1. The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost has a universal theme for all the people in the world. Can you use your understanding about the poem to prove that? Have you ever stood at a crossroads and hesitated to decide what road to take in your real life? How?

The main theme of "The Road Not Taken" is that it is often impossible to see where a life-altering decision will lead. Thus, one should make their decision swiftly and with confidence. It is normal to wonder what the outcome would have been if the other road, the road not taken, was the road chosen. But to contemplate this hypothetical deeply is folly, for it is impossible to say whether taking the other road would have been better or worse: all one can say is that it would have been different. Besides, the central message is that, in life, we are often presented with choices. When making a choice, one is required to make a decision. Viewing a choice as a fork in a path, it becomes clear that we must choose one direction or another, but not both. Some poetry can be helpful to us in our real lives, as a guide and comfort, as a catalyst. The Road Not Taken is a classic of form and content. In "The Road Not Taken, " Frost does not indicate whether the road he chose was the right one. Nonetheless, that is the way he is going now, and the place he ends up, for better or worse, was the result of his decision. This poem is not about taking the road less travelled, about individuality or uniqueness. This poem is about the road taken, to be sure, as well the road not taken, not necessarily the road less traveled. Any person who has made a decisive choice will agree that it is human nature to contemplate the "What if. . . " had you made the choice you did not make. This pondering about the different life one may have lived had they done something differently is central to "The Road Not Taken. " The speaker opts, at random, for the other road and, once on it, declares himself happy because it has more grass and not many folk have been down it. Anyway, he could always return one day and try the 'original' road again. Would that be possible? Perhaps not, life has a way of letting one thing leading to another until going backwards is just no longer an option. But who knows what the future holds down the road? The speaker implies that, when he's older he might look back at this turning point in his life, the morning he took the road less travelled, because taking that particular route completely altered his way of being. Frost uses the road as a metaphor for life: he portrays our lives as a path we are walking along toward an undetermined destination. Then, the poet reaches a fork in the road. The fork is a metaphor for a life-altering choice in which a compromise is not possible. The traveler must go one way, or the other. The descriptions of each road (one bends under the undergrowth, and the other is "just as fair") indicates to the reader that, when making a life-altering decision, it is impossible to see where that decision will lead. At the moment of decision-making, both roads present themselves equally, thus the choice of which to go down is, essentially, a toss up–a game of chance. The metaphor is activated. Life offers two choices, both are valid but the outcomes could be vastly different, existentially speaking. Which road to take? The speaker is in two minds. He wants to travel both, and is "sorry" he cannot, but this is physically impossible. The road, itself, symbolizes the journey of life, and the image of a road forking off into two paths symbolizes a choice. The two roads in "The Road Not Taken" hardly differ. The first road is described as bending into the undergrowth. The second road is described as "just as fair, " though it was "grassy and wanted wear. " At this, it seems the second road is overgrown and less travelled, but then the poet writes: Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no steps had trodden black. So, again, the roads are equalized. Yet, as if to confuse the reader, Frost writes in the final stanza: I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. With that, we are left to wonder how Frost knew the road he took was the one less traveled by. But Frost likely left this ambiguity on purpose so that the reader would not focus so much on condition of the road, and, instead, focus on the fact that he chose a road (any road, whether it was that which was less traveled by or not), and that, as a result, he has seen a change in his life. One does wonder at times, on life's journey, what taking a different road might have led to. However, I personally have found that you can't spend too much time dwelling on that, because life moves forward, not backwards. As the expression goes: "Don't look back; you're not going that way. " Have you ever stood at a crossroads and hesitated to decide what road to take in your life. . . Faced with hesitation: “Should I study for a degree in second subjects in English” or “taking take the exam with B1 in English” to qualify for a master's thesis…In the end, I decided to study a second in English diploma. This was a very difficult decision for me because it involved many other issues such as: economy, health, time. . . Can I do it while studying for a second degree, studying for a master's degree, and working at the same time? And then I always think positively, life needs challenges for people to grow and progress and also set an example for them to see that "it's never too late to learn" as long as I try to get over it. Besides, I am also very lucky to have my family (husband and children) always behind me to encourage and help, which is the motivation for me to make this difficult decision.