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Comparison: The Road Not Taken vs. Barn Burning. One of the most mysterious and still undiscovered things in our contemporary world is the human nature. Basically, it is the philosophical analysis of the human nature that makes classical creations of the world literature immortal. William Faulkner and Robert Frost are listed among the greatest writers of the world literature giving people the opportunity to make their own judgments about the great variety of things.
Two literary masterpieces, The Road Not Taken and Barn Burning became the world classics mainly because of their link to philosophical aspects of the human nature. Both literary creations display the same philosophical idea the idea of making appropriate choice and adequately handling this choice till the rest of humans life. Let us see how the ideas of choice are related and interconnected in both literary works. First of all, let me determine the nature of choice in each of the works and then see how each author develops the thought. So, in the short story by William Faulkner Barn Burning, the main character, Sarty, is concerned about the conflict between values. Basically, the main philosophical idea that Faulkner explores is at what point should a person make a choice between what his parents or family believes and his own values?
In this story, Sarty is faced with the decision of either going along with the views and actions of his morally challenged father or asserting his own morality and individuality by running away and leaving his family and his pain behind. This story follows the typical format and is narrated in the third person. In the exposition, Faulkner's skill as a writer is demonstrated through the way that he uses details to draw the readers into the story. The most intriguing moment of the story is when Sarty's father orders him to bring the oil and Sarty immediately catches upon the meaning of the whole affair.
By that moment, he is in doubts about his future actions. However, his mind is clear and the only point of his sufferings is that philosophical dilemma I described above. What happened then is another story. Sarty understood that his decision would be irreversible and affect the rest of his life. He wouldnt get the opportunity to come back to that point and reconsider the whole situation. I think the author makes us believe that ones own values are the most important thing a man can possess, especially when it comes to comparison, when a person knows for sure why his parents values are ethically wrong, but still has hard times trying to figure out which way to go.
This thought is also demonstrated in Frosts The Road Not Taken, but the problem us seen from a different angle there. Frosts poem is mistakenly considered childish and became a piece of popular literary culture for the majority of people who were introduced to it at school. However, the philosophical content of those few lines is beyond any doubts. Frost takes us to the forest of our lives where we see a fork on the road. Then, he suggests us to make a choice. What is important about the Frosts poem is to understand the equality of his roads (And both that morning equally lay/In leaves no step had trodden black).
The author decides to choose one thinking of the possibility to come back any time and reconsider the decision. However, then the author shows us the impossibility of such actions and the inevitability of consequences (I shall be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence). Frost shows us the importance of making a choice, but points to the unique feature of the human nature, which thinking of a come back in time in the back of ones mind, even though we cannot know for sure that the other road was any better. As you can see, both masterpieces of the world literature have one thing in common. They both represent different views on one of the main philosophical ideas the humanity has always been concerned with the problem of making the right choice.
The only difference is in the complexity and circumstanced of decision-making. Frosts views may be considered too general, though precisely correct, while Faulkner describes the specific situation and gives us great perspectives to apply this situation to a broader range of subjects. Words: 722
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Research essay sample on Comparison The Road Not Taken Vs Barn Burning
