Short Story vs Poem
Running head: INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE
Final Paper
Ashford University
Introduction to Literature
ENG 125
Date
Final Paper A short story and poem, no matter how structurally different are two literary pieces where a rich story is embedded. Readers are drawn towards these scripts by means of rhythm (poem), characterization, or a fictional setting in their respective narratives. However, the mere script would not make it entertaining enough. It would depend on the imagination of the readers as they are reading the literary script. Every reader has their own way of visualizing the descriptions and symbolism used by the author. The two literary pieces, “The Road Not Taken” which is a poem and the short story “Used to Live Here Once” are sharing the same theme, which is, every person’s journey is greatly governed by their decisions, and no matter how many paths there maybe, it is still the person who determines the ending of his or her journey. On the other hand, the theme unfolded differently in these two literary pieces. First, Robert Frost in his “The Road Not Taken” hinted in his poem that the character would be going through a journey. And since he used the first person character, which was “I” it was easier to imagine him as the one who is going through the journey. On the contrary, the short story “Used to live Here Once” was written in third person, or “she”. But based on the author’s presentation, I readily imagined an alone woman as the character in the story. I was able to confirm this, because of a certain part in the story where the woman was talking to animals as she was walking like “Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, and beetles”. Because of this characterization, I easily felt solitude in the story. The part where the woman was depicted to be walking uphill is a representation of her struggles in her journey. It is literally hard to walk in an uphill, and considering the woman’s age, it would be even more exhausting for her to
Final Paper
Ashford University
Introduction to Literature
ENG 125
Date
Final Paper A short story and poem, no matter how structurally different are two literary pieces where a rich story is embedded. Readers are drawn towards these scripts by means of rhythm (poem), characterization, or a fictional setting in their respective narratives. However, the mere script would not make it entertaining enough. It would depend on the imagination of the readers as they are reading the literary script. Every reader has their own way of visualizing the descriptions and symbolism used by the author. The two literary pieces, “The Road Not Taken” which is a poem and the short story “Used to Live Here Once” are sharing the same theme, which is, every person’s journey is greatly governed by their decisions, and no matter how many paths there maybe, it is still the person who determines the ending of his or her journey. On the other hand, the theme unfolded differently in these two literary pieces. First, Robert Frost in his “The Road Not Taken” hinted in his poem that the character would be going through a journey. And since he used the first person character, which was “I” it was easier to imagine him as the one who is going through the journey. On the contrary, the short story “Used to live Here Once” was written in third person, or “she”. But based on the author’s presentation, I readily imagined an alone woman as the character in the story. I was able to confirm this, because of a certain part in the story where the woman was talking to animals as she was walking like “Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, and beetles”. Because of this characterization, I easily felt solitude in the story. The part where the woman was depicted to be walking uphill is a representation of her struggles in her journey. It is literally hard to walk in an uphill, and considering the woman’s age, it would be even more exhausting for her to
References: (Abel E 1979)Abel, E. (1979). Women and Schizophrenia: The Fiction of Jean Rhys. Retrieved from Contemporary Literature Web site: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1207964 (Clungston R W 2010 Journey Into Literature)Clungston, R. W. (2010). Journey Into Literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Frost R. (1916). The Road Not Taken. Mountain Interval. New York: Holt. Rhys J. (1976). I Used To Live Here Once. Sleep it off, lady. London: Penguin Books.