Comparing The Road Not Taken And The Boat

Life is dictated by the choices an individual makes, whether significant or not. Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” and Alistair Macleod’s “The Boat” demonstrate the difficult decisions an individual encounters throughout his or her life. This theme is demonstrated by taking the less common and incorrect path. In the two works, the narrators experience various troubles in which they must make a decision.

The theme of choosing a less common path is prominent in both compositions. In “The Road Not Taken,” the narrator chooses to go down the atypical path. “Oh I kept the first for another day (…) I took the one less travelled by.” (Frost) In place of following the footsteps of the previous individuals whom have encountered the crossroad, the

narrator takes the unconventional route. This decision reinforces the theme of making choices due to the narrator having to decide whether to follow the standard road, or to veer towards the uncommon road. Similarly, in “The Boat,” the narrator chooses the unexpected path despite his sisters’ past choices. “It all happened at once as if all my sisters were of identical ages (…) go they did, to Boston, to Montreal, to New York.” (Macleod 271) Unlike all of his sisters whom strayed away from the life of sea, the narrator decides to stay and help his father with the boat. Despite the narrator staying in his hometown, his siblings moved to large cities and continued a life without any mention of the sea. Thus, the two narrators did not follow a familiar path, but an unknown and uncommon one.
Incorrect decisions may cause individuals to reflect whether what they have made the proper choice. In “The Road Not Taken,” the narrator has a doubt in which whether he chose the correct path. “I shall be telling this with a sigh (…) And that has made all the difference.” (Frost) The narrator speaks with a forlorn tone, as if recalling the other path, doubting his decision, and imagining the outcome if he had decided differently. He reflects on his past decision, appearing unhappy with what he selected. In “The Boat,” the narrator’s father made the wrong choice by choosing the sea over his studies:
My father did not tan—he never tanned—because of his reddish complexion, and the salt water irritated his skin as it had for sixty years. He burned and reburned, over and over again and his lips still cracked so that they bled when he smiled. (…) My father had never been intended for a fisherman physically or mentally (…) He never really loved it. (Macleod 274)
The narrator recognizes his father’s unfitting decision of becoming a fisherman, rather than pursuing his studies. The father’s ill-suited choice is evident in regards to his body poorly adapting to the environment. Likewise to “The Road Not Taken,” there is a sense of regret lingering as the thought “what if?” remains, as though the wrong decision was made.
In conclusion, choices play a large role in the two works. The narrators both decide to take the less common path and not follow those before them. In addition, they both demonstrated the remorse felt upon choosing an incorrect path. These two works represent the decisions one faces in everyday life.