The Road Not Taken: The Paradox of Free Will
Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken", is a profound philosophical
approach illustrating the paradox of free will. In the first line, Frost
uses the metaphor "Two roads diverged" (1), to establish not only the
dilemma of the traveler in the poem, but life itself. The decisions we make
in life, like the traveler in "The Road Not Taken", are not to be taken
lightly. There is a desire to be adventurous, yet we fear possible regret
for 'what might have been'. Either way, we must live with the choices we
make. "The Road Not Taken" is an ambiguous poem epitomizing the complex
nature of individuality.
The literal situation of "The Road Not Taken" concerns a traveler who is
faced with a very simple decision. The traveler comes to a crossroads in
"a yellow wood" (1). Two paths lay ahead of him, both "just as fair" (6).
The traveler desires to take both roads, but knows that he "could not take
both" (2), and is disturbed by that realization. He regrets being able
experience both paths. The traveler takes his time contemplating over which
direction to pursue. As he looks for sign to guide him, he notices an
undergrowth hiding a bend in one of the paths. This distraction in his line
of vision was one of two differences in the roads that lied ahead. The
second difference is that the other road "wanted wear" (8). Although the
paths otherwise seem very similar, the adventurous traveler proceeds down
"the one less traveled" (19). The traveler makes his decision, but is
reluctant. Instead of saying, 'it has the better claim', he says "having
perhaps the better claim" (7). The indecisiveness of the traveler is seen
once again...
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...cond practical literary device Frost uses is tone. Tone
reflects the writers attitude toward the subject being addressed. The
obvious tone of the traveler is contemplation and hesitance. Frost is
successful in using tone to communicate the mood not only of the traveler
but that of the shaky situation:" I doubted that I should ever come back"
(15).
In conclusion, "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost, could not have
developed the concept of individuality and choice any clearer. Frost is a
great poet who has an uncanny ability to confound nature and life. "The Road
Not Taken" has led me to consider more carefully the decisions I make. The
benefit of free will is the freedom to choose. The misfortune of choice is
the contemplation of regret. Frost addresses this paradox in order to
convey the complex nature of individuality and life itself.
In life, multiple factors work together to influence the choices one makes, and these choices affect both one’s present and their future. In a narrative about two boys who share the same identity, their two seperate lives are compared to one another by the differences of their futures. Choice versus Fate is a theme in The Other Wes Moore that is developed throughout the plot to display how the two forces work together and against each other in the two characters’ lives, and to also emphasize the reality that at times, one’s fate is already pre-destined and the choices that one makes may not be impactful enough to change their destiny.
As I continued to chat with my pastor that day, I really sensed the hurt in his eyes – the anger that comes from an unsolvable injustice, the tiredness of a problem. “What’s wrong?” I finally asked, “Having a bad day?” Sensing that I was truly concerned, he let the truth be told. “I talked with a woman today whose baby died suddenly of unknown causes. As we worked through her grief, she talked about how numerous friends and family, even a religious leader had patted her on the back, shook their heads and said, ‘It was God’s will.’ I find few things worse to say to a grieving parent. Saying nothing at all would be of more help.” It was obvious from our conversation that he had an understanding greater than I about God’s will, and his insight created in me a curiosity and desire to learn more.
Many a successful wordsmith has mastered voice, Winston Churchill included. He start off his speech in a jovial way, after all, summertime has hit Britain. But Winston mainly concerns himself with the prospect of Germany hitting England, and so, as he delves deeper into his speech, his voice becomes less jovial and more ironic and grave. In his last three paragraphs, he speaks as though with a straight face, getting into the nutshell of the current events. “If Herr Hitler does not make war, there will be no war. No one else is going to make war. Britain and France are determined to shed no blood except in self-defense or in defense of their Allies…we must strive to frame some system of human relations in the future which will bring to an end this prolonged hideous uncertainty.” (Churchill, Paragraph 9; 11) So there: he has laid down the gauntlet for America. The US must come to the aid of their Allies, or only more uncertainty will abound. Using voice, a most powerful weapon, Winston Churchill successfully, eventually, helped cajole America into World War
Parkinson, Roger. Summer, 1940 The Battle of Britain. New York: David Mckay Company Inc, 1977.
