Lather And Nothing Else Poem Analysis

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In the short story, “Lather and Nothing Else” by Hernando Tellez and the poem, “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, the speakers both face extremely difficult decisions. Mr. Tellez writes about a barber who is given the opportunity to kill the revolutionaries enemy, however, he contemplates if he is willing to go through with murder. On the other hand, Mr. Frost’s poem describes a man standing before two beautiful roads in the middle of the woods, unsure which pathway he desires more. While both writers had their own unique writing styles, both efficiently incorporate symbolism, internal conflict, and tone to prove life consists of many important decisions, such as an opportunity, that will ultimately alter one's future, hence, making it extremely important to …show more content…

Frost’s poem varies from the story, both writings essentially consist of figurative terms that supports taking decisions seriously due to their effect. In the poem, a man stands where “two roads diverged” and carefully examines the choices in front of him, preparing to choose (Frost 1). It is instantly made clear that the man in the poem has an extremely difficult and vital choice to make alone. The fork in the road represents the pathways he could take and the different opportunities that would then follow. The road, symbolizing possible options, causes the man to worry as he attempts to look further into each one's future. In other words, he is patient instead of quickly making a choice without giving much thought. However, due to feeling the pressure of taking the right road, he begins “telling this with sigh” and doubting himself (Frost 16). And although at some point he may believe he could take both opportunities, he eventually came to the conclusion that taking both roads is not possible, thus making his decision more important and stressful. By coming to this realization, the author emphasizes the importance of one's choices in life because often times people can never go