Seth Nichols

ENGL 55
3/25/17
Literature Based Essay:
Who am I?

Every day we are influenced by a multitude of internal and external forces, and many of
those forces shape us to be who we are. Robert Frost, Walt Whitman and Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow have each written poems that discuss the forces that impact our characters. Despite a
few differences in perspective, each of them contributes to the idea that there are moments and
experiences as we age that mold us to be who we are.
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost is a reflection of ones choices in life. It begins
with a description of a traveler at a crossroads in a forest. One path has a bend in the
undergrowth a short way down, and the other is grassy and enticing to walk on. Both paths have
been traveled by others, yet he says that there are fresh leaves that havent yet been stepped on.
After his analysis, he is required to make a choice. With a sigh, he chooses the path less traveled,
but claims that his choice has made all the difference. This poem is a brilliant metaphor for the
impact of an individuals decisions on their outcome. Frost showed how the best option for
others may not be the best option for you through the speakers choice of the path less
traveled. This philosophy can be applied to nearly any stage in lifes journey. For example, If
you are offered two jobs, where one offers high pay in a field that you loathe and the other is less
profitable but more enjoyable, it is up to you to weigh the benefits and make your decision with
no regrets. Through this metaphor, Frost demonstrates how such choices build into where you go
in life.
Walt Whitman presents a similar topic in his poem,There Was A Child Went Forth.
Rather than honing in on our choices, Whitman focuses on external forces that mold our life
stories. He introduces his main character as a child, and says that,...the first object he lookd
upon, that object he became, And that object became part of him The streets, houses, birds
and horizons where the boy lived all poured into who he was. Upon further inspection, Whitman
never mentions anything that the boy does, says or thinks at any point in the poem, but rather
focuses on everything that the boy comes into contact with. He doesnt specify what happens to
the boy because of his surroundings; he only points to the internal changes that occur because of
his outside forces. Whitman hints at the limited control we have over our environments and the
fact that those forces will influence our upbringing.
Frost and Whitman presented two different examples of how our personalities are shaped:
by our choices and our surroundings. In contrast, Henry Wadsworth Longfellows poem,A
Psalm of Life, explains that its what we do with our life that determines our future. Longfellow
begins his poem with a description of a pessimistic view of life. Dust thou art, to dust
returnest, is a phrase he uses to describe a feeling of futility in our souls. He counters this
statement later in the poem:
And, departing, leave behind us
 Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing oer lifes solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
He believes that our lives will impact the lives of others if we leave our metaphorical footprint.
He concludes the poem by telling us to learn to labor and wait while we pursue and achieve our
life goals. While Whitman showed the limited control we have on external forces, Longfellow
uses this poem to illustrate the control we do have over our future. We can decide to waste our
lives complaining about meaningless existence, or we can utilize the gifts weve been given and
use our time on Earth to the fullest.
Frost, Whitman, and Longfellow took different approaches in these poems to what
defines our characters, but they all agree on one thing; life is far more than simply going through
thoughtless motions until you die. We all encounter crossroads in our lives and are influenced by
surroundings that we may not be able to control. However, its up to each one of us to decide
what to do with choices and environments were faced with. That is what makes us who we are.