Weekend Homework. Read this poem most of you are familiar with by Robert Frost: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Road_Not_Taken
After you read the poem do one of the following three in a robust paragraph. Posts that reference the poem, parts of readings, and other students' thoughts in their posts will all be considered "quality" posts. Make sure your post states up front which of the three you are responding to.
1) relate the two paths diverging in the woods, path less chosen theme to three of the following
characters: Mrs Turpin ("Revelation"), Kenneth ("The Intruder"), the Dad in Chicxulub, and Jesse McNeil ("Waiting for the Evening News"). (synthesis of story question)
2) compare the themes of this poem with the themes of "Hound of Heaven"? (poetry question)
3) compare the themes of this poem with Heidegger's Authenticity/Inauthenticity. What are the two paths--one path you are currently struggling over? (Personal divulging question).
After you read the poem do one of the following three in a robust paragraph. Posts that reference the poem, parts of readings, and other students' thoughts in their posts will all be considered "quality" posts. Make sure your post states up front which of the three you are responding to.
1) relate the two paths diverging in the woods, path less chosen theme to three of the following
characters: Mrs Turpin ("Revelation"), Kenneth ("The Intruder"), the Dad in Chicxulub, and Jesse McNeil ("Waiting for the Evening News"). (synthesis of story question)
2) compare the themes of this poem with the themes of "Hound of Heaven"? (poetry question)
3) compare the themes of this poem with Heidegger's Authenticity/Inauthenticity. What are the two paths--one path you are currently struggling over? (Personal divulging question).
49 comments:
I think the road less traveled correlates with the authentic person. Not worried about what path everyone else took. And the path that was more traveled is in relation to the inauthentic person. Only traveling on the road because it is safe and known.
While reading this poem, it confirms an authentic view of life: to follow your own way in life and not follow the path that others have already taken. In this poem the person comes to two roads, although he would like to try both roads he must choose. He makes his decision based on the road that looks less traveled. But he realizes that they were both really about the same. He continues to think about the differences and again is sorry that he can not travel both roads.
1) The theme of two roads diverging and choosing the one less taken surfaces in the actions of many short story characters we have studied so far. Firstly, at the end of Chicxulub,the father comments on how this meteor, this life-changing event of losing a child, narrowly missed him and instead changed the life of the other family. This recalls the narrator's point in "The Road not Taken" that "knowing how way leads on to way,/I doubted if I should ever come back". The parents of the girl in the car accident will never be able to go back and pick a different ending after being thrust down this mournful path. Every choice you make is important because you may never get the chance to change your decision.
In "Waiting for the Evening News", Jesse deliberates between two paths, one of running away from his life and his mistakes and one of owning up to his actions. Unlike most people who fear consequences, Jesse chooses the road not taken in the end and turns himself in, thus "making all the difference" with a decision that cannot be erased.
Finally, Kenneth chooses the road less taken in "The Intruder". He does not conform to society and keeps to himself and his fantasies, the less popular life choice. His introverted nature leads to further struggles in the book, but Kenneth understands that his decisions cannot be undone and that he cannot let the outside world undermine the path he has taken.
Frost states that once we've chosen a road in our lives, we "doubt if [we] should ever come back." This has an important tie-in with Heidegger's Authenticity and Inauthenticity. Sometimes people choose their life paths because of Ambiguity-giving in to the practical necessities of life. But that can be a problem if you desire to find more meaning than making money, because Frost tells us that once we've chosen a path in life, we're stuck. Personally, for myself and the rest of the class, we have to choose a path soon, because college classes lead to jobs and lifestyles. If we give in to ambiguity, we'll choose jobs for money and comfort. If we are looking for something more, there is a tough choice ahead, because Robert Frost tells us it's tough to go back.
Frost's poem talks about the authentic life vs the inauthentic life. There are many places in our lives where we will have to make choices and choose our path. We must make a wise decision because the path that we take will be our path forever. The image of the "road less traveled" is the authentic life. We must do things outside of the norm. We have to challenge our minds and "take the road less traveled by."
