The Journey of Human Life

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Some people may describe their lives as being ordinary while others may say that their life is extraordinary in comparison. People at some point in their lives will have to make decisions that will take them down different paths, and the paths people choose will determine what journey they may face and what will become of their future. While human life can be described as a journey, it is often described as being either a physical or spiritual one for its travelers.

First, human life can be depicted as a spiritual and physical journey for people in life. In the short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce, it tells of a man being hanged over the edge of the bridge and the events that transpire after the noose around his neck breaks. The journey for Peyton Farquhar in the story is a spiritual one based on the fact that while he is waiting to be hanged he imagines trying to get away and overcoming certain obstacles to reach the safety of his family. Bierce writes, “By nightfall he was fatigued, footsore, famishing. The thought of his wife and children urged him on” (87). The obstacles that Peyton overcomes in his mind is a way for him to find an escape from the idea of him being hanged, and while he is dodging bullets and refraining from drowning he is thinking of his family as a safe place. In his story, Bierce states, “He stands at the gate of his own home. All is as he left it, and all bright and beautiful in the morning sunshine” (88). He reaches his beautiful home and he sees his wife gliding down the stairs with her arms outstretched for an embrace. Peyton’s family and home symbolize heaven in the way it is described as being perfect and unearthly. His home is where his mind carries him as he is about t...

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...her small body. Some people may experience a more spiritual journey by strengthening their religion, accomplishing certain goals, or making peace with others. For example, the person in Dickinson’s poem makes peace with her death and passes on into an afterlife with Death at her side. People have different experiences in their life to find their way and those decisions can be a meaningful journey for the people who travel it.

Works Cited

Bierce, Ambrose. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” Roberts and Zweig 83-88.

Dickinson, Emily. “Because I Could Not Stop for Death.” Roberts and Zweig 653-54.

Frost, Robert. “The Road Not Taken.” Roberts and Zweig 1096.

Roberts, Edgar V., and Robert Zweig, eds. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. 10th ed. Boston: Longman-Person, 2012. Print.

Welty, Eudora. “A Worn Path.” Roberts and Zweig 314-19.

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