The ways in which the concept of journey is considered and expressed in and through the texts 'The Road Not Taken' by Robert Frost and 'Whose Life Is It Anyway?' by Brian Clark

Essay by AyumiHigh School, 11th grade June 2006

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Texts definitely convey different types of journey, for example physical journey, inner journey and imaginary journey. All these journeys are expressed through perspectives that are enhanced by the word choice, such as metaphor and irony.

In 'The Road Not Taken' by Robert Frost, inner journey which is the journey of the mind and spirit is shown. The composer realized that in life, he has to make many choices as shown by the metaphor 'crossroads' and he himself is the only one who can make the best decision for himself. He has a strong personality and was not influenced by what others think and dared to be different when he 'took the one less traveled by'. He therefore has to be responsible for his decision and will always think carefully before making any choices. Knowing that his decisions would eventually carve out his life and 'that has made all the difference', he never regretted his own decisions and could accept where the road has led him to.

From that, he gained confidence and satisfaction while discovering his inner self.

Similarly, in 'Whose Life Is It Anyway?' by Brian Clark, inner journey which involves the exploration of the self is shown. Before the accident, a sculptor, Ken Harrison led a happy life and had everything to live for. However, after the accident he was left paralyzed neck down. He accepted the fact and thought that his life is no longer worth living since he could no longer regain the use of both his hands. This is shown when he used the sarcasm, 'we went midnight skateboarding......The only problem was that I was the skateboard'. He described himself as a non-living thing which others enjoy manipulating. He therefore regarded his life as an emotional torture and wished to end...