Robert Frosts The Road not Taken - Book Report/Review Example

?Understanding the Parallel Ideas presented in the Journey of the Characters in Robert Frost’s “The Road not Taken” and Eudora Wetly’s “A Worn Path” I. Introduction Literary works embodies the ideals of the writer and most of the time; the writer expresses his or her thoughts through symbolisms. The theme, setting, tone, characterization and the point of view of the narrator or the character in the poem, story or drama are very important to get the right message across to the readers. The works Robert Frost and Eudora Wetly are some of the best examples of how literary writers use literary concepts in their work to convey their thoughts, feelings and ideas to their readers. Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” and Wetly’s “A Worn Path” both talk about the journey of the characters and the obstacles that they both have to go through to achieve the purpose of their respective journey. These two literary works presents two different persons who shared the same zeal and commitment to journey and reach their destination no matter what obstacles may come along the way. Both Frost’s poem and Wetly’s short story talk about people going on a journey but while Frost’s character had a choice which path to take (Fleissner, 2007), Wetly’s character did not have such luxury (Donlan, 1998). Note that in Fort’s poem, the character stood before two roads while in Wetly’s short story, the main character felt that she had no choice but to take the beaten path to the town to buy medicine for his ailing grandson. In the poem, the narrator was unsure where he is heading but in the short story, the heroine or the main character was certain of her destination. Moreover, the motivation of the characters in taking the journey differs. While the narrator in the poem struggle to decide which road to take and eventually took the road less traveled to express his uniqueness, the character in the story embarked in the journey with a certain destination in mind out of love for her sick grandson. Both literary works present an idea of change and transitions. Despite the difference in the destination and motivation in taking their respective journey, both characters knew that not reaching their destination was never an option. They both need to reach their destination whatever challenges may come their way in order to achieve their respective goals. To get a clearer picture of the journey of the speaker in Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” and Phoenix Jackson, the main character of Wetly’s “A Worn Path”, let us discuss different aspects of both literary pieces. II. Discussion To better understand the journey of the characters in the two literary pieces, let us first look at the point of view used by the writers. In “The Road not Taken”, the author used the first person and played a major role in the poem (Finger, 1978). Note that in this literary piece, the author talks about having to make a choice between two paths and how he felt sorry that he could not take both. Since the author uses the first person approach, the readers’ perspective of the story is limited only to the thoughts, feelings and points of view of the writer (Finger, 1978). Since the readers are restricted to the thoughts and feelings of a single character in the poem, the readers can only see what the character sees. This narrow and restricted vision can be gleaned from the scenes pictures in different stanzas of the poem (Finger, 1978). For instance, in the first paragraph of the poem, the author talked about the “yellow wood” and the road that bent in the undergrowth and how he had to struggle with himself as to which path he will take. By restricting the view of the readers, Frost was able to direct the attention of the readers solely on the underlying struggles that he wants to convey when he made to choose one of the paths in the woods (Kearns, 1994). Notice that as the poem progresses, the narrator start to inject the feeling of inevitability where the narrator will now have to stand by the decision that he made no matter what the consequences may be. On the other hand, in “A Worn Path”, the author used the third person approach and allowed the narrator to control the flow of the story . The omniscient narrator used by Wetly in the story allows the readers to see and feel what the characters in the story feel . By allowing the all the characters in the story of have their own voices, Wetly created a more interactive scene where all the characters can come to life. The more complex interplay between characters in the story offer different point of views on what is happening to the characters in the story and how they affect the journey of the main character. Note that in the story, Phoenix Jackson met a wolf and a hunter on her way to town and when she reached the town, she interacted with the nurse and the attendant (Saunders, 1992). The additional characters in the story give emphasis to the hardships that the main character of the story had to go through to complete her journey (Saunders, 1992). Although the character in the poem and the main character in the short story may be different, these characters still have something in common. Note that in the poem, the narrator faced a daunting task of choosing which road to take and in the short story, Phoenix Jackson had to struggle to get through the difficult path. Both characters knew that whatever path they take, they cannot turn back. In the case of Frost’s poem, the narrator said in the last line of the third stanza of the poem, “I doubted if I should ever come back” when referring to the path he has taken (Kearns, 1994). From the same line of the poem, the readers can see the determination of the character in the poem to see the journey through knowing that there is no turning back from the path that he had taken (Kearns, 1994). If we take a closer look at it, the