The Journey: Symbolism of “A Worn Path” and “The Road Not Taken” Expedition. Voyage. Excursion. Pilgrimage. There are many words that are used to describe the word journey but what does it really mean? Many people consider the word journey as merely a distance in which they have traveled or will eventually travel; often they fail to recognize that there can be great meaning beyond each step that is taken. Too often, people become more focused on the destination rather than the process that it takes to get them there. While focusing on destination people neglect to recognize the value of whole process that gets them there. A journey can bring forth exhilaration and excitement as well as agony and anguish. A journey always has a power which affects the lives of people and also changes their beliefs, thoughts and ideals, thus changing them ultimately. Have you ever taken a journey? We have all found ourselves on a journey of some kind or another alone, but what is more important is how we choose to end our journey. The two literary works that I have chosen to compare and contrast are “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. At first glance the two literary works appear to be about the same thing, but upon deeper reflection we conclude that they are not, as one is written as a short story and the other is written as a poem. The short story speaks of a “path” while the poem speaks of a “road.” The theme that each of these literary works share are presented differently throughout each piece. However, both pieces speak about the paths, roads and choice in life. “A Worn Path” tells the story of Phoenix Jackson, an elderly African American woman who lived in the South. Phoenix’s narrative is about her voyage from her discreet rustic life in the country as she embarks on a journey into the city in order to get medication for her beloved grandson whom accidentally, swallowed lye. As old lady Phoenix travels to her destination she encounters many things like racism as evident when Phoenix encounters a hunter, as she “struggles to negotiate the wilderness of a depression-era South” (Moberly, 2005). The issue of race is also seen here in the text, “He gave another laugh, filling the whole landscape. “I know you old colored people! Wouldn’t miss going to town to see Santa Claus!”(Clugston, 2010). In contrast, “The Road Not Taken” is about a journey and choice and decision on what or which way to go in life and also the unknown. This poem is about the decision and the direction of life and where it might take you. The poem opens with “And both that morning equally lay, in leaves no step had trodden” (Clugston, 2010). As obvious by their titles, we grasp that the aforementioned short story and poem will indeed take us on a reading journey, in reading there is always a story to be found within the words that are written, whether it is in the form of a short story or a poem. “Reading creates imaginary experiences. It connects you to new experiences that become meaningful when you allow them to influence your thoughts and feelings” (Clugston, 2010). As a reader of both the short story and the poem my perception about the events in each literary work was changed by the symbolism surrounding the characters and the encounters that are presented. Also in reading these two pieces of literature I was really impressed with both of the authors’ abilities to capture the imagination of the reader through the use of characterization, setting, theme, and tone throughout their literary works. It is the imagination that allows us as the readers to mentally visualize what the authors would, therefore drawing us into the piece and then allowing us to fully grasp it through the use of symbolism or a descriptive word. The essential theme of these two literary works revolve around the symbol of journey, nevertheless, in different ways and also with different points of view. Both the short story and the poem present a particular journey through obstacles in which life can change. Although there are many things to discover in these two literary works there is one major commonality, which is no matter what journey a person takes in their life, there will be a lot of hurdles and hardship standing in their way to deter them. Both pieces of literature have different characters, symbolism, and historical context but the theme is the same. The journey depicted by Eudora Wetly in “A Worn Path” is completely different than the one depicted by Robert Frost in “The Road not Taken” in fact, the only similarities that the two literary works share is the decision of choice; a choice Phoenix Jackson has made many times in the short story of “A Worn Path.” Eudora Welty‘s “A Worn Path” is a short story told in a third-person limited point of view about an elderly, African American woman and her journey along a path she has taken many times before. Throughout the story Phoenix is involved in conflict by struggling against nature, social conditions and against her own physical circumstances.
The main character’s name alone immediately allows us to envision a strong individual as well as the author’s correlation to the main character’s name and the fact that her journey is reminiscent of the mythical creature as she rises from her own ashes on her journey. The mythological creature that is said to be as large as an eagle, with brilliant scarlet and gold plumage. As the Phoenix approaches the end of its life, it builds a nest, sets fire to it and dies in fire only to rise from the ashes and become stronger. Ironically, the main character of the story, Phoenix Jackson, has her hair in a red rag which correlates with the scarlet plumage of the Egyptian mythical bird which is described as having “beautiful red and gold plumage”(Saunders,1992). “Red rag her hair came down on her neck in the frailest of ringlets, still black, and with an odor like copper” (Clugston, 2010). Her name combined with the first two paragraphs deliver a meticulous description of the main character:

Far out in the country there was an old African American woman with her head tied in a red rag, coming along a path through the pinewoods. Her name was Phoenix Jackson. She was very old and small and she walked slowly in the dark pine shadows, moving a little from side to side in her steps, with the balanced heaviness and lightness of a pendulum in a grand-father clock. She carried a thin, small cane made from an umbrella, and with this she kept tapping the frozen earth in front of her. This made a grave and persistent noise in the still air, that seemed meditative like the chirping of a solitary little bird. (Clugston, 2010)

This short story demonstrates how Phoenix, the main character of the story, decides to travel a derelict path over and over because of the undying and unconditional love that she had for her sick grandson. The poem “The Road Not Taken” is seen by some as having “a mischievous aspect” (Pritchard, 1984) and by others as having a great use of “simplicity of imagery and resonance of phrasing” (Savoie, 2004). The poem by Robert Frost, “The Road not Taken” opens up with a man on a forest road on an autumn morning, “And both that morning equally lay, in leaves no step had trodden”(Clugston,2010). This related to me that the poem was about a journey of some kind. In the poem the use of the word “I” is a constant concluding that the poem is being told in the first person point of view.
For example the line “And sorry I could not travel both” (Clugston, 2010) is a clear indication if this. The narrator comes upon a fork in the road while he is walking through yellow wood. The poem “The Road Not Taken” is seen by some as “epitomizing nonconformity in its finest form” (Stull, 2010). He considers both paths and concludes that each one is equally well-traveled and appealing. Individualism is evident as the narrator decides to take the “road less traveled” and also take time to consider his options which is indicated in the text “And be one traveler, long I stood and looked down one as far as I could” (Clugston, 2010). After choosing one of the roads, the narrator tells himself that he will come back to this fork one day in order to try the other road. However, he realizes that it is unlikely that he will ever have the opportunity to come back to this specific point in time because his choice path will simply lead to other forks in the road and other decisions. The narrator ends on a note of curiosity wondering how things would have been had he chosen the other path. As I read this poem I quickly connected with narrator of the piece because of the line “less traveled by” (Clugston, 2010). For example, I was once faced with the decision on whether or not to attend a certain conference that was said to be really beneficial to my career but because of personal issues I eventually made the decision not to attend the conference but every so often the question of “what if” arises in my head. I think it a little more like regret of what could have been.
Let’s examine the writing styles of both Welty and Frost as well some of the elements that they each use. In the short story, “A Worn Path” Eudora Welty is able to keep the story fairly optimistic and she even has intimations of humor at some points in the story. Welty is able to explore every day issues and also use seasons and realism. Welty’s use of alliteration, similes and metaphors to describe the main character, Phoenix’s journey is great and in doing this, Welty was able to fortify theme and the tone of the story as well. In the poem, “The Road Not Taken” Robert Frost is also able to explore the everyday, sometimes life-altering decisions that we may face as human beings as well being able to make use of seasons and symbolism. In his poem in general, it said that Frost uses careful homely observations and local details of his poems which allow them to have symbolic meaning. The symbolism in each of the literary works is substantial. The symbolism in Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” is very much of extreme importance. One of the most obvious symbols which has been previously discussed is the name of the main character, Phoenix Jackson. Welty’s description of Phoenix Jackson as an old lady with a small cane made from an umbrella indicates that not only is this a journey of difficulty but it also one of importance and the reinforcement of theme of rebirth. In conclusion, everyone has journeys that they must go on and obstacles that they must face. Walt Whitman said it best when he said, “Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you. You must travel it by yourself. It is not far. It is within reach. Perhaps you have been on it since you were born, and did not know. Perhaps it is everywhere – on water and land.” Have you ever read the title of a short story or a poem and thought that they were both about the same thing? Well, there are many of times that a short story or poem can bring forth the same message or convey the same idea but that does not mean that they have same meaning. For example “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost are both about the directions that can be taken in life. We are all at one time or another in our lives faced with having to make a choice that will affect us for the rest of our life. Some paths may lead us down the right road to happiness and wealth. While other paths may lead us down heartache and sorrow. The road that we choose to travel will ultimately be a deciding factor in how our life’s journey will end.

ast, ).gotiate thewilderness of a depreera South" and that in doinh ature but also to flowers and plants References

Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Moberly, K. (2005). Toward the north star: Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” and the slave narrative tradition. (Critical Essay). The Mississippi Quarterly, (1-2), 107.
Saunders, James Robert (1992). "A Worn Path": The Eternal Quest of Welty's Phoenix Jackson. The Southern Literary Journal, 25(1), 62-73.
Savoie, J. (2004). A Poet’s Quarrel: Jamesian Pragmastism and Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”. (Commentary). The New England Quarterly, (77-1), 5-24
Stull,L. (2010). The Road Often Taken. ESSAI: Vol. 8, Article 41. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/journey/walt_whitman Pritchard, W. H. (1984). Frost: A literary life reconsidered. New York: Oxford University Press.