Both poems, “The Hound of Heaven” and “The Road Less Traveled” have themes of betrayal, inner turmoil, and escape from the true path of one’s life. The biggest disparity between the two poems is the narrator’s voice of reason. In “The Hound of Heaven” God serves as the narrator’s conscience, constantly reminding him of the right path. In “The Road Less Traveled” the narrator knows the difference between the two paths and he can employ his own conscience. The theme of betrayal is prevalent in “The Hound of Heaven”. The narrator chooses to hide from God and defy His wishes rather than face him. The narrator flees down the wrong path. It seems, metaphorically speaking, that he was so busy running from God that he did not even see that there was another option, another path for him to take. God wants the narrator to take the ‘road less traveled’, the road of God’s Love. God states, “Ah fondest, blindest, weakest, / I am He Whom thou seekest!” In “The Road Less Traveled” the narrator understands he would be betraying his own sense of self if he chose to take the worn down path. He knows neither path will lead to the other and because of this his choice has great meaning.
Ok...Dr M here...I just wanted to weigh in this Sunday morning to give feedback on those posts already done as well as the many to come today. First..congrats to all who have posted. It is tough to go first. Second, there have been a few very fine posts thus far...Madeline's (note this one in case I have a question like this in the exam) and Angela's are really quite good. They both chose more challenging posts--synthesizing ideas/themes across several pieces. These ones are the types of questions I like to ask on exams. Probably the easiest post might be the last one. On this I want to remind everyone the need to correlate this (Poem/Heidegger) to something in your life. On this post I want to point out Pat Tobin's as a fine example. He is utilizing the terminology of Heidegger (Ambiguity) as well as making a personal reference--albeit quite general. Ok..good luck and I hope all are enjoying your wekends. Congrats on a fine football game and a tough loss to those players...
3)
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost fits in well with what we talked about in relation to the authentic and unauthentic person. In the poem, there is one road that turns into two roads. One of which people travel more and the other people travel not as much. The road traveled more corresponds to the unauthentic life. People take this road to feel a sense of security because they will fit in with others because they are doing the same things and making the same choices as others. In this sense, “one’s every action is controlled and determined by the ‘they’.” There is no imprint on ones character of self or originality with this type of lifestyle. Contrarily, the road less taken can be associated with the authentic life. People who take this road may at times feel lonely and anxious as many people that they might have known may have taken the more traveled road and are not with them anymore. It is in this loneliness and silence that one can find out who they are and what they should be doing with their lives.
One path that I’m sure many of us will and probably already are struggling over is with college applications. Many will feel the temptation to create a person who the truly are not in order to make themselves sound good to the admission consolers. This is putting on false front that is not true to there own self and may stray them from living authentically.
"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost is a lot like Heidegger's Authenicity/Inauthenticity because the "road less traveled" symbolizes the inauthentic life that we all would wish to have. Unfortunately, we as students in high school, all live the authentic life.
Society has broughten us up to do a certain thing in life which is make money and be successful. I disagree with society because that is not what life is really about. I am struggling a lot over what path of life I should take right now because of college and what society wants me to do. It is sick that society only cares about what we look like on paper and not who we really are.
Society wants me to go to a good college and make lots of money because that will make me happy? No, life is not about money and jobs, it is about love. Love is all we need to make us happy.
We would all like to think we live inauthentic lives, but when you follow the "rules of society" you are not inauthentic.
Hopefully, someday I will realize that Robert Frost was right.
"I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
3.
This poem completely fits in with the authentic and inauthentic life that Heidegger portrays. We have the person traveling through life and he comes to the split in the road. This is where the real questions come. Do I do what everyone else does, or do I pick my own path? Being an authentic person means that when we all get to the split in the road and we don't know what to do we think for ourselves and don't think twice about it. The traveler chose the road that was less taken and he portrays the authentic person.
Now I have to agree with Tobin and his whole practical necessities deal. However I disagree that we can't go back to that path. Another thing is that I think that no matter what path we take, good is going to come out of it if we all apply ourselves and put forth our best effort in no matter what we do.
On a personal note I'm really struggling between two paths right now. I'm really hungry and I'm not sure if I want to go to Burger King or Taco Bell right now. But in all seriousness college is coming up along with the careers that we are going to pick. Now I've already picked my path and unfortunate as it sounds I am not only going into my career because it's what I enjoy but because its good money.
