Sihotang 1

Joshua Sihotang
Professor Ritivou
College English
1 March 2015
The Road Not Taken
The poem being presented throughout this paper is The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost.
This poem is a beautiful poem that breaks down the experiences of making decisions and leaves
the audience with confidence when decisions are being made. This paper will reveal themes and
words in a way that people can better understand The Road Not Taken.
As mentioned before, there is a theme of decision-making found in this poem.
The vast majority of people that read this poem believe that one road was not as walked upon as
the other, although the poem rights that both trails were just as fair. In reality it is not that there
only is one road that a person can take and if they miss that road life will never reach its fullest
potential. Roberts poem is ironic in the fact that it states that the road less taken was walked
upon but in reality both roads were worn equally. It seems that whatever road the person went
down upon, they claimed it to be the road less taken.
The person going down the so called road less taken clearly does not know how life
would have been if they took the other road. The person just accepts the fact and says that the
path they took made all the difference. They could have had the same experience going on the
other road as well. The poem is stating that both can lead to a successful ending. The poem on
the contrary is not stating that it is best to look for the road less taken and go down it. It does not
give the message that you must not go down the path of the majority, but that whatever path you
must go down it will influence you. Very often people believe that stress if found going down the

Sihotang 2
paths of life but in reality the most stress is the moment you have to choose which path to go
down. That is why there is a sigh found in the poem, not from the path but from the decision
being made. As life goes on, individuals must make tough decisions but they should accept the
path they chose and go down with complete confidence.
Roberts poem The Road Not Taken was written during the time of naturalism in
literature. It is possible to see characteristics of naturalism. In naturalism a persons fate can be
determined by certain decisions that individual makes, also known as determinism. This poem
relates with determinism by using paths are show the decisions made in a persons life. However,
it is different from many of the modern poems of the time because it states that not only one path
leads the right way. Determinism claims that if a person misses the right path, life is over.
Robert claims otherwise, whatever decision you make, do it with confidence and act as if you
took the road less taken, the road that will lead you to happiness.
When an individual understands this poem in its complete context, there is a peace that is
left with the reader. Very often in life people are forced to make hard decisions and while
walking on the path of the decision being made they get discouraged. They soon start to doubt
themselves and wonder if they did the right thing, regretting the decision that was made. This
poem leaves its hearers with a mood of self-acceptance. When you made the decision and are
walking down the path dont considering going back or taking the other path instead. Robert
writes in the poem I doubted if I should ever come back. The reason he would right that is to
state that they probably never went back to the trail that was not taken. Neither should anyone
go back to the path they decided not to take, they should confidently go on through life and learn
from the experiences and challenges that they may go through.

Sihotang 3
One reason this poem is one of Robert Frosts most famous pieces of literature is because
of how practical and visual it is. It is a poem that even children can find themselves in the
situation being portrayed. How often does an individual find themselves in a fork in the road and
are staring their options straight in their eyes. The poem then goes on to say I doubted I should
ever come back, which is a true statement to a vast majority of people. Even when a decision is
made and it seems to be going the way it should not be going, rarely do people turn around to go
down the path they did not take. You can see this throughout society and schooling. A common
example is when a person is given the opportunity to do mission work overseas, they find
themselves in a fork in the road. If the individual decides to go against it, the chances of them
ever going over to serve overseas seems to be very small. Robert is being real with his audience.
They may say that they will come back to walk the path they did not take, but often it does not
go down that way (Speaknotes.)
When a decision is finally made on line sixteen, there is a sigh that is mentioned. The
sigh in this work of art is rather important. It shows the stress that is accumulated during the
process of making a decision. A person will never no what he will get himself into or what the
other path will lead to. Not very long after the sigh, a decision is made. This tells the audience
that through the stressful situations and emotions riled up during the process of decision making,
never forget to make the decision and go throughout life with peace about the decision made.
All in all, after reading The Road Not Taken, an individual must realizes that there are
tough decisions that will be made. However when these decision are made, people may be able
to move in confidence wherever they are going because it is not just the path that makes you
happy, but rather your attitude walking through the path.

Sihotang 4
Works Cited
"Sparknotes: Frost's Early Poems: "The Road Not Taken"" SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web.
03 Mar. 2015.