Conformity Vs Individualism Essay, Research Paper
Everyone is confronted with situations in which he or she may have to make definite decisions. One may regret or be fully satisfied with his or her choice. What one goes through after the decision will be different from what others who take different options go through. What about in achieving the truth? Can truth be changed depending on one’s decision to pursue it or not? These are the questions most people ask and ponder over. In the poems The Wayfarer by Steven Crane and The Road not Taken by Robert Frost, truth is justified antithetically to one another portraying different views in approaching truth through the notion of conformity versus individualism.Two characters from the poems have a correspondence in that they both desire truth and are aware of the consequence. Both characters are forced to make a decision at the beginning. They have a choice between the easy road which the majority of people take, or the difficult one which is undiscovered and risky. According to Crane, the character in The Wayfarer is fully aware of the “other roads”(line 11) he can take. From the quote “two roads diverged in a yellow wood/ And sorry I could not travel both”(line 1-2), Frost also states that the character in The Road not Taken hesitates at the crossroad where he finds he must make a decision. Both quotes signify that the characters have come to the point where two roads cross over and lead to different ways. Both characters start out from the point where they have the same goal and are confronted with the same decision.In contrast to their similar beliefs and circumstances, the characters act differently in that one chooses to follow conformity and the other chooses to pursue individualism. The character from The Wayfarer is a conformist because he goes along with the majority and chooses the safe way. He is afraid of the undiscovered world and the risks it contains. Crane indicates that the wayfarer fears the unknown road filled with weeds which appear to be knives. He thinks taking the unpopular, difficult road is as painful as being stabbed with sharp knives. “Don’t part with your illusions. When they are gone, you may still exist, but you have ceased to live” said Mark Twain. Maybe the wayfarer is afraid to lose illusions and have new ideas gushing into his head. He is blinded by prejudice and exaggerates the situation by perceiving the unpopular road to be painful and misleading. He tries to justify himself by giving supposedly-legitimate reasons. The wayfarer chooses to take the easy road which represents the road which commonly accepts the rules and beliefs of society. He wants to take the road with the safe and certain outcomes. On the other hand, the character in The Road not Taken is an individualist who welcomes challenges and goes for what he wants instead of following the set-rules. From the lines “and looked down one as far as I could/ to where it bent in the undergrowth”(Frost, line 4-5) suggests that he already knows what the road is like and how easy and safe it is. He does not want to go through the already-known path. Many people travel the easy, widely-known road, but he does not want to experience the same thing as everyone else does. He wants to experience something that no one else has. It is obvious that the traveler wants to be distinguished rather than to be included in a group. He deliberately takes “the one less traveled by”(Frost, line 19) to experience it himself, but not to accept it as what the majority think of. In contrast to Crane’s wayfarer, Frost’s traveler takes the road “because it was grassy and wanted wear”(Frost, line 8) Although the two characters start out from the same situation, they make decisions that are opposite and antithetical.
At the end, both characters achieve their own means truth. The character in The Wayfarer achieves truth in that he does what he wants to do, which is to find truth without facing any hardships and taking risks. He finds truth within the boundary of safeness and compliance. Although he gives up in taking the unknown, yet potential in rewarding path, he achieves truth from the safe path. However, he only achieves the truth partially because he does not know the other side of it. He may not be complete in knowing the truth but is happy and satisfied with his truth. The character in The Road not Taken achieves truth by following his instincts. He interprets the unknown path as a challenge rather than a risk to take. He looks on the bright side that the challenging road may give him more than what he expects from it. “Then took the other, as just as fair/ and having perhaps the better claim”(Frost, lines 6-7) supports that he is very positive and optimistic. He achieves the complete truth because he is familiar with both paths. He knows the easy path from what he has heard and witnessed. Moreover, he jumps into the problem and experiences to fine the real truth. Albert Camus once said “A man is always a prey to his truths. Once he has admitted them, he cannot free himself from them.” Perhaps the traveler was already acquainted with truth that he cannot resist to seek for more. Either ways, it leads him to achieve the complete truth.Two characters begin with the same problem. Their choices differ but result in same thing, achieving truth. The characters from The Wayfarer achieves truth by taking the familiar method in which he does not go against the majority and knows he will not fail. He conforms to the majority. The character in The Road not Taken pursues his action in individualism which results in complete happiness and truth. Eventually, his desire and curiosity of truth are diminished. Similar to many choices everyone is faced within life, two characters are faced with two roads. The roads may appear similar but it is apparent that they will grow farther and farther away from each other. It is impossible to foretell the consequences of most of the major decisions people make . It is often necessary to make these decisions based on more than a little examining of which choice “wanted wear”(Frost, line 8).
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