I believe that the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost directly relates to Heidegger's themes of the authentic/unauthentic person. In the poem the road not taken represents the authentic person, someone with no fear who will go against the popular decision and be his/her self. The travler took the road to a more authentic and genuine life. Furthermore, when you choose your road, Frost states there is doubt if one will ever come back and for the authentic peron that is ok, because the road less traveled is the road that is more genuine and does not represent the common opinion. On a personal level I too will come to my fork in the road soon and choose my path, the one to college and I can choose to take a road less traveled, one that will hopefully lead me to good things.
This poem relates to Heidegger's commentary on living an authentic life. The travler in the poem has dread in that he is anxious about chosing a path. He compares the two paths and in the end chooses the one that is, "less traveled by." This choice is, in a sense, "alienated from the world-about" in that it is the path that most people do not take in life. On a personal level, this poem relates to all of us right now. A lot of us are filling out college applications and trying to figure out where we want to go to college next year. We have to let this be our decision and not be influenced by friends or parents' expectations. We need to chose our own path and be authentic in staying true to ourselves and not getting to wrapped up in what others are doing.
3.
Though Mr. Frost's poem does seek to address the issue of authenticity in modern life, his bifurcated path imagery misrepresents the process by which somebody becomes authentic or inauthentic. People do not at one time choose a principled path in life and, without the ability to turn back, automatically remain on that path. The reverse is also true.
Mr. Frost attempts to solve this error by claiming that "way leads on to way". But life is not programmed in this linear fashion. There are not " signifigant moments" during which we choose our the paths our lives take and "insignifigant moments" where we simply live off of prior descisons. Everytime we think we build our character; our character is the aggregate of our thoughts and actions.
And so, since every thought is indeed signifigant and both revealing and reinforcing of my character, my choice to challenge Mr. Frost's formualtion of life choices rather than blindly agree with it indeed shows that I authentically think for myself.
3. in taking the road less traveled the author made an authentic choice to not conform to what the "they" did and looking back he knows that he made the right choice. by not taking the road that was well worn out he did not give into the "norm" and "monotonous everydayness." he could have easily chosen the other road knowing that many had passed by there he would have had the "guarentee of security and tranquility" that others before him had laid out how he should act.
in college applications we have to face the "dread and anxiety" of prsenting our trueselves to the colleges and not what we think they want to hear. we have to take that chance and in the end if we have to pretend for the college accceptance then maybe that's not really the college for us. it is better to show our trueselves and go to a college that wants us the way we are.
I think angela made some good connections earlier and I agree that the character's in the short stories we have read relate a lot to Frost's poem. Kenneth from "The Intruder" was an authentic character who chose the road less traveled by. He did not conform to the lifestyles of many other teenage boys. He spent much time by himself, taking advantage of his imagination, and doing what he was skilled in: hunting.
Mrs. Turpin had to choose between between believing that all people are equal in the eyes of God and in her own eyes, and believing that she is better than people. I think the only difference he was that a higher power believed to be God, helped lead her to choosing the path less traveled because most people did think they were better than the lower class at this time.
Jesse McNeil was also faced with the decision of which road to take. At first he chooses the inauthentic road, the road most people would take. He chooses to run and take no responsibility. However, in the end, he follows his gut and chooses the road less traveled by. He turns himself in.
All three characters chose their road because for whatever reason, that was the road they knew they must travel on.
2) I agree with many of the connections that Madeline made between the two poems. However, I think they are different in their themes of betrayal and escaping their true path. In "The Road Not Taken," the narrator never betrays himself, and he never tries to escape the less common path. Although he has a little bit of inner turmoil deciding what to do, he makes the decision without having to actually go down the wrong path. He liked the road not taken as soon as he saw it. He trusted the path, knew it would lead to other paths, and felt fine with not getting to come back to the common path. On the other hand, in "The Hound of Heaven," the narrator has already been traveling down the wrong path for a while. He refuses to even look at the other path at first. Once he did think about accepting God's path, he had doubts. He could not be sure that the road less traveled was the "right" path, as the narrator in the other poem sensed (even if he wasn't sure). It took a lot more harsher motivation from an outside source, God, to get this guy to take a different path. When he made his decision, he still seemed unsure, just like in "The Road Not Taken," but we never see him confirming that he made the best decision. There is much more doubt and betrayal in "The Hound of Heaven" than in "The Road Not Taken." They are two different sides of similar themes.
3. Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken", has everything to do with Heidegger's Authenticity/Inauthenticity idea. However, I must disagree with VWilson's comment. She stated that "the road less traveled correlates with the authentic person -- not worried about what path everyone else took." While, yes, an authentic person does not care what others think but simply acts out on his/her own beliefs, the speaker of this poem did not do that. The speaker took the road less traveled because it was less traveled and he didn't want to be like everyone else. I believe, though, that it is okay to go with the majority if that is what one believes is the right thing. To simply base a decision off of how many people agree or disagree with you is unauthentic because the important question is being ignored. I like Pat Tobin's connection with our upcoming decision to choose a college. He brings up an interesting idea that if we "give into ambiguity, we'll choose jobs for money and comfort...it's hard to go back." That's a scary thought; it's hard to go back. We have to all follow our hearts and do what we want to do -- do the authentic thing. In the end, it won't matter what he wanted or she wanted. All that matters is the fact if you are happy with yourself and to be happy with yourself is to do something that you love, regardless of the pay, success, or what others may think.
3) "The Road Not Taken" tries to answer the question of authenticity through a single choice that wil determine the path the man takes for the rest of his life. He "took the one less traveled," which he believes makes him authentic. This decision could represent almost any decision one makes, but tone can imply from the overall tone of the poem that this is a lifestyle choice. People can make everyday choices that most others do not, but choosing a less common lifestyle makes one truly authentic.
I agree with much of what George Saad said, but I do not agree with his statement: "People do not at one time choose a principled path in life and, without the ability to turn back, automatically remain on that path." Most of the time, the decisions one makes do not completely alter how someone lives his or her life. However, there are choices that one has to make that can do this, such as what college you want to attend. This can determine what career you will have, the lifetime friends you make, and possibly where you wil live. Although someone can transfer, you will not have a completely same experience as one who is there for all four years. This choice may not determine someone is "authentic" or not, but it can lead someone down a path that they cannot return from.
In both The Road Not Taken and The Hound of Heaven there seems to be two contrasting fates that the main character must interpret and choose between. Just as Madeline said, the difference between the two poems is that in The Road Not Taken, the main character knows the difference between the two paths laid out before him. In The Hound of Heaven, the main character is running from God because he is blinded by fear and/or doubt, compare this to the main character in The Road Not Taken, and you see the distinction between being forced down a road or choosing your road.
3)"The Road Less Taken" actually has a very interesting relationship with Heidegger's thoughts of authenticity/ unauthenticity because of Frost's constant contradictions, as the road that is less taken and "wanted wear" also seems to be passed just as much as the first path, "Though as for that the passing there/Had worn them really about the same." And Heidegger uses the word "they" to describe the factor which leads to unauthenticity to distinguish that people lose their individuality within the crowd and this leads to living unauthentically. This point makes it seem akward ,but there is really a deeper meaning to it,as we are all born into authentic lives because we are all free to chose our paths, and freedom is lost in the unauthentic life. So the story which Frost is trying to illustrate is everyone at the beginning of their life and the paths which are open to us. This is why there is such equality in the use of the two paths, and this character just picked the right one which "made all the difference". However Frost also makes the point that we can never go back to this point where we initially choose our paths, " Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back." However, there are many paths ahead, and Frost is just saying that we can never change our past actions, such as choosing the other path, however, we always have the freedom to change paths in the future. The character was just fortunate to choose the authentic path early on, because, it is more difficult to go from the path of unauthenticity to authenticity as you can only break from this path through angst or death. The road which the character choses is less traveled ahead, as many people get sucked into the faceless "they" group.
