'Clearing Paths to the Past' vs. 'To Be of Use': Analysis

The short story “Clearing Paths to the Past” and the poem “To be of use” by Marge Piercy share a common theme. The common theme that both of these stories share is that sometimes you have to do things you do not want to for the well being of others or to carry on tradition. Piercy’s “To be of use” shows this theme because she tells the story of hardworking people who “jump into work head first and do what has to be done again, and again,” which shows that people do not want to do something but they do it because it has to be done. Similarly in the short story “Clearing Paths to the Past” this theme is conveyed through the story of a man who has to shovel snow off of a long sidewalk everyday so that the children who wait for the bus there do