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 street, and Used to animated present Once. When looking at the short story and meter it is im viable to see it on the whole in a literal form. thither is always some sort of symbolism that occurs within the proboscis of the text, but what is symbolism. It merchant humanness be defined differently by many people. Even when looking at a dictionary it does non typically crack a thorough answer. It is be lawsuit symbolism is pee-peed by the author. However, it can be contradicted or render a completely obscure meaning to the reader.This is the exact reason why symbolism cannot be defined. However, it can be interpreted. Understanding the trip that characters take and their symbolic nature is unquestionably worth decoding. In fact, the symbolism of the transit is usually the basis behind the literary work itself. ane of the well-known literary works with a symbolic journey is Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken. In the poem there is a man who has contribute in to a cross track in his carriage. unmatchable path is lasted on frequently magic spell the other path is not. He has to make a decision as to what path he should take.No matter what, he knows that he cannot turn h hoary up once he has made the choice, but it is implied. He chooses the path less traveled and, in turn, it get holds to be the best choice he had ever made. Many deem tumbled this poem and many have come up with different ideas of what it actually means. Some say it is or so suicide, some say it is ab place disembodied spirit changes, while others insist it is rough life changes. When is the interpretation wrong? The reader gets what they must out of the poem as they read it. It depends on what life smudge they are going through at that time.The author, Robert Frost, knew what he was writing about. Therefore, the interpretation of the poem actually merges itself with the reader. Regardless, there is a journey that occurs end-to-end this poem. To analyze the literary work there necessitate to be a beginning. Read more in verse Does a Sonnet Always Have 14 Lines? Poetry Comparison Essay The Evacuee and Death of a Naturalist In the first two lines of Robert Frosts poem he says Two roadstead diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both (Clugston, R. W. , 2010 section 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. Fall is the season that every 1 slows down from the summer. The anticipation of winter is coming and can cause a sort of depression in some people. It would explain why he wanted to travel both. The following line says And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far-off as I could To where it bent in the under arrestth (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 patience 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 soul is depressed they do not want to go down a glooming 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 optimistic because he did think about saving the one path for another 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 thinks about it there is an ordinary situation with this scenario because the entire poem is about a man who stops when he comes to a fork in the road. Nevertheless, the road actually is a symbol for life. That is where the imaginative language is used, and it is used in order to create emotion. Should the man go down the path with the leaves coering 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 difficult 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 riveicularly effective are the two paths and the leaves. These symbols change the aspect 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 Path symbolism of the journey also occurs. Yet, it is frequently different from Frosts A Path Not Taken. In Frosts poem he has the choice of two different paths, but in A Worn Path the old woman, phoenix Jackson, takes the same path over and over again. The path that Phoenix takes is a path that she has taken many propagation before in order to get medicine for her grandson. The symbol of the path is lifes long journey. After all, she is an old woman who has viewt with many things in her life. The symbolism of the pendulum in a grandfather clock also pertains to her age. She is an old woman, a poor one at that, who walks with a trounce made from an old umbrella. She was very old and small and she walked slowly in the dark pine shadows, base a little from side to side in her steps, with the balanced heaviness and dismayness of a pendulum in a grand-father clock (Clugston, R. W. , 2010 sec 6. 3). When Phoenix hears the noises in the thicket she is determined to make sure they bear on 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 driven trip, so when the animals make noise in the distance she does everything possible to make sure she s armorial bearings them off. It is a life-saving task in which she cannot fail. It is then that Phoenix has to climb a pile that is almost too difficult for her. The hill actually symbolizes the struggle of life. When everyone is a child it is easy to do anything. Hills are no big deal to climb, bicycles are easy to ram, and running everywhere is as truthful as eating. However, as a person ages it is more difficult to do things. That is where the hill comes in to play.She motifs 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 bush that take prisoneres her dress. The bush signifies the obstacles in her life. She obviously lived a hard life. She had many wrinkles, her clothes 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. aught was going to stop her from completing her task. Another important 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 dealing with the struggles in her life. Basically, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. She was freed from that turmoil that happened in her life and she could go on. There was a new beginning, or she could start things anew.Unfortunately, that was not 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, P hoenix, had to overcome her own tussle. Once again, a fight for security is symbolized with the barbed wire fence. On her journey she sees a buzzard, which is a symbol of demise. When thought about a buzzard many imagine them circling around a carcass. It is their way of claiming their meal for the day. Nevertheless, this one was just sitting there. The fact that he was not moving could symbolize death waiting for her.Yet, Phoenix was not ready for death. She may be getting old, but there was no room for death in her excursion. Shortly after she sees the buzzard she comes upon a scarecrow. Buzzards, crows, and other birds usually sit on the weapons system 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 that 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 prevented him from doin g 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 opinion about the entire path it indicates the journey passim life. As a baby everything is taken 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 everlasting(a) depiction 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 or der to nonplus dampen 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 inhabit 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 safe stone represents childhood. When someone is a child they do not need to be strung-out on themselves in order to get through their distresses 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 really 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 wet 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, fair 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 watchful eye whenever difficulties arise, and sometimes those ordeals can be overbearing. There are even times when that person falls, but they always get up again. Reaching the other side of the stream designates or symbolizes the triumph over the tribulations in life. It is safe, so ther e is nothing to fear.The ground is secure and it is easy soaring 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 carelessly (Clugston, R. W. , 2010, sec 7. 5). This can be interpreted a equate 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 gather 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 t o 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 long-acting 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 any 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 howdy, but the children ignore her.She thinks it is because she is colored. The woman gets closer 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. Thi s 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. completely troika 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 ascertain 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 converge Paths Horizontal and Vertical Movement in Robert Frosts Mountain Interval.Vol 58, screw 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. Mississippi Quarterly. Piwinski, D. J. (Winter 2008) Mistletoe in Eudora Weltys A Worn Path. 16 (1) 40-42. 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