We are all facing the challenges of college and future occupations, and we may be intially drawn to a certain career which comes with a lot of material perks, and it is okay to try this to see if it is fulfilling to you, however,one may regret this when looking into their past. This poem is a reminder that we can make good or bad decisions in the past, but we ultimately the masters of our own destinies, which are subject to change.
1. The theme of "The Road Not Taken" can be found in a couple of the characters from the previous short stories we've read. For Mrs. Turpin ("Revelation"), her character seems to have gone down the path mostly taken. Her self image of being better than others bring her down that road. It is that cry for power and knowledge of knowing you are superior. Today people want to become known, want to have power through work, school, sports, etc; which makes it a road that many people take for the strive of popularity and recognition.
From "The Intruder" Kenneth has taken the opposite road that many wouldn't take. "Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;" Through this quote it sort of symbolizes Kenneth's desire to take the other road. In the story he's travels through his imagination which serves as a safe cacoon for him. It gives off a vibe that makes it seem a lot better than reality. In the poem the other road attracts the person,due to the fact that no one has taken it, which gives it a better glow. (the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;" ) Kenneth's desire to be away from society brings him down this road.
The character of Jesse from "Waiting for the Evening News" has taken both roads. With his decision to run from his mistake brings him down the first path. When something bad happens and we,ourselves, know that we had a part in it, our instinct is to run. Most of the time we do cause we know it is the easy way out. Like in class, George's talk of Aristotle and his views of morality, being morally good, and morals bring us to the conclusion that if we lived by those teachings we would take the road not taken, for if we did follow them yet still decide to run we would hypocritcally go against our own beliefs. For Jesse's instance he did contradict himself yet in the end he converted to the other road. Just like what Angela said,he takes the hard way out and turns himself in thus taking the road less taken. "I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
3) The road less traveled is taken by an authentic person. You do not know what is coming up and learn from your experiences on the road less traveled. If you take the other road you will know what is coming and will not learn or experience as much. It is better to take the road less traveled. Inauthentic people do not take the road less traveled because they do not want to find out about themselves. Serrantos talked about it in his post. He said, "We must do things outside of the norm. We have to challenge our minds and 'take the road less traveled by.'"
1. In the story “The Intruder,” Kenneth chooses the road not taken throughout his whole life in the way that he does not feel like he has to fit in with his peers. He talks about how he does not like the football players and would rather spend his time alone. He truly takes the road less traveled by not feeling pressured to conform, but rather being himself.
In the story “Chicxulub,” the parents of the girl who really was killed in the car accident cannot go back and change the past. I like how Angela related this to the quote, “I doubted if I should ever come back.” I agree with what she said that this family who lost a loved one is now forced to continue on with life and move down the path without the control to change what happened.
In the story “Revelation,” Mrs. Turpin thinks that she is taking “the road less traveled.” She feels as if she is kind to everyone and has such a good spirit because she goes to church. In reality, she is not being authentic or standing out from everyone else because she spends her whole life judging others and not taking the time to look at her own faults.
After reading this poem a 2nd time i want to agree with vicky on this one. he/she was being the authentic. taking the road less taken is what we should all do. instead of folowing everyone in a style or fad we should be ourselves and do what pleases us, not other people. the road regularly taken is that of the inauthentic. when everyone travels down one road, they are the same person, not an individual recognized by society.
3) This poem is an example of Heidegger's unauthentic/authentic way of life. An unauthentic life would consist of monotonous everydayness that would become boring and very routine. However, an authentic life would consist of uniqueness, an aspect of life that many teenagers do not posess. In Robert Frost's poem, he took the "road less traveled by." This makes the traveler authentic. He did not conform to society and choose the road that everyone takes and instead he took the other path that most do not follow. In high school, this is something that myself and everyone struggles with. We all have a choice of either being unique and doing our own thing, or conforming to what everyone does. The problem is that some might judge and criticize those who do not conform to the ways of society. This is not good and I think everyone should think more about Frost's line where the road less traveled by "made all the difference."
