Between Wishes and Beliefs in Wild Grapes

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Recommended: The portrayal of women in literature

Between Wishes and Beliefs in Wild Grapes

In "Wild Grapes," Robert Frost demonstrates the complex thoughts and struggles of a woman who lives her life, wishing that she had gained a knowledge that would have made her life different. At the same time, she hopes to preserve the exhilarating way she lives her life. Through the use of character portrayal, metaphor, symbolism, and diction, Robert Frost suggests to the reader that although people know that they should prepare themselves to walk through life, they still listen to their hearts, which causes them to be unprepared for what lies ahead of them. The poem starts with the woman telling a story from her youth, which is engraved traumatically in her mind.

The story that the woman describes is about an incident that happens when her brother takes her to a glade where there is a grape tree standing alone. Her brother starts to climb the tree while she admires the tree filled with the grapes. Climbing even higher and picking some grapes to eat, he bends the tree to try to let her have some. As she picks her own grapes, he tells her to hold the top of the tree. So she holds the tree as she was told. The tree, however, catches and suspends her, and it keeps her there for a minute with its grapes. She starts to cry like a baby and does not know what to do. But she clings to the tree, even though her brother is telling her to let go. Trying to bend the tree down, her brother tells her to wait until he leads her down. Finally, against his advice she falls off the tree and feels the ground with her feet. Since the incident happened, the life that she has been living is something different than what she expects or what people expect. She knows sh...

... middle of paper ...

...o her struggles that are engraved traumatically in her mind.

Robert Frost amazingly demonstrates the woman's complex thoughts through the use of character portrayal, metaphor, symbolism, and diction. He illustrates his clear idea about how she lives her life, having struggles in her mind. Reflecting her life in the story that she tells, the poem presents a journey to find out how and why she lives the way she lives between her wishes and beliefs. Using those devices effectively, Frost presents his ideas clearly and makes a strong impression on the reader. Through his demonstration of her journey of life, he shows the significance of life and its complexity.

Works Cited

Frost, Robert. (1920, December). "Wild Grape." Harper's Magazine [Online], 3 paragraphs. Available: http:// www.bartleby.com/155/15.html [1999, October 6].

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