THE SYMBOLISM OF THE JOURNEY

The Symbolism of the Journey

(Frost's “The Road Not Taken” Welty's "A Worn Path" Rhys's "I Used to Live Here Once")

The Symbolism of the Journey

(Frost's “The Road Not Taken” Welty's "A Worn Path" Rhys's "I Used to Live Here Once")

Thesis Statement:

The themes of Frost's “The Road Not Taken” Welty's "A Worn Path" and Rhys's "I Used to Live Here Once" are inter-related and complementing the same context.

Introduction

When looking at the short story and poem it is impossible to see it all in a literal form. There is always some sort of symbolism that occurs within the body of the text, but what is symbolism. It can be defined differently by many people. Even when looking at a dictionary it does not typically give a thorough answer. It is because symbolism is created by the author. However, it can be contradicted or have a completely obscure meaning to the reader. This is the exact reason why symbolism cannot be defined. However, it can be interpreted. Understanding the journey that characters take and their symbolic nature is definitely worth decoding. In fact, the symbolism of the journey is usually the basis behind the literary work itself.

Discussion and Analysis

Robert Frost's “The Road Not Taken”

One of the well known literary works with a symbolic journey is Robert Frost's “The Road Not Taken.” In the poem there is a man who has come to a crossroad in his life. One path is traveled on frequently while the other path is not. He has to make a decision as to what path he should take. No matter what, he knows that he cannot turn back once he has made the choice, but it is implied. He chooses the path less traveled and, in turn, it happens to be the best choice he had ever made. (McPhillips, 1986)

Many have analyzed this poem and many have come up with different ideas of what it actually means. Some say it is about suicide, some say it is about life changes, while others insist it is about life changes. When is the interpretation wrong? The reader gets what they must out of the poem as they read it. It depends on what life situation they are going through at that time. The author, Robert Frost, knew what he was writing about. Therefore, the interpretation of the poem actually merges itself with the reader. Regardless, there is a journey that occurs throughout this poem. To analyze the literary work there needs to be a beginning.

In the first two lines of Robert Frost's poem he says:

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both” (Clugston, 2010).

There is a certain symbolism in the yellow wood. It is not that the forest was filled with yellow trees. It was obviously at the beginning of fall. Fall is the season that everyone slows down from the summer. The anticipation of winter is coming and can cause a sort of depression in some ...