Monomyths are one of the leading archetypal examples commonly found in literature. It is a quest or a journey braved by a hero that takes them through three stages; separation, initiation and reintegration. One of the clearest examples is the essay, the Step Not Taken by Paul D’Angelo. The narrator represents the hero on a journey to understand the misery of other people he comes across. Through all of this, the hero rebounds with an epiphany that changes his outlook.…
When you live in the hustle and bustle of a big city, it is important to keep up with the fast pace and go with the flow. This can lead to conformity within the society which is not always most desirable, or even justifiable. The essay, “The Step Not Taken” by Paul D’Angelo, is about a man on a personal journey to discover how to rightly respond to others’ suffering. The essays’ structure can easily be used to demonstrate what a monomyth is. A monomyth, also known as the hero’s journey, is a plot pattern used in many narratives. The hero of the story goes through three main plot sections,…
A short story and poem, no matter how structurally different, are two literary pieces where a rich story is embedded. Readers are drawn towards these scripts by means of rhythm (poem), characterization, or a fictional setting in their respective narratives. However, the mere script would not make it entertaining enough to hold the reader’s attention. It would depend on the imagination of the readers as they are reading the story as to what they take from it. Every reader has their own way of visualizing the descriptions and symbolism used by the author. It is through imagination that the readers are able to interpret what the author is trying to depict within the symbolism and other descriptive languages. The beauty of stories and poems is that they are generated and created through the readers own imagination which consequently allows each individual reader to build their own personal connection with the literary piece. The two literary pieces “The Road Not Taken” (poem) and the short story “A Worn Path” are different in terms of actual writing styles, however they both share the same theme which is every person’s journey is greatly governed by their decisions and no matter how many paths there may be, it is still the choices that the person makes that determine the ending of his or her journey. Each one conveys a theme of life journeys and the challenges and struggles that go along with those journeys. In “The Road Not Taken” it is the journey one must make while trying to choose the right path in life. One path seemingly offers a more familiar road and perhaps the easier of the two. The other path is clearly been less traveled upon, yet yearns to be. In “A Worn Path” the journey that one woman takes on in order to care for her sick grandchild is unfolded. It is…
The author uses different literary devices, including point of view and diction to show a character’s struggle in choice between regret and heroism. His use of first person point of view is used to convey regret, while his use of diction is used to show heroism.…
Paul gained new knowledge about learned that he must help anyone in need as the world contains people who are in need of help. Offering help was important to Paul as people perceive it as the right thing. Paul began his journey in the elevator as the man broke down in front of him and ended when he decided to share his story by writing “The Step Not Taken” this would help people who went through similar experiences. The narrator thought it was best way to get the incident off his chest and gave people hope that are in need.…
Paul D'Angelo's narration of "The Step not Taken," consists of a structure which can be analyzed through archetypal theory. The author experiences all the stages of a monomyth during the narration. Paul, in the story, acts himself as both the benevolent guide and the trickster through an internal force. He questions himself on both sides of the argument created during his narration. Paul's experience with a distraught stranger has him search for answers on how one should respond to another's suffering.…
At the beginning of the novella, the reader discovers that the speaker is a grown man who is reflecting on his audacious childhood. He/she can infer that the narrator…
Moving on, the meaning of the author’s work as a whole is discovering one’s self at one’s own expense. In other words not losing yourself to the competitive nature of society by becoming what others wants you to be. The narrator’s…
The next phase in the Hero 's Journey Narrative is the “initiation”. This phase begins with the Apotheosis.…
tries to connect what happen to him, to whats happening now and sees that things that is…
This is the first time the father realizes that his son remotely understands what has happened to his mother and his sister. The father finally grasps that he is involved in the decision and that he now…
What made Tom become different after the pilgrimage? Victor Turner’s theory of pilgrimage can explain this with ideas of “the liminal state”, “communitas”, and “antistructure”. However, his theory of communitas confronts some challenges in explaining the case of Tom.…
whole moral, its trying to relay a message of insecurities throughout a hurt young man. Though the…
Going for a walk was often not even about the walk; it was more about what I could pull out from the stroll I took downtown, what problems I could break down, and how I could find who I was in the entanglement that was my environment. Sitting on my bed, listening to music, and hating myself never solved any problems; it is always necessary for me to get up and move around in order for me to think clearly While going on these walks, I often pondered on the people who walked into and out of my life -- were they just on a walk of their own? One that they found meaningful and necessary? Or one that they just took to hide from responsibility?…
A human being goes through astonishing stages in their life, when they realize the reality of…