The Step Not Taken

Nothing is absolute anymore. Any situation we come across, whether of our own making or facing the unknown, is left for interpretation making them negotiable. There are moments when people encounter crossroads, where they must choose a path. “The step not taken” is a story about a man, who was at a crossroad and chose a path that he regretted soon after and continued to be haunted with guilt. The hero, Paul D’Angelo experienced an epiphany in his story “The step not taken”, where his subconscious acts as his benevolent guide. His journey will be analyzed through the archetypal theory, where the stages of monomyth will be used to explore his journey. In addition, examples of other characters in different literature will be used to demonstrate the subconscious at play as a benevolent guide.

In most cases when an individual encounters a situation where they will have to face the unknown, they run the opposite direction. Paul was faced with a similar dilemma and he, like most people, chose to go the opposite direction. This can be interrupted as his rejection to the “adventure” or a fear of the unknown. The first stage of monomyth is the seperation stage, where the hero is called to an adventure. When Paul sees a young man step into the elevator in an office building located in Toronto, he states, “There was nothing about him that seemed unusual. Nothing at all to indicate what was about to take place” this shows how he was not aware that things were about to change. However, his initial call to adventure was when he witnessed the young man in the elevator experience a breakdown. This is where he shows his rejection to a path he should have taken. The moment he steps out of the elevator he stands in the hallway “a bundle of mixed emotions…” and contemplates what to do next. Those questions he asked himself standing in the hallway show a sign of fear and his hesitation. They are also the first sign of his benevolent guide in action. In this case it’s his