Which Road You Choose Makes You Who You Are

Which road you choose makes you who you are.

Everyone is a traveler, and his or her journey is life. There is never a straight path that leaves one with a sole direction in which to head. Regardless of the original message that Robert Frost had intended to convey, his poem, “The Road Not Taken”, has left its readers with many different interpretations. It is one’s past, present, and the attitude with which he looks upon his future that determines light that he will see the poem in. In any case, this poem clearly demonstrates Frost’s belief that it is the road a person chooses that makes him the man he is.

Frost says, “and sorry I could not travel both…” It is always difficult to make a decision because it is impossible not to wonder about the opportunity cost, what will be missed out on. There is a strong sense of regret before the choice is even made. The knowledge that in one lifetime it is impossible to travel down every path is upsetting to some people. In an attempt to make a decision, the traveler “looks down one as far as I could”. The road that will be chosen leads to the unknown, as does any choice in life. As much as he may strain his eyes to see what is down the road, eventually it surpasses his vision and he can never really see where the road is going to lead. The path that he chooses will set him off on his journey and decide where he is going.

“Then took the other, just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim”. What made it have the better claim is that “it was grassy and wanted wear”. It was something obviously not for everyone because it seemed that the majority of people took the other path. Therefore, he calls it “the road less traveled by”. The fact that the traveler took this path over the more popular is a clear indicator as to his character. He is very secure and doesn’t necessarily need to follow the crowd but would rather do his own thing. He wants to do what has never been done, what is new and different.

“And both that morning equally lat in leaves no step had trodden black”. The leaves had covered the ground and since the time they had fallen no on had traveled on this road. Perhaps Frost does this because each time a person comes to the point where they have to make a choice, it is new to them. It is somewhere they have never been and they tend to fell as though no one else had ever been there