Comparison Of Individuality Among Works Of Dickinson And Frost

Comparison of Individuality Among Works of Dickinson and Frost The idea of self-individuality is comparable throughout Emily Dickinson’s poem, “I’m Nobody! Who are You?” and Robert Frost’s, “The Road Not Taken” and it also relates to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s article, “Self-Reliance”. The definition of self is expressed between the two poets with both similarities and differences, but seem to have a different point of view in each case. Each poet focuses on individuality and self-reliance and how a person can make themselves stand out in society or simply go with the flow. Some choose to be boisterous within their society, while others prefer to sit back and take in the environment around them. Both Robert Frost and Emily Dickenson are describing in their poems the idea of being alone. Frost fits into Dickinson’s metaphor concerning the frog. “How public-like a Frog” (line 6) is a strange metaphor that is used by Dickinson. Frogs are known to croak and make their presence evident, which ties into what Frost was saying, in the fact that there are “somebodies” and “nobodies”, but the somebodies make themselves heard. Frost can take something small and uncared for and talks about it in a
His beliefs relate to Frost and Dickinson’s beliefs in the sense that he focuses on the necessity of depending on himself for future knowledge and direction. He talks about the importance of self-reliance, the importance of it towards an individual, and self-reliance and society. People look at self-reliance as something that controls them. Some fall into the mold of conformity in society and lose their self dependence. “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string… providence has found for you”, (Emerson 2) explains how everyone has a destined path, but it is up to them to find it and make it their own. Follow not into the conformity of everyone else’s