A Worn Path free essay sample

They both have the same theme, content, form and style. In this paper you will find that the story and the poem are alike and different in ways as for the symbolism, taking the path and facing obstacles along the way. Differences as in one an elderly lady dreams of her grandson, the other a man trying to decide what road he wants to take. Phoenixs brief encounters on her journey typify the views of many Southern whites during the era. A Worn Path is told from a third-person limited point of view. This allows the reader to empathize with Phoenix, because her thoughts and actions are shown. Yet, in third-person, the reader is allowed to view Phoenix from a distance, and thereby see her as others see her. There is symbolism in Phoenix’s name also the name of a bird that rises from the ashes, the phoenix (The Bird) has become a common emblem of reincarnation, Phoenix is said to represent the sun, which dies at night and take a new birth every morning. Some traditional writers also relate it with existing in heaven, enjoying everlasting adolescence. Amid Christians. So I think that meaning Phoenix Jackson was so strong walking every day to get her grandsons medicine, and then like the Bird is an emblem of reincarnation, maybe her grandson had passed away and she thought he was still alive. In her mind she was trying to bring him back alive. Its themes are elicited from the symbol of the journey as well as the encounters the old woman has on her journey. Critics have praised Weltys use of language, myth, and symbol in this deceptively simple story. Irony is used to show the intensity of her struggle. Just when she gets in the clearing and feels safe, she sees a buzzard, a reminder of death( as cited in the text)The old Negro women had such a big heart and so much love for her grandson she walked miles to town in the winter to get medicine he needed. She is determined to go down that path despite anything that might come between her and getting the medicine for her grandson, Phoenix Jackson is the symbol of perseverance, stamina, and life in the face of hardship and death. Phoenix is small and frail. Seem like is chains bout my feet† (as cited in the text 6. 3 paragraph 5) a symbol for the recent memory of slavery. We know that she is old because she is on a quest that she briefly forgets the purpose of, by the time she gets there. Her Journey was on a long worn path, that apparently she had taken many times before . During her journey Phoenix is visited several times by dreams, once by a little boy offering her a piece of marble cake, again wanting help getting up out if the ditch . The dog and the hunter showed Phoenix of more conflicts she must deal with (cited in the text line 35). The hunter rescues the old woman from her encounter with the dog, but there is discernable conflict between these two characters: the hunter is on a mission of death and the old woman is on a life-saving mission. But when she reaches her hand out there is no one there. When she was found in the ditch by a white hunter, he did help her out but he told her it was way too far of a walk and told her to â€Å"go home granny† Then he taunts her by pointing his gun at her as if she should have been scared of the â€Å"white â€Å"man. The theme there was racism. There is also a moral theme which is when the hunter dropped a nickel out of his pocket she distracts him by having him chase away the black dog. She picked up the nickel and saw a bird fly by her and thought it was God watching her. As old people do, she talks to herself along the way even to the animals and to some of the plants she comes upon. She might be old and frail but she doesn’t seem to scare easily. She wasn’t sure if the hunter saw her pick up the nickel but she knows God did. When she finally reaches town she walks into the Doctors office to get medicine for her grandson, and again here is racism, the attendant says† A Charity Case, I suppose†. The reason for the medicine is her grandson swallowed lye and burnt his throat . Finally the attendant played nice and offered some pennies out of her own change purse, which gave Phoenix ten cents. She went and got her grandson a windmill for Christmas. I believe that her grandson had passed away and she didn’t realize it and she still bought him gifts and got his medicine, like as if she was in a dream like the little boy offering her cake. Maybe the little boy she saw that wasn’t there was actually her grandson. Reading this story broke my heart, imagining being Phoenix. walking the â€Å"worn path† over and over again and most of what she sees is dreams , when it comes down to it the question I have , Is she really walking the Warn Path at all or is it another dream she’s having from the past years of her life. Phoenix Jackson encounters many adversities along her journey, but somehow manages to get through them. Her perseverance in the face of tremendous obstacles is admirable considering her age and declining health. This story reminds the reader over and over that she truly loves her grandson, and that she is determined to overcome any obstacle to achieve her goal. The only thing that keeps her from giving up is the love she has for him and the fact that all they have in this world is each other. This story was very long but interesting, there were a lot more stanza’s then the poem I chose. The whole time on her walk to town to get her grandsons medicine she kept her mind on how important it was for her to make it to the Doctors office and if she didn’t her grandson might die. She was determined no matter what she had to face on her walk to town. The Road Not Taken (Frost) The road not taken is a Persona it refers to the person who is the narrator in the story or the speaker in the poem, the speaker seems satisfied and knows leaving the other road for future travel is not possible. The choice is just not about a particular road but about a life path as well that the poem emphasizes the ambiguity associated with life’s choices and death. It reflects not just on the motive for