‘Instructor’s Name’
‘Subject’
Literature has been used in its various forms, like short fiction, novels, poems, plays, for centuries by writers, who use this medium to express their imaginations, emotions, and ideas. Each genre, in its own way, entices its reader and tries to entertain and enlighten him. Sometimes, a similar literary device, like symbolism, metaphor or imagery, is handled in a different way in different genres. The two literary works discussed in this essay, “The Road Not Taken” and “A Worn Path”, have both employed the symbolism of the journey. Both the authors have portrayed, in their work, a journey, which is more spiritual than physical. Though the message conveyed by each author differs, the use of journey as a symbolism for conveying their ideas is a common aspect that unites these two works. This essay is an attempt to explore, the way in which each author has made use of the symbol of the journey, in conveying his/her central message.
Journey has always fascinated writers, and is used in literature since Greek mythology. The physical journey of the protagonist helps him/her to solve a quest or find solutions to questions about their life. In this way, journey acts as a catalyst in the literature, whereby the protagonist is an enlightened or a changed person at the end of the journey. The symbol of the journey is one of the most widely used in literature, right from Homer’s Odyssey to the modern day work by Paul Theroux ‘the Long Way Home’.
The first obvious difference between both the works of our discussion is their genre. In Robert Frosts ‘The Road Not Taken’, the literary form used is a lyric poem. It is a form of literature, which appeals to the reader’s emotions, with specific rhyming schemes. Words are used to create a mood, and the poet’s thoughts are expressed mainly by playing with linguistic elements. It does not contain an easily expressible theme, and it just directs the readers to a particular conclusion without blatantly stating it. “A Worn Path” on the other hand is a short fiction. Short stories mix poetic condensations with fictional narratives. They belong to a hybrid genre, whereby they possess the functional brevity of the poems, and also the narrative elements of a novel.
As Faggen explains, Frost used the lyric poem structure to memorialize a decisive moment. This poem though may superficially appear straightforward and easy to interpret, it has hidden connotations and as Frost himself says, not many people can understand the entirety of the message conveyed by the poem. Behind the deceptive simplicity, lies a profound and through provoking message. The poem was written in 1916, during the Great War, and as Frost would reminisce many years later, the poem describes the dilemma, a friend (Thomas) of his had about fighting in the war. However, the theme of the poem is universal and relates to how people face conflicts in life.
The poem describes a walk taken by the narrator through the woods, when he encounters a fork in the road. The speaker says how he would not be able to travel in both the road at the same time, and tries to see as far ahead as possible to find out where the roads lead to. Later, he notes that both the roads look ‘fair’, but one road looks more welcoming because it was ‘grassy and wanted wear’. He decides to go in the second path, and to keep the other path for another day. But he later says that, it might not be possible, as one way lead to another, and he may not come back to the first path. In conclusion, he foreshadows the future and says he chose the path that was less travelled and that would make all the difference in his life. The fact that he says it with a sigh has opened up many interpretations, yet mostly it is understood to be a positive ending.
The evocative metaphor of the road, used in this poem, not just signifies the journey, but it also stands for the destination. It is a four stanza tetrameter, and has a rhythmic, conversational tone of narration. This tone gives the reader the effect of both walking and talking. The simplicity of the imagery and the tools of irony seen in the verses such as,
“And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!”
makes it a modern parable.
The poem encapsulates the process of decision making an individual has to undergo in every corner of his life. Life always gives us options, and the choices we make define our life and personality. While most modernist poets have alienated the common readers through the elitist poetry, Frost, through his use of the rural landscape, colloquial phrases, and working class persona, has reached out to the common American.
A Worn Path, written as a short story, narrates one tedious but often-taken journey of an old Black woman. The laconic story describes how, after much hardship, the old lady travels from a remote village to the nearby town, so that she can get the medicine necessary for her ailing grandson, who swallowed lye by accident. Like Frost’s poem, this story too has many deep messages beneath the seemingly plain story. Written during the 1940s, an era when the country was reeling under economic depression and social prejudice, the story has layered meanings, all fit into one neat plot.
Underneath this simple story is the rich texture of symbolism, whereby, through the motif of the journey, Eudora Welty has delineated the struggle of Phoenix Jackson, against old age, poverty, and racism. Her journey is depicted by a fusion of various elements of myth and reality. The journey in this story is as important as the errand. There have been many scholarly speculations as to whether Phoenix’s grandson is actually alive or dead, for which the author’s answer is ‘Phoenix is alive, and her lasting journey is alive, and she does not surrender to the sub-alternizing codes’.
While Frost makes use of poetical elements of verse and rhythm to illustrate his speaker’s passion and emotions about the journey he undertakes, Welty makes use of characterization. Characterization plays a huge role in a short story genre. While Phoenix also has choices to make on her path, and is passionate about her journey, her sentiments are not revealed through flowery prose as in a poem, but through various elements such as dialogues, symbols, and other characters.
