run. By ‘Yet knowing how way leads on to way’, Frost accepts the challenge of keeping the struggle and moving forward with it as he follows up saying ‘I doubted if I should ever come back.’ No matter what the decision to carry on with the chosen road entails, the anticipated ends are still subject to the actions taken and the consistent faith with the blameless deeds regardless if the person maintains good or poor life standards. Consequently, with the choice made and the means employed to keep such choice collectively shape the foundation to what Frost pertains to as ‘that’ which ‘has made all the difference.’ Similarly, in reality, distinguishing between major life-transforming options may come vague or uneasy but by learning to live with each decision until conflicts are resolved, life can be cherished to the full measure along as the journey of ‘ups and downs’ goes under variable pace over a road that may also vary in form and texture, creating impact to strengthen a character. Read More