The Road Not Taken

In “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, he uses symbolism and metaphors to represent the different paths in life that can be taken. He does this so that people can realize how much their individuality matters. Metaphors are seen in the poem as a way to explore the process of decision making during a hard time in our lives. In the poem, the person who is going through a forest is faced with a fork in the road; “Two roads diverged in a wood” (Frost 18). This relates to someone who is going through life, and eventually had to make a difficult decision. In the poem the person has to evaluate each path before making a decision on which one to go down; “long I stood and looked down one as far as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth” (Frost …show more content…
The important elements of decision making are the choices you are making, and when you’re making them; “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood” (Frost 1). The two roads symbolize the choices that can be made. In this case one of the options is the easy way of living, which is just going with what everyone else is doing just for the sake fitting in. The other choice is the more difficult way, which is venturing off on onto an original path. These are important because the path that person chooses will shape the person they become. The author is trying to make the point that someone who just does what everyone else is doing won't have an as meaningful compared to someone who is completely being themselves, and following their own path. The other important element of decision making is when you are making the decision. At the start of the poem the speaker is having to choose between these two paths in a “yellow wood”, which represents the fall, and the fall is a time when things are dying and and getting dark. This is what causes them to almost consider taking the easy way. Their mind is in a bit of a gloomy state and they want to get out of it. By the end of the poem the speaker is dealing with these two choices again but the forest isn’t described as yellow. This implies that they are in a better, and less sad state of thinking, and can make decisions more clearly. Therefore, they choose the road that is less common because they realize that it’s the right choice. This final idea related so individuality being important because it notes the things that would cause someone to think a certain way when they're making a decision, and these factors affect everyone

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