Eassy On Isolation

Discoveries can be both confronting and provocative which can expose individuals to instantaneous discoveries, this perspective is shown through the strong emotions and concepts the writers explore throughout the texts “Mending Wall” and “Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost and “The Red Tree” by Shaun Tan. Both these texts incorporate concepts of isolation, obligations and duties and the value of a moment.

Being isolated can often lead individuals to make discoveries about themselves and find out whom they are. It is in times of isolation that we begin to discover that there are many different perspectives to view life through. Robert Frosts poem “Mending Wall” explores the concept of isolation. The neighbour in the poem

This leads the persona to then realise to what extent he is alone. The neighbour sticks to his word and states that “he will not go behind his father’s saying” This both prevents the persona from discovering a new friendship and forces the persona into an instant and confronting discovery of becoming isolated from his neighbour. This concept of isolation is also seen in “The Red Tree” as the young girl is seen trapped inside a glass bottle placed on stones overlooking the water. The image shows the young girl hiding away from the world in a small space. The colour scheme of blue surrounds the unnamed girl and symbolises sadness and how she feels isolated from society,

This concept of obligation and duty is seen in Robert Frosts’ poem ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’. Frost explains the personas thoughts about how “the woods are lovely, dark and deep” but he is too busy maintaining his duties to fully immerse himself into the experience of the woods because he has “…promises to keep” therefore controlling is exploration of discoveries. This is portrayed through the oxymoron used to describe the woods as “lovely, dark and deep”. Here the audience sees how the persona has fallen in love with the woods however then continues to say “ but I have promises to keep”. The use of repetition and the word sleep as a metaphor for death emphasises that he must go on and return to the village and his duties before he experiences death. The narrators drowsy, depressing tone depicts that he feels as if his duties have become a chore, as if he is so bored of the world becoming consumed by industrialisation and the introduction of new technology after World War 1 that society has forgotten about the beauty of nature. In contrast to this the unnamed girl in ‘The Red Tree’ experiences an obligation to uphold, the duty to discover happiness. This is seen when she is travelling through the water on her significantly small boat. The rapid water represents the obligations she has in