Symbolism in the Road Not Taken, “A Worn Path”, and I Used to Live Here Once

2Symbolism in Literature Published by susansteppe, February 27, 2011 Symbolism in The Road non Taken, A worn out manner, and apply to Live Here Once. When looking at the short news report and meter it is impossible to see it all in a existent form. in that location is al steerings some sort of symbol that occurs within the embody of the text, b bely what is symbolism. It can be defined differently by some(prenominal) state. Even when looking at a dictionary it does non typically give a thorough answer. It is be campaign symbolism is created by the author. However, it can be contradicted or have a completely obscure meaning to the claimer.This is the take reason why symbolism cannot be defined. However, it can be interpreted. reason the excursion that characters take and their symbolic nature is definitely worth decoding. In fact, the symbolism of the excursion is usually the basis behind the literary wee itself. unity of the well-kn take literary whole kit with a symbolic move round is Robert covers The Road Not Taken. In the meter thither is a man who has come to a cross course in his disembodied spirit. One rowway is traveled on frequently while the other path is not. He has to hazard a decision as to what path he should take.No matter what, he knows that he cannot turn back at once he has make the choice, moreover it is implied. He chooses the path less traveled and, in turn, it happens to be the best choice he had ever made. umpteen have analyzed this poem and some(prenominal) have come up with different views of what it real means. Some hypothesize it is about suicide, some order it is about support changes, while others insist it is about emotional state changes. When is the indication wrong? The endorser gets what they must out of the poem as they read it. It depends on what life situation they are going by dint of at that clock time.The author, Robert freezing, knew what he was writing about. in that res pectfore, the interpretation of the poem actually merges itself with the reader. Regardless, in that location is a journey that occurs by means ofout this poem. To analyze the literary work there demand to be a offset printing. Read more in Poetry Does a Sonnet Always Have 14 Lines? Poetry Comparison analyze The Evacuee and Death of a Naturalist In the first two lines of Robert Frosts poem he says Two alleys diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both (Clugston, R. W. , 2010 comp nonpareilnt part 2. 2).There is a certain symbolism in the yellow wood. It is not that the forest was filled with yellow trees. It was obviously at the beginning of fall. dec is the season that every iodin slows rectify from the summer. The anticipation of winter is coming and can cause a sort of depression in some people. It would explain why he inadequacyed to travel both. The following line says And be unitary traveler, long I stood And looked slash one and lonesome(pre nominal)(a) as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth (Clugston, R. W. , 2010 sec 2. 2). Here the reader comes to understand that the man took his time looking down the path.This could symbolize intentness or a lack of movement, which would again go along with the idea that the man was depressed. Another aspect of the idea of depression, one path had leaves on it while the other was grassy. When somebody is depressed they do not want to go down a dreary path. Instead, they would want to go down the grassy path that looked less traveled. Perhaps then something would change in their life. The actual symbolism of the paths themselves goes right along with that idea. However, the man was obviously sanguine because he did think about saving the one path for other day.He does contradict himself when he doubts that he will come back. The symbolism occurs with his doubts. He knows that once he goes down one path that he will not be able to come back at all. When the reader th inks about it there is an ordinary situation with this scenario because the complete poem is about a man who stops when he comes to a single out in the road. Nevertheless, the road actually is a symbol for life. That is where the imaginative talking to is used, and it is used in order to create emotion. Should the man go down the path with the leaves covering it? What are the leaves representing?The leaves were not scattered everywhere, so the road was less traveled upon. In fact, the leaves represent the rough trials that were to follow. Basically, it is easier to walk a path that has nothing in the way then one that does not. Therefore, the images that are particularly effective are the two paths and the leaves. These symbols change the tone of the poem to confusion, but it actually provokes deep thought when the traveler states that he took the one less traveled by. In the short story A Worn pathway symbolism of the journey also occurs. Yet, it is much different from Frosts A Path Not Taken. In Frosts poem he has the choice of two different paths, but in A Worn Path the aging charr, genus Phoenix Jackson, takes the same path over and over again. The path that Phoenix takes is a path that she has interpreted umpteen times before in order to get medicate for her grandson. The symbol of the path is lifes long journey. After all, she is an old charr who has messt with many things in her life. The symbolism of the pendulum in a gramps clock also pertains to her age. She is an old womanhood, a unretentive one at that, who walks with a cane made from an old umbrella. She was very old and bittie and she walked slowly in the dark pine shadows, moving a infinitesimal from side to side in her steps, with the balanced heaviness and lightness of a pendulum in a grand-father clock (Clugston, R. W. , 2010 sec 6. 