Comparing The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost and The Worn Path, by Eudora Welty

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Comparing and Contrasting the Symbolism in Literary Journey’s

Introduction

In analyzing and comparing symbolism, form, and style of the literary work “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost and the short story of “A Worn Path” by Eudora, Welty I ask so what is the symbolic discovery that gives the reader new ideas, connecting experiences, considering deeper insights, and coming to conclusions with harmonious delight? Although we all have ‘roads’ or ‘paths’ to take on our journey in life it is in how we handle the experience; and what we gain from those life journeys that will either enrich our life or be our demise. I intend to show that detail in the short story gives us a more precise imagery giving a lead to our imagination than that of the poem. The Symbolism in both brings to light a positive message each in its own rhythm and to each individual reader a metaphor and food for life.

The short story genre ‘A Worn Path,’ by Eudora, Welty is in third person omniscient point of view, and the theme is of undying love and devotion. The story theme is similar to the poem “The Road Not Taken”, yet is dramatically different as the setting along with characterization gives a detail and clear images in the plot. 3 Intriguingly as stated by the South Central Review (1997)… ‘The Worn Path presents the detail of Phoenix’s journey along the Natchez Trace. The first two Paragraphs deliver meticulous description’:

Ex: ‘It was December–a bright frozen day in the early morning. Far out in the country there was an old Negro woman with her head tied red rag, coming along a path through the pinewoods. Her name was Phoenix Jackson. She was very old and small and she walked slowly in the dark pine shadows, moving a little from side to side in her...

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...eferences

Clugston, R. W. (2010) Journey Into Literature San Diego, California, Bridgepoint, Education,

Inc. Retrieved from: http://content.ashford.edu/books

Frost, Robert (1874-1963) The Poetry Foundation Retrieved from:

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/stable/robert-frost

Iannone, C. (2005, June 1). Reading literature: Decline and fall? Academic Questions,

18(3), 6-15. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/

Litlang Ltda. (2007). Types of Literary Critisim Retrieved from

http://www.textetc.com/criticism.html

Pollack, H. (1997) Photographic Convention and Story Composition South Central Review

Vol. 14 (2), p.15-34 Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3189944?seq=6

Saunders, J. R. (1992). “A worn path”: The eternal quest of Welty’s Phoenix Jackson.

The Southern Literary Journal, 25(1), 62-73. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/

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