For instance, the thorn bushes, barbed wire, poor eyesight and fatigue, are all the symbols of the struggles she has to put up both through her journey and, in a larger sense, her life. The white hunter she encounters en route highlights the racial prejudice she has to fight with.
“I know you old colored people! Wouldn't miss going to town to see Santa Claus!”
While Frost’s narrator weighs his options and his plans and counter-plans, Welty’s old lady is determined to travel in the path she has travelled for many years. There is no decision to be made as to which path to choose, but the decision here is should the journey be made despite all the obvious obstacles, and the fact that the medicine does not completely cures her grandson.
She, like the narrator of the poem, makes a strong decision, one to make the journey, which gives the chance for her grandson, however little it might be, to fight his throat pain. The outcome of the journey may not be the complete cure for her grandson, and may not translate much in terms of actual relief for him. However, it shows the character of the old lady, who is willing to face insurmountable odds just to do, whatever is possible within her means, to give her grandson a chance at healthier life and a little joy through a Christmas present.
Both the works of our discussion are narrated from different points of view. However, both viewpoints assert the belief the protagonist has on their travel. Frost’s poem is narrated in first person perspective while Welty uses a third person narrative. The use of ‘I’ in Frost’s poem has significance, as it tries to identify with the American trait of individualism and isolation. Since, the speaker in this poem took the road ‘less travelled’ many critics believe that Frost has celebrated, through this poem, American individualism and the risk taking nature. The aim here is to establish a ‘connect’ with the reader.
Welty, on the other hand, sees the Grandmother through the eyes of the world, which judges her by her traits such as, color, age, and gender. She wants to convey to her reader how we perceive certain category of people and how what meets the eye is not always true.
“'A charity case, I suppose,' said an attendant who sat at the desk before her.”
In essence, she conveys that there are more to people than what we judge them to be, and it is not correct to put people into preconceived categories based on stereotypes. We see through the other character’s how old Phoenix does not give up on her journey, not just her periodic trip to get her grandson’s medicine but also on her journey of life.
The plot development of both Frost and Welty are both similar to and contrasting each other. They are similar in describing a journey that has connotative meaning in both the works. And they are also similar in using rich imagery and symbolisms that aid to further the reader’s understanding, of the issue discussed. Both the protagonists are faced with the choice of taking the easy way out or persevere to pursue their journey.
The difference in the plot is that the traveler in the poem uses his journey to introspect himself and embark on an unknown yet promise-filled expedition. Phoenix, on the other hand, in her journey reminisces her whole life –past, present, and future. She says that the well in which she drank water was there much before her time, and later recollects that she was too old to receive education during the surrender. So she has lived her life before, during, and after civil war, and her journey, in effect, summarizes the plight of the African Americans in the past century. As Alfred Appel opines, "A Worn Path" is "an effort at telescoping the history of the Negro woman".
Although, both “The Road Not Taken” and “A Worn Path”, make use of the symbolism of the journey, each has a different message to convey to its readers. Both the authors have made use of journey as a symbol to go beyond the physical experience of the protagonists, and shed light on some superior truth both about themselves and the world they inhabit. Each of this work, in its own way, has left a footprint in American literature, and continues to enthrall readers even decades after their publication.
Journey allows the person to reflect on his past and future and, more importantly, on his inner self. Not all lead characters in travel literature are strong men, and it proves that real heroes come in many forms. Irrespective of the age, gender, and personality of the protagonists, journey can awaken a mystery buried in the depth of the hearts and answer hitherto unanswered riddles about life. And this element of mystery and enlightenment is common for all journey literature, irrespective of the genre in which they fall.
Works Cited
Cartwright, K. (2013). Sacral Grooves, Limbo Gateways: Travels in Deep Southern Time, Circum-Caribbean Space, Afro-Creole Authority. Georgia: University of Georgia Press.
Es, J. F., & Guimaraes, J. F. (2012). The Short-Short Story -- A New Literary Genre. Houston: Strategic Book Publishing.
Faggen, R. (2001). The Cambridge Companion to Robert Frost. Cape Town: Cambridge University Press.
Frost, R. (1920). The Road Not Taken. Retrieved from Poemhunter.com: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-road-not-taken/
Houston, L. M. (2008). Closing the Hallmark Card: Teaching Frost's "The Ro. Teaching American Literature: A Journal of Theory and Practice, Vol. 2. Issue 1, 14-22.
Lister, R. (2007). Literary Contexts in Short Stories: Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path". Literary Reference Center, EBSCOhost, 1. Retrieved from Literary Contexts in Short Stories: Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path". Literary Contexts In Short Stories Collections: Eudora Welty's 'A Worn Path.
Savoie, J. (2004). Poet's Quarrel: Jamesian Pragmatism and Frost's "The Road Not Taken". The New England Quarterly, Vol. 77, No. 1, 5-24.
Welty, E. (1941, February). A Worn Path . Retrieved from The Atlantic Monthly.: https://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/41feb/wornpath.htm