3). When Phoenix hears the noises in the copse she is determined to make sure they stay away. This represents her strength of mind. Her willpower is a large part of the symbolism within the story because of the long journey she has to take. She is not on a mission to help herself. Instead, she is on a mission to help a part of her family.Therefore, it is a purpose set trip, so when the animals make noise in the distance she does everything possible to make sure she scares them off. It is a life-saving task in which she cannot fail. It is then that Phoenix has to get up a hill that is almost too difficult for her. The hill actually symbolizes the struggle of life. When everyone is a kidskin it is diffused to do anything. Hills are no big deal to climb, bi beats are easy to ride, and running everywhere is as simple as eating. However, as a individual ages it is more difficult to do things. That is where the hill comes in to play.She expects to climb the hill in order to conquer aging. There was no way that she could give up easily because of the journey she was taking. Also on the hill is a pubic hair that catches her dr ess. The furnish signifies the obstacles in her life. She obviously lived a hard life. She had many wrinkles, her dress spoke for themselves, and she had not been able to clean herself every day. The fact that she was poor epitomizes the fact that she had lived a hard life up until this point. Once she freed herself from the bush it characterized her willpower again.Nothing was going to stop her from completing her task. Another alpha factor about the bush was that she yelled at it. She called in a pretty green bush. That symbolizes the fact that she did not recognize the many of the obstacles in her life until they actually came to pass. After she struggles with the bush she sees the sun. The sun signifies the importance of traffic with the struggles in her life. Basically, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. She was freed from that tumult that happened in her life and she could go on. There was a new beginning, or she could start things anew.Unfortunately, that was no t the end of her struggle through life because there was the large log in the way. The log embodies the act of accomplishment. No one could stand in for her. She, Phoenix, had to overcome her own tussle. Once again, a drive for security is symbolized with the barbed wire fence. On her journey she sees a buzzard, which is a symbol of death. When thinking about a buzzard many regard them circling around a carcass. It is their way of claiming their meal for the day. Nevertheless, this one was just seated there. The fact that he was not moving could symbolize death wait for her.Yet, Phoenix was not ready for death. She may be getting old, but there was no room for death in her excursion. obliviously by and by she sees the buzzard she comes upon a scarecrow. Buzzards, crows, and other birds usually sit on the arms of a scarecrow. That exemplifies death as well, but instead of avoiding the scarecrow she dances in front of it. She was mocking death, or telling death in her own way t hat she would have no part of it. After all, she was on a mission to help her grandson. He had a throat condition, probably asthma, which pr notwithstandingted him from doing many things.There was no way she was going to give up her exertion. When Phoenix finally reached her destination it was a symbol of accomplishment. When thinking about the full(a) path it indicates the journey throughout life. As a baby everything is interpreted care of. There are no worries within life because there is someone to lean on. That is the first part of the path. The second part of the path, the hill, is the beginning of hardships. Each tribulation got bigger and bigger the older Phoenix became until she came to a point in her life when her burdens were easier to overcome.Yet, when she does get the medicine for her grandson she has to go through the entire trip over again. Again, it symbolizes more difficulties in life and the many obstacles that she had to deal with in her life. A Worn Path is the perfect mental picture of how many peoples lives turn out. No one gets a free ride in life, which means everyone has to deal with their own miseries, troubles, and sufferings in order to become better people. Phoenix is a strong-natured, strong-willed, and head-strong woman because she dealt with her ordeals in life. It may have been difficult at times, but she became an accomplished woman in her own right.Another short story that symbolizes lifes journey is Used to Live Here Once. The first trek of her journey was the rocks in the stream. Each rock represents a significant part of the trials everyone has to deal with in life. For instance, the round unsteady rock symbolizes the rocky road people must endure throughout life. No one truly gets the easy way