In response to question of authentic/inauthentic living, I do not believe that this poem relates to either. As Frost clearly states, "Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same", the roads are equally traveld. This poem is about the inevitability of choice. Everyone will eventually have to make a decision that will change the course of their life, even though the destination of that path is unknown. Once the path is chosen, there is no turning back because the past cannot be changed. The path "less traveled by" is the unknown path, the uncertain path. "I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference"
This possibly says that he is not happy with the path that was chosen because of the "sigh" and that "has made all the difference", whether it was for the good or whether it was for the bad is not quite clear.
The two roads correlate to the inauthentic, and authentic lives that heidigger talks about. The road less traveled represents the authentic life, not following others actions thinking outside the box and being different. The road that is more traveled is inauthentic because its a life path more often taken, people are all similar and follow the same beat. This life becomes boring, and its nothing special, but the authentic life has more meaning, and it's taking a risk, stepping out form the crowd.
(3)
I agree with what Peter Leemputte said about this poem being about the reader's making a "single choice that will determine the path the man takes for the rest of his life." By taking the road less traveled Frost's narrator is chosing the route in life that is different, that may not be the easiest, the most popular or appealing, but it is the right path, the more authentic path, and the one that makes the difference.
The choice of roads is representing, like peter said, an authentic life style choice; it calls the reader to also chose the road less traveled, to live life not worrying about the aethetics or popularity.
I also liked what Madeline said, that "In 'The Road Less Traveled' the narrator understands he would be betraying his own sense of self if he chose to take the worn down path. He knows neither path will lead to the other and because of this his choice has great meaning."This futher supports that the narrator has chosen the authentic course.
hopefully we all make the same choice, to chose the path of meaning in our lives rather than the common path.
This is one of the most self explained poems out there. Its saying that to not take the path that is the most used which is symbolizing the "path" that is the most popular,the one that everyone's taking. Don't do something just cause everyone else is, be your own person do what you want to do and don't let anyone pressure you.
3) this poem is about a person who choses to live the authentic life. the two roads represent autheticity and inauthenticity. it is about making choices. sometimes you are going to make a choice that you are going to regret, but other times you will be satisfied with the choices you make. we should not follow others footsteps but make our own.
3. I agree with what many people have said about the authentic or inauthentic person. It is important to be an individual and choose the road less traveled and move out of our comfort zone or the "norm."
In my life I took the road less traveled when I decided to come to Loyola. I was one of a few who chose Loyola over New Trier and I feel I have become a better and more unique person for it. Now I am making my college decisions and thinking about what school will be the best fit for me and the place where I will be able to grow as a person. As I go through the college process I think about authenticity and inauthenticity in life because this decision is what will help shape me as a person.
1.The theme of Frost’s poem is about making choices. In life one often has the chance to decide between two things. One can choose to take the path taken by most. This is the common popular thing to do, or a person can take the other road. This is the road less traveled. This road is “the right one.” The theme of this poem and the road less traveled relates to many of the short stories we have been reading in class. In “Waiting For The Evening News,” Jesse is faced with a difficult decision. He must choose a path to take. He can take the easy path, which would be to run away, or he can choose the difficult path. The difficult and morally correct path is to turn himself in to the police. In the end, Jesse tells the priest that he was the one that ran from the scene of the burning train and asks the priest to turn him in that night during the time of the evening news. The priest listens to Jesse’s request, and Jesse is arrested that night. Knowing that he would face jail time, Jesse still turned himself in to the police. He took the road less traveled. In the short story “The Intruder,” Kenneth takes the road less traveled. He is not like most kids and chooses to play by himself in the woods. He plays with his gun and is very fond of hunting. However, in this case taking the road less traveled leads to a horrifying event. He accidentally shoos his sister’s boyfriend after he returns to the house after leaving earlier in the night. At the very end of the book the wishes that he could rid the world of things such as guns, which was what he enjoyed playing with the most. In the short story “Revelation,” Mrs. Turpin takes the road traveled by most. She lives her life believing that she is above everyone. She doesn’t take the road less traveled and make an attempt to question her beliefs or morals. This leads to her breakdown at the end. If she had originally taken the road less traveled she wouldn’t be faced with the problems she was in the end.
I think that when comparing the two raods to the authentic/inauthentic person, the authentic person relates to the road less travled while the inauthentic person relates to the road more traveled.
