Symbolism_of_the_Journey

Symbolism of the Journey Greg Barrios ENG 125 July 25, 2011 Wanda Deffenbaugh Symbolism of the Journey, a comparison of two stories The short stories “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost are two literary works that involve using the journey as a symbol. The symbol that the journey portrays in both of these pieces of literature is that of life. Life as a human being involves the right of choice for one of the literary works, and lack of choice in the second. This paper will compare and contrast these two pieces of literature which share the same theme. The comparison of the two pieces of literature will involve a comparison of the content, form, and style in an effort to provide deep insight into the theme of the two pieces of literature. Content In the story “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, content is developed through a complex series of descriptions. The story begins with a description of the setting which is cold December morning in a far off path through a pinewood forest. The character is an old Negro woman who is described as being very old and small and wearing a head tied red rag. The woman is further described as wearing a dark red stripped dress and apron and carrying a cane and an umbrella. These descriptions of the setting give the reader a clear picture of the setting and character in the story as well as how the character moves when the author describes her as moving slowly through the pine shadows and moving from side to side like a pendulum in a grand-father clock. The woods in “A Worn Path” are described in great detail and helped the reader get the full effect of what the character was experiencing as she traveled through them. In the poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, content is developed differently than in “A Worn Path”. The reason for the different development is that a poem is different than a short story. While the short story has a character and a plot, the poem does not. Frost uses the vision of a yellow wood to paint a picture of what the setting of the poem will be. The setting of “The Road Not Taken” leads the reader to visualize a path that symbolizes life choices. Although the poem does not contain a character, it is told from a first-first person perspective which gives the reader a sense of belonging and presence. Frost uses symbols gracefully throughout the poem to symbolize life paths, phrases such as “In Leaves no step had trodden black” (Clugston, 2010, p. 2.2) where it symbolizes a life path that no one has previously followed. The setting in “The Road Not Taken” is therefore one of a yellow wood with two divergent roads. Form “A Worn Path” is a fictional short story that is told from a third third-person point of view. By using a third-person point of view, it “allows the reader to empathize with Phoenix, because her thoughts and actions are shown” (Napierkowski, 1998, para. 1) while allowing the reader to view her frailties and hardships that she endures. The journey plays a significant role in theme development for the story as the character endures many trials along the way. The poem “The Road Not Taken” is a poem that is told from a first-person point of view. The speaker can be thought of as someone facing a difficult life decision and appears very conflicted. The poem is written in the form of an iambic tetrameter which means that there are only four feet (Shmoop Editorial Team, 2011) unlike an iambic pentameter which has five feet. The first-person point of view adds to the story’s theme of the journey as the author places himself in the character’s shoes and gives the reader a first-person insight into the journey and the theme. Style In “A Worn Path”, the style used is that of a dramatic monologue and relies heavily on symbolism and similes to create a very vivid picture in the mind of the reader about the character and setting of the story. The most obvious symbol in the story “A Worn Path” is the name of the main character Phoenix Jackson. A Phoenix is a mythical bird that rises from the ashes every 500 years and thus symbolizes resilience (BookRags, 2011). As the main character in the story, Phoenix Jackson emerges as a symbol of perseverance, stamina, and life in the face of hardship and death (Sheets, 1998). The symbol of a Phoenix compliments the theme of the journey because of the many obstacles and hardships that the character encounters along the way. In “The Road Not Taken”, Frost uses the style of four stanzas with five lines each which are called quintains. Each quintain has a rhyme scheme that is iambic, which means that there is one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable (Shmoop, Editorial Team, 2011). By using a style that is slightly different than the usual iambic pentameter, Frost creates a unique Rhythm to the poem and that helps to build on the theme of the journey as he tells the story from a first-person perspective. Conclusion The journey is the common theme in the story “A Worn Path” by Gwendolyn Brooks and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. The journey is very detailed and symbolic in “A Worn Path” where the character Phoenix Jackson is an old woman who endures many trials and hardships as she travels through a yellow wood to a distant town to get medicine for her sick grandchild. In the poem “The Road Not Taken”, the journey is also very symbolic and portrays a character that is faced with difficult life choices that he understands will have significant ramifications on his future. This paper has compared and contrasted the two stories which share the journey as a similar theme. The two stories were also compared for their content, form, and style which showed both similarities and differences. References Sheets, A.J. (1998). A Worn Path, Eudora Welty - Introduction." Vol 27. Retrieved from http://www.enotes.com/short-story-criticism/worn-path-welty-eudora Clugston, R.W. (2010). Journey into literature. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu Napierkowski, M.R. (1998). A worn path: style. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski. Vol. 2. Retrieved from http://www.enotes.com/worn-path/style Shmoop Editorial Team. (2011). The road not taken: rhyme, form & meter. Shmoop.com. Shmoop University Inc. Retrieved from http://www.shmoop.com/road-not-taken/rhyme-form-meter.html BookRags. (2011). A worn path study guide: style. BookRags and Gale's For Students Series. Retrieved from http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-wornpath/style.html