out of life because there is always something that makes the journey unstable. The effective stone represents childhood. When someone is a child they do not need to be dependent on themselves in order to get through their dist resses in life.A mother carries her newborn, feeds them, and cares for them. Basically, the newborn has no worries. Even as a child growing up there are genuinely no burdens to deal with. There might be anxieties, but the childs mother, or father, is there to catch them when they fall. They can look around as long as they want at their life and maybe where they might be in the future. The rock, itself, is the parents. The next rock was no so safe because it was slippery and when the water rose it would be covered. This rock indicates the time of life when there are trials and tribulations to endure.The first is, of course, becoming a teenager. There are worries, distresses, pains, and hardships to deal with. The rising of the water actually designates the rush of life after becoming an adult. A person is on their own with no one to catch them, but themselves. They need to have a insomniac eye whenever difficulties arise, and sometimes those ordeals can be overbearing. There are e ven times when that person falls, but they always get up again. arriver the other side of the stream designates or symbolizes the triumph over the tribulations in life. It is safe, so there is nothing to fear.The ground is secure and it is easy pilotage from there. The road that the woman travels on is much wider than it used to be. It says in the story, The road was much wider than it used to be but the work had been done rakishly (Clugston, R. W. , 2010, sec 7. 5). This can be interpreted a couple different ways. One way is that life is unpredictable. In other words, there is no telling what could happen next because no one knows their future. The second way of understanding the wider road is to signify change. When people become older and go through their struggles, or heir rocks, they become different people. Everything that a person endures allows them to grow into the person that they are. For instance, a child that has had a mellow life growing up suddenly decides to join the military when they become of age. They go to boot camp one person, but come back someone completely different. It is because they dealt with obstacles throughout boot camp and had to grow up into an adult. That is a forced measure of growing up, but the concept is the same. Each trouble or ordeal they go through makes them into a better person.When the woman gets near the house she sees more changes. A house gone and one built a car, and items that were no longer there. Yet, she is so excited about coming back to place she grew up she does not really care. This, again, symbolizes the changes in life that occur. Once life has changed and the hardships are endured nothing is the same. Trials in life either become more difficult or easier to deal with. There is no telling but, nonetheless, the changes stay. Then the woman comes upon the two children playing in the yard. She attempts to say hello, but the children ignore her.She thinks it is because she is colored. The woman gets c loser to the children and she attempts to say hello again. However, they do not answer still. When she gets very close to the children one of them say it is cold, so they leave. This is when she realizes that she is no longer among the living. Therefore, the entire trip she took symbolizes the entire cycle of being born to the moment of death. In conclusion, the symbolisms between The Path Not Taken, A Worn Path, and Used to Live Here Once are quite similar. All three are about lifes challenges and the struggles throughout life.There are always decisions that need to be made through life and there are always going to be obstacles that get in the way. It is getting through those tribulations that are the trick. Not only that, but it is crucial not to give up. The stories portray that indefinitely. In The Path Not Taken the man takes the road less traveled. Yes. He had to go through many troubles throughout his life, but in the end he chose the right path. In A Worn Path the old woman pretty much has to go through the same difficulties throughout her life, but her endurance presides over her. Therefore, she has made the right choice.Last, but not least, in Used to Live Here Once the woman path symbolizes the entire trek through life from birth to death. These three literary works are definitely worth reading, but they are also there to teach about life itself. References Clugston, R. W. (2010) Journey into Literature. San Diego, CA. Bridge point Education. (http//content. ashford. edu/books/AUENG125. 10. 1/sec2. 2) (http//content. ashford. edu/books/AUENG125. 10. 1/sec6. 3) (http//content. ashford. edu/books/AUENG125. 10. 1/sec7. 5) Phillips, R. T. (March 1986) Diverging and Converging Paths Horizontal and Vertical drift in Robert Frosts Mountain Interval.Vol 58, Issue 1, pg. , 17 p. American Literature. Moberly, K. (Winter 2005/Spring 2006) Toward the North Star Eudora Weltys A Worn Path and the Slave Narrative Tradition. Vol. 59, Issue ? , p. 107-127, 21p. Mi ssissippi Quarterly. Piwinski, D. J. (Winter 2008) Mistletoe in Eudora Weltys A Worn Path. 16 (1) 40-42. 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