Thank you Maam

by Randa

Joined Dec 2020
Published Books 1

characters:

Roger

Mrs.Jones

setting:

at 11 O’clock at night

After that the woman said, “Pick up my pocketbook, boy, and give it here.” She still held him. But
she bent down enough to permit him to stoop and pick up her purse. Then she said, “Now ain’t
you ashamed of yourself?”
Firmly gripped by his shirt front, the boy said, “Yes’m.”
The woman said, “What did you want to do it for?”
The boy said, “I didn’t aim to.”
She said, “You a lie!”
By that time two or three people passed, stopped, turned to look, and some stood watching.
“If I turn you loose, will you run?” asked the woman.
“Yes’m,” said the boy.
“Then I won’t turn you loose,” said the woman. She did not release him.

“I’m very sorry, lady, I’m sorry,” whispered the boy.
“Um-hum! And your face is dirty. I got a great mind to wash your face for you. Ain’t you got
nobody home to tell you to wash your face?”
“No’m,” said the boy.
“Then it will get washed this evening,” said the large woman starting up the street, dragging the
frightened boy behind her.
He looked as if he were fourteen or fifteen, frail and willow-wild, in tennis shoes and blue jeans.
The woman said, “You ought to be my son. I would teach you right from wrong. Least I can do
right now is to wash your face. Are you hungry?”
“No’m,” said the being dragged boy. “I just want you to turn me loose.”
“Was I bothering you when I turned that corner?” asked the woman.
“No’m.”

A Short Summary

This is a poem about decisions people make during their lives and the doubts they have after making their decisions – are the satisfied with their choice? Have they missed something in life? Could their life have been different if they had made another choice?

In the poem, the speaker stands in a yellow wood during the fall (the yellowing color of the leaves indicates this season). The road diverges into two paths and the speaker has to make up his mind which road to choose. The decision is not easy at all (he stands there for a long time). He wishes he could take both roads, however, he knows it is impossible. He examines one of the roads, trying to see where it leads, but he cannot since it bends in the undergrowth.

Finally, the speaker chooses the other road which looks as attractive as the first one, but it seems to him that fewer people have used it – “it was grassy and wanted wear”. He chooses the less conventional road and it implies that he wanted to do something different and not like the others.

The speaker hopes to return one day and take the other way, but knows that once he chooses one way, it will lead to another and then another. Therefore, it is unlikely that he will ever go back to the road he has not taken.

Choosing the road is a metaphor for any decision that is made in life. Once a person makes up one’s mint, it is almost impossible to go back to the starting point and make another decision. And even if one is satisfied with one’s choice and feels no regret, one will probably continue wondering about the road not taken.

Robert Frost, the poet, took “the road less traveled by” when he decides to become a poet. He chose the non-conventional way of life which was certainly not an easy one. As a poet, he suffered many disappointments and only at an older age, did he become successful and got recognition. Frost knew from his own experience how difficult it was to make such a decision and choose the less conventional way of life that does not guarantee success of satisfaction.

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