choosing but on the nature of choice making. The speaker seemed to be delightful at the beginning, until the â€Å"sigh† Which seemed to make it more complex than it appeared. The choice is just not about a particular road but about a life path as well that the poem emphasizes the ambiguity associated with life’s choices and death. It reflects not just on the motive for choosing but on the nature of choice making. After careful inspection of both routes, the speaker comes to the conclusion that neither path presents a more appealing endeavour ahead. â€Å"The Road Not Taken† the destination was not a set location. Of the two means of travel, the speaker asserts that the passing there/had worn them really about the same (lines 9-10) and both that morning equally lay/ in leaves no step had trodden black (lines11-12). Lacking an explicit solution to the dilemma, the speaker is left to contemplate any future consequences based on an impending decision of taking one road over the other. As a result, the speaker comes to terms that his final destination is bound solely by chance and choice, but he anticipates an imminent feeling of regret for not travelling the other routes course. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, there are these two roads. They split. (One goes one way; the other goes a different way)(Frost). It Is Autumn, There is Symbolism in green leaves turn yellow. The narraator regrets that he cant go down both roads, because then hed have to split himself in two and thats impossible. He stands at the fork for a long time and examines one of the roads as far as he can. He cant see the end of the road because the road curves away from his line of vision. He actually took the the second road, the one he had not looked down yet. This Second Road may be more deserving of the narrator walking down it. Why? Well, there was grass on this Second Road and it seemed to be telling the narrator I want you to walk on me. And both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black. (Black meaning death of decomposing. He decided not to take the first road, and take it another day (the future). Once he takes the second road, that road will lead to another fork and hell have to neglect another possible path choice. Hence, because of all the future road choices he knows hell encounter, he thinks hes unlikely to ever come back and discover what this first road is like. I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence† meaning he will reminisce about this decision he is making. Hell do it with a sigh. He took the road less traveled, meaning not many people traveled this road and it was covered in leaves. And apparently taking the less traveled road really changed his life. And it changed his life for the good. Some people just chose a road at random and dont worry about it. But other people worry for 3 stanzas about which road to take (when there really isnt much of a difference between them). These are the types of people who will justify their decision later saying they took the one less traveled (when in reality the roads were equally traveled). This isnt a good or bad characteristic of these people; the poem just says it happens. The setting of the poem is the symbolism of the poem, because it communicates the idea and message. Our lives are like roads, with splitting paths representing the different choices that we must make. As we live our lives we travel down the road, rarely going back. Whether we dont come back because time pushes us forward or because we have no will to, these choices re what mold us into what we desire (or not) to become. Frost was trying to convey the importance of making the right decision when confronted with such a scenario in life (Wilcox). The Road Not Taken is a closed form poem with four stanzas consisting of five lines each. Having consistent numbers of lines within stanzas allows a concrete rhythm to be developed. Assonance can be found in line 14, Yet knowing how way leads on to way (14). Symbolism is used to describe how there were no markings on the trail to warn of danger down one of the paths, In leaves no step had trodden black (12). He sees two ways he can go with his life with no underlying dangers apparent to him, so both aspects seem to be positive decisions in his life. The speaker, who is a very serious person, chooses a particular road. Even though stanza 2 suggests the choice could have gone either way, both roads were a lot alike, the speaker seems satisfied with the choice, and knows that leaving the other road for future travel is not possible. The choice is not just about a particular road but about a life path as well. (As cited in the text). The poem emphasizes the ambiguity associated with life choices. The rhyme scheme is ABAAB. The ironic tone is inescapable: â€Å"I shall be telling this with a sigh / somewhere ages and ages hence. † After reading this story I was remembering when I and my family went to the park. /camping area here where I live. They have many trails, and we came to one that branched off, we took one which after we walked it I wished we had took the other one, because it took us five hours to get out of it. We were out at dusk, just about dark; I didn’t think this trail was ever going to end. But I think this poem has to do with (Frost’s) Life and what way he was going to go , for hr chose the right way because it turned out good and never walked road one. In both the short story and poem, there was stanza’s. The short story and 95, the poem only had 17 stanzas, in the poem there was a lot rhyme but there was none at all in the short story. Both stories are about a path, and life changes, difficulties and death. There was worry in both of them , whether if it was if Phoenix was going make it to town , or if Frost was going choose the right road to take There was a lot of symbolism in both of these. The cold winter, the little boy that was giving Phoenix a piece of cake, the snow and ice, the yellow leaves, autumn. Because they were making life choices, they both ended up doing the right thing.