character in the poem feel that that since he already made a choice and there is no way he can undo the choice that he made, the best way to go about is to finish the journey and make the most of the situation. On the other hand, in the story, Phoenix Jackson told the hunter that she is going to the town no matter how far it is and how difficult the road leading to it because she need to get medicine for her sick grandson. Clearly, Phoenix knew what she wanted to do and there was no doubt in her mind when she set out for the journey as to where she is heading (Saunders, 1992). Phoenix knows that if she fails in her journey, her grandson can die so she trudges on despite the many obstacles along the way. The setting of Frost’s narrative poem is different from the setting of Wetly’s short story but there is commonality in these settings. Both authors used symbolisms to convey their ideas to the readers and to let the reader understand how they feel. In the poem, Frost used the yellow woods to put the poem in an autumn setting which indicates the passing of time where summer ends and autumn turns the leaves of the trees into yellow. By using yellow woods in the background, the author is able to give a picture of transition and changes which is what the poem is all about (Kearns, 1994). As for the diverging roads, these roads symbolize the choices that we have to make as we journey through time. Note that as we go about our day to day activities, we are faced with decisions and some of these decisions can change our lives forever. A wrong decision can have serious consequences that can affect the quality of our lives and the lives of the people around us. The decisions that we make affects that outcome of our journey so whether we follow the well worn path or the path less traveled, we all have to live with the consequences of our decisions. As what Frost said in the last stanza of the poem, the path that he took made all the difference. Many scholars argue that Frost is trying to convey his regrets from following the road less traveled to proclaim his uniqueness and that this poem is about rationalizing the personal decisions he made out of pride (Pritchard, 1984). These scholars believe that the sigh on the last paragraph of the poem is a sign that Frost regretted his decision. On the other hand, there are also a number of scholars who think that the poem is all about making personal choices and stand by the choices that we make (Pritchard, 1984). These scholars believe that the sigh on the end of the poem is a sign of relief that the author actually followed the road less traveled and make a stand for himself (Pritchard, 1984). However, whether or not the author of the poem has regrets over the decisions that he made, the fact still stands that the journey he made through the road less traveled have made a lot of difference in his life. While the setting of Frost’s poem is limited to the roads in the yellow woods, the setting of Wetly’s short story is more complex and the challenges endured by the protagonist in order to reach her destination is more pronounce. Note that while the narrator in the poem merely had to argue with himself, the heroine in the short story had to contend with outside factors including the thorny plants, the animals in the forests and the hunter. The more complex setting in the story is understandable considering the nature of short stories which allow the author to describe in more robust terms the setting. There are many symbolisms used in the short story but all of these symbolisms revolved around two major aspects, namely, Phoenix Jackson, the old woman, and the path in the woods. To get a clearer picture of how symbolisms are used in the story to describe the characters and their roles, let us discuss the major characters and symbolisms in the story. a. The Old Woman The main character of the short story is Phoenix Jackson, a black woman whose grandson swallowed lye and constantly suffered from swellings in the neck. At the beginning of the story, the narrator paints a picture of a small black woman walking through dark pine woods wearing a long striped dress with an apron made out of bleached sugar sacks and unlaced shoes (Saunders, 1992). The author described the footsteps of the woman as slow and unsure like a pendulum of a clock that swing from side to side for balance (Saunders, 1992). The vivid description of the woman’s clothing and the way she walks tells us that she is poor and that she is not physically fit to make the long journey on foot to town. Relating the description of the woman at the time when the short story was written, many scholars suggest that the description of the old woman is analogous to the status of black people at that time (Saunders, 1992). Note that when the short story was written blacks from the South were still struggling to get into mainstream society and be treated as equal with the whites (Saunders, 1992). The struggles of the black people at that time are personified in the short story through the unending struggles of Phoenix Jackson with the thorny bushes and the wild hogs that scurry along her path, making it difficult for her to move along the way (Saunders, 1992). Also, the fact that she felt she was not treated well by the nurse and the attendant at the clinic when she finally got to town to get medicine for her grandson personified the status of black people during that time (Saunders, 1992). Note that even though blacks were already legally-free during that time, most of them still feel that they are being discriminated upon. In the story, Phoenix kept muttering to herself for the beetles, foxes and owls to stay away from her path so that she can reach her destination. This can only mean that she is very determined to reach the town and get medicine for her grandson. The hunter that she met along the way presents both opportunities and challenges. First, the hunter chased the wolf away so