ForttMcMillon1

Vaughn ForttMcMillon

Camilla Alvarez

LIT1000

April 30, 2017

The choices that are made by an individual daily shape ones life and gives meaning to

ones eventual outcome. Choices are not just defined by their overall importance. A choice

whether it be small or big influences the decisions makers path in life. Within The road not

taken and Boys and Girls the narrator of each literary work will be faced with a decision and

its these decisions that influence their perceived outlook on life. The narrator of The road not

taken and Boys and Girls make choices that ultimately shape them and their perception of

those around them. These same choices have important connotations when it comes to the

narrators progression within the literary work.

Within The road not taken the narrator has come to a fork in the road, representing a

decision he or she must make to move forward in life. The narrator spends their time analyzing

each path as one is worn with usage and the other is untouched. In The road not taken the

choice the narrator makes will ultimately shape how life plays out after this decision. Two roads

diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler (Frost,856).

Within life when faced with an important decision, no matter the choice that is made, there will

be doubt about whether it was the right decision. To be able to travel both paths reaping the

benefits of both is desirable, but impossible. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing

how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back (Frost,857). Within these lines
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the narrator has come to accept that by choosing one path, he or she has forfeited a chance to

take the other road. The narrator has made their decision wanting to take the path least travelled.

In the literary work Boys and Girls the narrator is a young girl who loves to help her

dad do chores around the farm. The narrator does these outside chores against her mothers

wishes, who believes the narrator should be in the house performing the tasks of a women.

The narrator makes the choice to be with her father handling the physical jobs. These

stories were about myselfThey take place in a world that was recognizably mine, yet one that

presented opportunities for courage, boldness and self-sacrifice, as mine never did (Munro,155).

The narrator is aware of her position in life being a female and she wants her position to change.

Instead of shutting the gate, I opened it as wide as I could. I did not make any decision to do

this, it was just what I did (Munro,161). The narrator is perplexed by the choice she made and

now it has a negative effect on her when everyone finds out.

Within both stories, a choice was made that ultimately shaped who the narrator truly was.

In Boys and Girls the narrator allows the horse to escape without knowledge of why. By doing

this she is betraying her fathers trust that he placed in her. The narrator is coming to a point in

her life when she is developing into a woman. Shes only a girl I didnt protest that, even in

my heart. Maybe it was true (Munro,162). The narrator is beginning to understand what she is

and how different she is from her father. In The road not taken the narrator takes the road less

traveled. I took the one less traveled, and that has made all the difference (Frost,857). The

narrator made the choice to be different and be an individual and not be a follower.

In Life, its seen that the choices made by an individual should be done with the upmost

care. The road that an individual chooses will take them throughout life. In The road not taken

Centers on the narrator decision to take the path less traveled by or follow the crowd. Boys and
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Girls introduces a narrator who makes a decision that goes against personal preference and now

it affects her negatively. In both instances a choice was made by the narrator and now they must

live with their decisions.

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Works Cited

Frost, Robert. "The Road Not Taken." The Norton: Introduction to Literature, 12th ed. Edited by

Kelly J. Mays, Norton, 2017, pp. 856-57.

Munro, Alice. "Boys and Girls." The Norton: Introduction to Literature, 12th ed. Edited by Kelly

J. Mays, Norton, 2017, pp. 153-162.