The Road Not Taken and Journey to the Interior English Journeys Essay

Topics: Decision making, Decision making software, Decision theory Pages: 2 (844 words) Published: February 24, 2012
It’s the journey and not the arrival that matters. A journey is a movement from one point to another where in you gain knowledge through experiences by overcoming obstacles. The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost and Journey to the Interior by Margaret Atwood portray the concept of journeys to a great extent. These poems will show a whole other perspective of a literal inner and imaginative journey and a metaphorical physical journey. In the poem “The Road Not Taken”, Robert Frost provides a look at the choices one has in life, how one comes to decide which choices are better, and what the consequences of these choices are. In “Journey to the Interior”, Margaret Atwood uses the physical terrain of the Canadian landscape as a metaphor for this psychological exploration of the self. The persona is embarking on an imaginative and inner journey.

Many people can relate in many ways to these two poems. In The Road Not Taken, Frost uses the paths as a metaphor for life in general. He says "Two roads diverge in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood." In these phrases, Frost is explaining that he is in a situation where he has to make a decision. This hints that some of us spend time deliberating over which would be the best decision when we are put in a situation where we have to choose one thing or the other. This also explains how the protagonist was procrastinating in which road to take, the road that was less travelled by or the road that has certainly been walked on. Atwood’s persona is experiencing issues that are very similar to each other. “I notice: that the hills which the eyes make flat as a wall, welded together”. The hills are obstacles and represent her emotional challenge. The personas problems and issues are very intricate and one issue of hers leads to another. Both personas seem to be having difficulties and although they are very different to one another, both are trying to reach a solution and overcome their...
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