The authentic person relates to the road less traveled because the authentic person stays true to themself. They will do and supprot what is important them for reasons they believe in. The road less traveled relates to this theme because most of the time people will travel with a group they allow themselves think through a group mentality and go with what the group says for fear of being excluded or singled out. Someone taking the road less traveled is someone who chooses to like what they like and support what they believe in, regardless of the group. Many people are inauthentic, folloing the group, sadly to say, and thus, the the authentic road is more often avoided.
The Inauthentic person relates to the road more traveled because Inauthentic people will follow the group mentality. They will say that they believe or like what the group likes, even if they do not, in order to fit in. It is an understandable feeling ti want to fit in but most people are willing too much in order to. If enough time is spent as an inauthentic person, or taking the road more traveled, some people actually convince themselves that what the group believes is what they believe.
"I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference." This quote shows how being an authentic person for yourself and taking the road lees traveled is better than taking the more traveled road. You feel better about yourself when following your values versus when you feel guilty to yourself becasue you follow the group.
3) The authentic path is obviously the one less taken because it stands outside of the norm and is repetitive by use, at least more than the other one does. The other one is clearly taken a lot and worn out. It is the safe bet making it easy and unchallenging and the unauthentic one. I guess the biggest choice I have now is college, because after that is life which is narrowed down by what college I go to and what I study. Some choices can be a sure thing that your mind was already set to making it not really a choice at all. Other choices are influenced by outside sources like the need of financial security to live in the burbs or just the need for accomplishment. Choices to succeed that make you choose over things you had really wanted to do are called sacrifices. These sacrifices can keep mounting until you've lost the person that got you where u are. The only thing about choosing a path is the regret because it always leaves you wondering "what if."
In many of these posts, the "sigh" and the "difference" have been spoken of as being positive. The reader must keep in mind the time frame. The speaker's assessment of "difference" his choice has made will be in the future. A sigh can be one of easement or satisfaction, remorse or nostalgia.
I think that the authentic person knows the importance of leaving one's "comfort zone", of difficult conversation, and of not being too easily influenced by others.
Robert Frost’s poem perfectly relates to Heidegger’s views of authenticity. Heidegger explains that authenticity is being “anxious about something indefinite.” In The Road Not Taken the narrator debates whether to choose the road that everyone else has chosen or to be unique and take the road less traveled by. He seems anxious to choose something where he is unsure about the outcome or to try something different. As Peter and Irene pointed out, he is choosing an authentic lifestyle. I like especially how Irene says he is calling the reader to branch out and choose the authentic road in life. The narrator shows what an impact this authentic path has made by commenting “And that has made all the difference.” I agree with Annie that we have to keep in mind that he is talking about the future, yet I do think the “difference” here is a positive thing. Again, I think Frost is calling the readers to choose an authentic lifestyle with uniqueness and originality.
This poem is about an authentic person because he makes his own choices. He is authentic by taking the road less traveled. If he was to tske the road more traveled he would be inauthentic and would be conforming to society.
Heidegger would say that the authentic life is the road less traveled. On our handout, he says that the unauthentic existence is when what "They" find pleasing pleases us. The road that is more traveled is what "They" choose, and choosing the same path would be concidered unauthentic in his opinion.
I am personally struggling with different roads that lead to different colleges. Some of them my father finds "pleasing," while i enjoy others. If i were to live an authentic life, i would have to choose the path that is what i find pleasing, not my father.
3) I agree with everyone that the poems is describing an authentic person. Someone who wishes to go beyond what is the everyday routine. In the poem he picks the road less traveled. He is not giving in to what everyone else does. As a high school student I think a lot of us can relate to this. It takes a true authentic person to do what they want to do and not be swallowed in by the "
"they" in our lives. I find myself at the foot of the two paths still trying to discover the right one. I want to be bold and secure about going down the path less traveled but that isn't always the case. With pressures and daily routine of my life I find myself heading down the path most commonly traveled.
I believe that this poem correlates to the authentic person. I believe so because the person took chose his path regardless what other had done before him. He is authentic in the way that he was original in his decision to which road path to take and by chosing the not yet worn down road and "less traveled."