...e belligerent, especially when the Cold War almost turned into an actual war, he was a man of many words that could sway the opinions of many. One speech could turn an entire country’s perspective in the exact opposite direction and with this skill, Britain emerged as a world leader in the preceding half of the twentieth-century. Sir Winston Churchill lived a full and complete life. Though his death may have been sullen, his message was clear, “History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it” (Dell 259) and so was the case.
Animal experimentation is not as good as it may seem to humans because we are not feeling it. It is cruel to animals to experience this. Many experts say is the only way to make new medicine, but you have to think about the animal. Many people don't even know what happens during experimentation on animals.
Poetry is a form of art in which an exclusive arrangement and choice of words help bring about a desired emotional effect. Robert Frost said that a poem is formed when “an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.” His popular poem, "The Road Not Taken," like any other poem, has as many interpretations as it has readers. Using rhetorical analysis, one can break down the meaning(s) of this seemingly simple poem.
The Road Not Taken is a twenty-line poem written in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme ABAAB. This poem starts with the author walking through the woods. He comes to a fork in the path and is torn by which path to take...does he take the path that is traveled by everybody, or the one rarely traveled upon? He decides to take the road less traveled by. By taking this path he changes his life in some way unknown to the reader.
Many people while reading poems take the blunt force of what is being said word by word, but that is where people go wrong. Poetry is deep and meaningful pieces of literature making understanding poems very challenging for some people. The most misunderstood poem ever written would have to be Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” mainly because people seem to be individualized and not read into the irony Robert Frost is telling. Being able to go deeper into your own thoughts and thinking outside of the box to find the true meaning of what is being said is how you figure out what the authors are trying to say. What seems like a straight forward poem that we constantly hear people saying “take the road less traveled” really takes on a whole
Robert Frost, author of “The Road Not Taken” and many other renowned poems, was born on March 26, 1874 in the city San Francisco. Frost attended Lawrence High School, where he met his future wife, Elinor White. Frost married Elinor on December 19, 1985 and had their first child, Elliot, in 1896. He attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire in 1892 and then transferred to Harvard University in Boston. He ended up dropping out after two years due to health concerns, never earning a formal degree. In 1900, Frost and his family moved to New Hampshire; Frost wanted to start farming. However, this did not work out for him; he felt that his true calling was writing poetry . In 1912, Frost is faced with an important decision; he decided
Choices in life can be as simple as deciding where to go out to eat or what to wear and as difficult as deciding which college to enroll in and who to marry. The most strenuous part is not knowing if you made the right decision because even the simplest choices can shape the future. There are no guarantees in life so every decision counts. Second guessing is as natural to humans as breathing, which makes the decision making process that much harder because it is more than just picking something and sticking with it, there is always the curiosity of what if? Even when faced with the most difficult decisions one must live with the choices they have made, which is very similar to what the speaker of “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is forced to deal with.
Robert Frost was born in 1874 and died in 1963. During his years of living Frost, wrote 105 poems including; The Road Not Taken, Mending Wall, Stars, and A Time to Talk (Best Famous Robert Frost Poems) and many more. While Frost was in his early and late twenties he attended school at Dartmouth University, only to return home and have unsatisfactory jobs, and Harvard University, where he had to drop out after two years due to health concerns. He married Elinor White on December 19, 1895, together they had four children but only two were able to live into adulthood. In 1912, Frost and Elinor decided to move their family to England, where Frost met Edward Thomas. It has been said, that Frost and Thomas would
“The Road Not Taken” examines the struggles people run into when they come to a place in their life where a life altering decisions has to be made. The man who is described in this poem is traveling when he comes upon “two roads diverged” (1). He then has to choose which path he will take to continue on his journey. After standing at the diversion for a while, he knows he has to make a final decision. One path was worn down and “bent in the undergrowth” (5), so he took the other path, which was described as “perhaps the better claim/ Because it was grassy and wanted wear” (6-7). The man of the poem begins to ponder about a time when he will be telling his story of the path he took. Although we are not sure if the man regrets his decision or is relieved, he lets us know taking the road less traveled “has made all the difference” (20).
Art therapy has been used in patients with different conditions. I have briefly described three experiments carried out with patients with mental instability, women with breast cancer and patients with eating disorders.
"The Road Not Taken Theme of Exploration." Shmoop: Study Guides & Teacher Resources. Shmoop University, Inc. Web. 03 Apr. 2011. .