Don’t Take Advice From Dead Poets

“If”/ “The Road Not Taken”

The best advice I’ve ever had is to not listen to advice. That has made all the difference. “If” by Rudyard Kipling and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost are both similar. Rudyard Kipling is giving fatherly advice to his son about the art of manliness. The Road Not Taken is about a man not knowing what to do and deciding to ‘roam’ the untraveled.

This essay will show how time has changed, making the following poems no longer valid, or less valid, as advice. “If” and “The Road Not Taken” are both older poems, encompassing broader issues. While they’re seen and heard of today (the issues), the context has changed in which the poems are read due to modernization.

To begin with, language in “The Road Not Taken” is dated; as can be heard in day to day conversation “trodden” is no longer a word in use. Taking a road that’s less frequented might be taken because of a persons’ personal experience. Also people are no longer looked down upon for being themselves, for the most art at least. In addition when “Then took the other, just as fair,” the poet is saying that something is ‘fair’ shows that Rudyard Kipling’s poem is dated, and should be taken with a grain of salt. “If” bears the same problem, capitalizing words and using outdated expressions. Moreover, the poem is harder to take at face value without thinking it’s no longer valid because of its language. Pitch and Toss isn’t played anymore since coins have less value and gambling everything isn’t as common. Seeing words be twisted is easy nowadays with so much technology but seeing the word ‘knaves’ is really only common in poker. Take the following line as an example “Or walk with kings and not lose common touch,” while people still make ludicrous amounts of money, the internet has made selfishness frowned upon within the upper class. These poems are a reminder of how time has changed, just by looking at the way they’re written.

“The Road Not Taken” and “If” make every choice you make seem more serious than it actually is. In 1895 money and food must’ve been scarce, and in 1950 the economy was just pulling out of the war. Consequently, when referring to a side to take he’s (R.S.) weary of the road most have taken, which makes sense to think right after a war. The poem states the importance that his pathway made in his life, while not indicating how or why. The poem also tries to show that individualism is unheard of (at least when written), however being yourself isn’t as big of an issue today. When it’s said “I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference,” choices are blown out of proportion; this quote shows how something like a ‘promenade’ at the park can affect your life, which isn’t usually the case. “If” expands on the idea of how much money is related of a persons’ self-worth, it’s not so- money in Canada/ US is somewhat overlooked by technology. Social Structures interact with each other with easy because of the internet. “If” is all about the choices you make affecting everything from the people you walk with to the games you play. Furthermore, it makes broad generalizations about the wealthy and poor. When “And risk it all […] in pitch and toss, and lose,” is said, this line is in the 1890’s. Back then coins had more value, so losing a coin could’ve been losing a week’s salary. Over-all the poems have aged fairly well, however they put too much importance in choices nowadays overlooked. “If” and “The Road Not Taken” are applicable, but as mold guidelines to remember, they’re to make you think not change the way you think entirely.

The poem “The Road Not Taken” doesn’t state how to take your own road or what roads not to take. Which is why taking this poem as advice all the time could go poorly. The poem pokes a hole in itself by saying that the one more traveled could be better. The message of the poem also isn’t very clear, which is the point, but it’s also too open ended. Any advice the reader gets is entirely subjective. Rudyard Kipling wrote “And both that morning equally lay,” which means that that day the paths looked almost identical so the significance to one path has to be entirely personal. “If” states a clearer message, but the question still stands- how? The poem can only be followed on a basis of ‘if’. Day to day life isn’t always something you can think through. It also puts the horse after the carriage (the goal before the how), so the poem leaves more questions than answers. The line “if you can force nerve and sinew,” tells you to risk hurt feelings for what? To be a man? Put in layman’s terms the poems can’t be taken as advice without the risk of misconstruing the poems and messing up.

To summarize, as times change so too does context change, a person taking these poems as advice could take them the wrong way, too seriously or literally, which won’t end well. The three points used to prove this are: Dated language and terms, different issues and solutions for modern life, and there not being enough ground work to fully expand on these poems’ advice.

English Love Poem

Her eyes no longer blue,
Against the night sky her love shone through.
But as moon turned to day,
So too did my love turn away.
A new day to chase her again.
Her light no longer shining.
Her smile resplendent,
against the stormy ocean.
The seas no longer parted,
As my love no longer swam.
She let me drown and I her.
We followed the prophecy,
Word for word,
common prayer couldn’t save us.
Ashes to ashes dust to dust,
My love once burnt,
the flame now gone.
Her eyes turn blue once more.

Forgiveness in Families

1. Cam’s early years foreshadow his future because he is described as someone who only does what he wants to do. He is portrayed as the one that lives by his own set of rules and never does what is expected of him whether it’s bad or good. He changes in the end by leaving the the cult, as he ended up disliking the rules. When he joined the cult he stopped living by his own rules and started following the rules of a religion. That is not in his nature. I think his changhe is permanent in the way that he will still live by his own rules only this time he will be more conscious of others.

 

2. I think Val has the more correct opinjon, however I don’t think it is particularly right. Val’s mom is too leniant and is weiry when it comes to judging her son. Cam might be justified to be angry but not to be this angry, after all everyone makes mistakes.

 

3. A) Val is disappointed because she wanted Cam to finally feel some consequences or atleast see what it’s like to have something not turn out to your favour. She, in a strange way, wanted to show Cam that not everything is about him and sometimes he needs to take a back seat.

 

B) Val thinks that her mother would’ve done alright, she thinks it would’ve beemn a more peaceful day. The mom thinks she would’ve died, as if somehow Cam’s precense helped her pull through.

 

C) I think Val was most likely right, she seems to have her feet planted somewhat well omnto the ground.

 

Pride and Upskirt Prejudice: Sam The Athlete Persuasive Paragraph

 

Hugo Garcia, 17/9/2015

Pride and Up-skirt prejudice

If the best way to describe someone’s attempts at doing well can be summed up by “ trying so hard, and […] failing— miserably,” you’d want to change wouldn’t you? The story “Sam The Athlete” by Stuart McLean faces the topic of social norms, insecurities and the struggle of a boy to fit into school and sports teams. When Sam was given the opportunity to fit in and finally be his own hero it didn’t matter to him that he had to wear a skirt, he just wanted to play. Sam’s decision to wear a skirt and play on a girls team wasn’t one out of vanity or mischievousness, it was one out of ecstasy (the good kind). Sam had always wanted to be great at something, to literally have an A-1 game, wearing a skirt just happened to be one of the things he needed to use to be happy. As the author said “Sam’s skirt was making him happy,” and it was because the skirt wasn’t on his mind as much as the sport was, the sport was his focus and the skirt was a tool. If trying to be happy in an active way is a bad thing just because you’re worried about norms, then why is it that people have only ever moved forward by pushing the limits and striving for more? In short Sam made the right decision by wearing a skirt, as it was his way to be active and happy.