the wolf could not harm the old woman and second, while the hunter was away, Phoenix stole a dime from the hunter. Although stealing in this case may be a poor choice to present an opportunity to the protagonist, nevertheless, the stealing part served its purpose. Note that at the end of the story, Phoenix used the money that that she took from the hunter and the dime given to her by the attendant to buy a windmill made of paper for her grandson. On the other hand, the hunter also represented a big challenge when the hunter pointed his gun at Phoenix. Judging by the way the hunter talked to Phoenix when he pointed his gun at her, the probably did not have any intention of killing the old woman but nevertheless, the fact that Phoenix did not cower or cried for mercy when her life was threatened only shows that the old woman was not afraid of death. The fact that she was old and that her life is far from very comfortable probably made her less afraid of death. Just like the narrator in Frost’s poem, Phoenix kept in her path despite the many challenges. In the story, Phoenix had only one thing in her mind when she followed the difficult and long path into town; she wanted to get medicine for her sick grandson and she was willing to endure all hardships to get to her destination (Saunders, 1992). The difference between the narrator in Frost’s poem and Phoenix is that while the last stanza of the poem may be interpreted either positively or negatively with the narrator sighing either from relief or regret, the end of Phoenix story was more triumphant. Note that at the end of the story, Phoenix had two dimes in her wrinkles hands that she can use to buy a toy for her beloved grandson. If we take a close look at this scene, Phoenix actually achieved her goal of getting medicine for grandson plus a bonus. The rewards for such a long journey may not be that much but for an old woman who is devoted to his grandson, being able to bring home something for the child is everything. b. The Path in the Woods The path in the woods carry the general them of the story which is the journey. Like the poem of Frost, the path in the short story represents transition. Note that in the early part of the story, the old woman walked through the dark shadows of the pines which means that the path passes through dense forest. The dark path represents gloom and the looming challenges that the protagonist faces as she continue on her journey. As the journey of Phoenix progresses, the path run up a hill which made Phoenix feel that something is holding her back and keeping her on the hills (Welty, 1986). After doing through an uphill climb, Phoenix started to descent through the side of the hill covered with thorny bushes (Welty, 1986). After getting through the hill and the thorny bushes, the path led the protagonist to yet another obstacle which a creek (Welty, 1986). To cross the creek without getting wet, Phoenix must use a log that is laid across the water. Crossing the creek through the log may not be difficult for younger people but since Phoenix is already very old, half-blind and is using a cane to help her keep her balance, crossing the creek can be a very difficult task for her. Fortunately, she made it through and she was able to reach the other side of the creek where she rested under a cloud of mistletoe. The mistletoe on the path can be taken as a symbol of the small triumph enjoyed by Phoenix as she was able to cross the creek without mishap (Piwinski, 2003). After the creek, the path led Phoenix to yet another obstacle which is the barb-wire fence where she had to creep and crawl in order to pass through. As Phoenix neared the town, the scene changes and the dark forest was replaced by streets adorned with shining Christmas lights (Welty, 1986). The contrast between the dark scary forest and the festive mode of the city is very evident at this stage. The contrast between the forest path and the city streets can be interpreted as a suddenly change for the better in the life of a person. III. Conclusion Although the poem and the short story may have some variations in its presentation of its theme, one this evident, both literary works were able to clearly convey the messages of change and transitions to the reader. The paths in both the poem and the short story represent transition and these transitions can pose a lot of challenges to the travelers. Making the right decisions and sticking by those decisions is very important as we journey through life. Whether we are certain or not as to where we are going, we need to be committed to what we are doing. Being committed to something is also very important in order for us to triumph through seemingly insurmountable odds. Note that in the case of Phoenix, her commitment to her grandson made her continue the long and difficult journey. References Donlan, D. (1998) A worn path': Immortality of stereotype. English Journal 62.4 (Apr. 1973): 549-550. Finger, L.L. (1978). Frost’s “The road not taken”: A 1925 letter come to light. American Literature, Vol. 50 Issue 3, p478, 2p Fleissner, R.F. (2007). Onto the road not taken—via Wordsworth, Edward Thomas, and Thereby Robert Frost. CLA Journal Vol. 50 Issue 3, p312-322, 11p Kearns, K. (1994). Robert Frost and a Poetics of Appetite. Cambridge University Press.   Piwinski, D.J. (2003). Mistletoe in Eudora Welty’s “A worn path”. ANQ, Vol. 16 Issue 1, p40-42, 3p Pritchard, W. (1984). Frost: A Literary Life Reconsidered. New York: Oxford University Press Saunders, J. R. (1992). A worn path': The eternal quest of Welty's Phoenix Jackson. The Southern Literary Journal 25.1 (Fall 1992): 62-73. Welty, E. (1986). A Worn Path. In A Modern Southern Reader. edited by Ben Forkner. Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers Ltd. Welty, Eudora eds. C.J. Baker, Roberta Sampere, and Christine Rakauskas. (2008). "A Worn Path." Custom Literature Reader: ENC 1102. New York: McGraw Hill. Read More