The Step Not Taken Analysis
UNIT 1
Lesson 4 Key Question: The monomyth has become one of the most popular and highly used archetypes in literature. The short essay “The Step Not Taken” is an example, entailing the three stages: separation, struggle, and reintegration. During the separation stage, the narrator Paul D’ Angelo encounters a junior executive who begins to cry during an elevator trip, and his life drastically changes. He also encounters his guide, who helps him during the monomyth. Throughout the struggle stage, he tests himself frequently, and as a result experiences an epiphany. In the reintegration stage, Paul returns to society with the knowledge he has gained, and shares it to complete his quest. Therefore, the narrator in the monomyth “The Step Not …show more content…
Firstly, the narrator begins to test himself and scrutinize his behavior soon after leaving the elevator. He frequently asks himself questions such as “Should I go up to the 15th floor and make sure he’s okay? Should I search him out from office to office? Should I risk the embarrassment it might cause him?” A large part of the struggle stage during the monomyth is obviously the struggle. With the help of his conscience, the narrator struggles when examining his decision of leaving the man in the elevator without comforting him. He debates with himself what the proper action would have been, and contemplates further action. During the “Inheritance Cycle”, another successful monomyth, the hero Eragon is often tested and tests himself. Eragon would eventually attempt to overthrow the tyrant kind of his homeland, and such testing is meant to prepare him. Secondly, the narrator also experiences an epiphany during the struggle stage. Paul notes that “The few people I have told about the incident all say I did the right thing” but then he realizes “they were wrong.” Perhaps the most noticeable characteristic of the struggle stage is the epiphany the hero experiences. He realizes that ignoring the man was the wrong thing to do. He left the man to his sorrows in the elevator, and if he was a parent of the grieving man he would have wanted someone to comfort him. Paul is sorry, and as a result he knows the action he will take the next time he experiences such an event. Therefore, the struggle stage in “The Step Not Taken” is completed by the
Lesson 4 Key Question: The monomyth has become one of the most popular and highly used archetypes in literature. The short essay “The Step Not Taken” is an example, entailing the three stages: separation, struggle, and reintegration. During the separation stage, the narrator Paul D’ Angelo encounters a junior executive who begins to cry during an elevator trip, and his life drastically changes. He also encounters his guide, who helps him during the monomyth. Throughout the struggle stage, he tests himself frequently, and as a result experiences an epiphany. In the reintegration stage, Paul returns to society with the knowledge he has gained, and shares it to complete his quest. Therefore, the narrator in the monomyth “The Step Not …show more content…
Firstly, the narrator begins to test himself and scrutinize his behavior soon after leaving the elevator. He frequently asks himself questions such as “Should I go up to the 15th floor and make sure he’s okay? Should I search him out from office to office? Should I risk the embarrassment it might cause him?” A large part of the struggle stage during the monomyth is obviously the struggle. With the help of his conscience, the narrator struggles when examining his decision of leaving the man in the elevator without comforting him. He debates with himself what the proper action would have been, and contemplates further action. During the “Inheritance Cycle”, another successful monomyth, the hero Eragon is often tested and tests himself. Eragon would eventually attempt to overthrow the tyrant kind of his homeland, and such testing is meant to prepare him. Secondly, the narrator also experiences an epiphany during the struggle stage. Paul notes that “The few people I have told about the incident all say I did the right thing” but then he realizes “they were wrong.” Perhaps the most noticeable characteristic of the struggle stage is the epiphany the hero experiences. He realizes that ignoring the man was the wrong thing to do. He left the man to his sorrows in the elevator, and if he was a parent of the grieving man he would have wanted someone to comfort him. Paul is sorry, and as a result he knows the action he will take the next time he experiences such an event. Therefore, the struggle stage in “The Step Not Taken” is completed by the