3. Martin Heidegger defined the unauthentic life as the following: "It is best exemplified by a monotonous everydayness and banality." In "The Road Not Taken," Frost presents a character that faces the dilemma between an authentic choice and an unauthentic choice. If the man were to take the road more traveled on, then it would be the unauthentic choice. There is no originality in that choice. He is just following in the footsteps of everyone else. But since he takes the road less traveled on, he makes the more authentic choice. The road that he chooses may have caused him anxiety at first because he is unsure of what the future holds for him, but in the end he seems content with his choice.
I think that everyone faces this dilemma at some point in their life. People get in the situation where they have to make a decision. They can either follow society or make the choice based on their own personal feelings. I agree with everyone when they say that a lot of people are facing this predicament right now with college. There is a lot of pressure to go to the “top” schools, but those schools aren’t right for everyone. Going to college next year gives people the opportunity to get out of their everyday routine, and go somewhere that is different from Loyola Academy. This decision may cause nervousness at first, but eventually things work out.
In answer to number one, I compared the Poem with Jesse McNeil by him chooising either one of two paths. Where as in the poem there was also two, the traveled, or escaped from trouble, or the less traveled which may lead toa person telling the truth.
In response to number 3, I feel that the theme of authenticity is big in this poem. The person in the poem is trying to decide which path he should follow. After looking down the two roads the man decides to take "the one less traveled." This compares with the Heideggar's Authenticity/Inauthenticity because by choosing the authentic road it has made all the difference, and many everyone, including myself, struggle with this. Sometimes it's just easier and less risky to choose the unauthentic way. Instead this person goes against the unauthentic by chosing the road less traveled, and it turned out to make all the difference.
In the Poem, "A road less taken" the man chooses the differnt path. By making this choice it shows his authenticity. He does not follow the path that is most common but he makes a decision on his own and dares to be different. He follows his own way, he is a leader not a follower. He is an individual.
To compare this poem to something in a high schoolers life, I would compare it to College choice. One could take the path everyone else is taking and follow your friends to a common school that doesn't necissarily appeal to you. or you could choose a school you find interesting and follow your own new path.
3. In the poem the "The Road Not Taken" Robert Frost discusses the idea that there are two paths you can chose from in life. He says one path which is more beaten down and trodden is like the inauthentic life. That is the path everyone takes, and people who walk it are not living according to their own hearts. The other path which is less traveled is the authentic life. People here follow their own beat. Two paths I am chosing between are the different college choices I have. On one hand I could follow my sister to U of I, or I could find a school that fits me better than whatever school she chose.
3) I think that this poem shows a great importance of the inauthentic life vs. the authentic life. The poem is a good representation of the many choices we face in day to day life, this one seemingly a very important decision. One can compare the inauthentic life to the road more commonly traveled in a world like ours today because of the difficulty it is to live a truly authentic life with all of the materialism we are constantly surrounded by. Frost then tells us how he took the road less traveled, and that in his life, it made a huge difference. This can be connected with Aristotle's thoughts on morality and how in order to be truly happy we must live a completely moral life. By choosing the road less traveled (the authentic life) Robert Frost decided to live a moral life and in the end is happy with his decision.
I think that this poem shows more of an authentic way of life rather than inauthentic. The man is desiding which road to take and desides to take the road less traveled. he choses to be authentic which is very tough to do today. In our lives it is much easier to take the road more traveled but he decided to be on his own and made the right decision.
The major theme of this peom is uniqueness/authenticity. The author is trying to find his uniqueness in traveling the road less traveled. He later finds out that it is in fact not less traveled. This could mean that the authentic life is not necessarilly the best life. It could also mean that authentic life is living how you see fit, nbot how others in the past have.
Mark Harvey
2.) The Road not taken by Robert Frost is a poetic example of a true stuggle that happens to us as humans. In the "Hound of Heaven" the narrator is running away from God and is not sure if he should allow God to become a part of his life. His indecision torments him until the final acceptance. Quite the contrary, in the poem "The Road Less Traveled" by Robert Frost the narrator makes a firm decision to go down the path that is not as worn as the other, and is completly satisfied in his/her decision.
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