Eng125

The Journeys in Life

ENG 125: Introduction to Literature

Instructor Solomon

June 10, 2013

The Journeys in Life

The two literary pieces, “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, can be greatly compared and contrasted, but the outcome will always remain that they share the same theme. These two literary pieces are of different form, “A Worn Path” is a short story, and “The Road Not Taken” is a poem. This theme shared by the two pieces is the theme of journey. To elaborate, both the poem and the story have the theme of the journeys in their lives, and the choices that must be made on their own that contribute to their destiny. Traits between these two pieces of literature compares the content, form, and style with the point of providing a deeper insight of the theme that the two literary works both share.

Symbolism is something that has literary identity, but also stands for something else, (Clugston, 2010). It is often in short stories and poems used by the author to grasp the reader’s attention. Symbolism alludes to certain objects to deliver a message for the reader. The author’s intent is for the reader to relate to the literature, whether it be through experience or imagination. The symbolism is something in the story, for example the road that must be taken, which is also the theme. Throughout life there are many problems one will endure that will include choices that must be made. The choice should be made carefully because it will contribute greatly to the outcome of one’s life. Both these pieces of literature demonstrate this.

In, “A Worn Path”, the main character, Phoenix Jackson, is a perfect example of symbolism. As strong as her name, Phoenix, she represents the bird Phoenix, from mythology and symbolizes resilience. When young and beautiful, the bird was said to come out of Arabia to Heliopolis to burn on the alter, and raise from the ashes every 500 years. The shows the renewing of life that the Phoenix...