Journey To The Interior By Margaret Atwood

It’s the journey and not the arrival that matters. A journey is a movement from one point to another where in you gain knowledge through experiences by overcoming obstacles. The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost and Journey to the Interior by Margaret Atwood portray the concept of journeys to a great extent. These poems will show a whole other perspective of a literal inner and imaginative journey and a metaphorical physical journey. In the poem “The Road Not Taken”, Robert Frost provides a look at the choices one has in life, how one comes to decide which choices are better, and what the consequences of these choices are. In “Journey to the Interior”, Margaret Atwood uses the physical terrain of the Canadian landscape as a metaphor for this psychological
In The Road Not Taken, Frost uses the paths as a metaphor for life in general. He says "Two roads diverge in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood." In these phrases, Frost is explaining that he is in a situation where he has to make a decision. This hints that some of us spend time deliberating over which would be the best decision when we are put in a situation where we have to choose one thing or the other. This also explains how the protagonist was procrastinating in which road to take, the road that was less travelled by or the road that has certainly been walked on. Atwood’s persona is experiencing issues that are very similar to each other. “I notice: that the hills which the eyes make flat as a wall, welded together”. The hills are obstacles and represent her emotional challenge. The personas problems and issues are very intricate and one issue of hers leads to another. Both personas seem to be having difficulties and although they are very different to one another, both are trying to reach a solution and overcome their
At the end of the poem Frost writes about how the persona is relieved and positive that he had chosen the right path and that at the "end it made all the difference." The persona at times questioned if he had made the right decision but in the end, these decisions had brought the persona far in life and his story will be told many years from now. The destination was not reached in Atwood’s poem but the persona had gained knowledge from their inner journey. “Whatever I do I must keep my head. I know it is easier for me to lose my way forever”. This persona is now determined to be brave and take control of her life even though her problem is not solved and she is still suffering from depression; but has learnt to try and see the light in