Essay Sample: “One Fish Two Fish” vs. “The Road Not Taken”

Identity is on everyone's minds, making choices and being an individual creates meaning in one’s life. The poems “One Fish Two Fish” by Dr. Seuss and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost share a common theme of identity, but differ in many ways. Both poems explore unique interpretations of what it means to be an individual, where Dr. Seuss focuses on accepting others and Robert Frost focuses on accepting oneself. The target audience influences the vocabulary used in both poems. Differing characters emphasize the moral both authors are trying to communicate. The unlikely poems share a common theme of identity and what it means to be an individual but differ in their respective target audiences and characters.

A poem’s target audience determines everything from vocabulary, to the moral. The target audience of Dr. Seuss’ “One Fish, Two Fish” is for younger kids, the goal being to entertain children while also conveying an important moral of accepting differences. Use of made up animal names like Wump, Nook and Zans are prevalent in the poem’s vocabulary. “One Fish, Two Fish'' starts off with a simple ABAB rhyming scheme, but gets more complicated with internal rhymes like “What good to a Nook is a hook cook book?” (Seuss 84). On the opposing side, Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” targets a more mature audience as his metaphor-filled poem requires a lot more interpretation to understand. The main character’s decision to take an unconventional route through life showcases the theme of identity . This poem uses an ABAAB rhyming scheme that is ironically simpler than the one of “One Fish Two Fish”. As opposed to the outrageous characters in Dr. Seuss’ poem, Robert Frost stays down to earth, building relatability with the reader.

In terms of characters, “The Road Not Taken” and “One Fish Two Fish” are polar opposites, Robert Frost prefers down to earth, relatable characters, whereas Dr. Seuss is famous for his otherworldly fictional characters. The main character of “The Road Not Taken” is not particularly unique, but they choose to take an unconventional path in life. The Lines “Oh, I kept the first for another day!” (Frost 13) and “I doubted if I should ever come back.” (Frost 15) paints a picture of how the character feels about their decision. They tell themselves they will circle back to the main road another day, but realize that another opportunity will likely never come up. This shows the very human characteristic of regret and learning how to be content. Rather than a clear cut good and bad decision, the poem highlights the fact that every decision has its benefits and consequences. The main character gains individuality at the cost of normality, but soon becomes content, realizing that past decisions cannot be undone. Dr. Seuss, on the other hand, creates a diverse cast of fictional characters to convey his message of acceptance. To a young audience, human characteristics come off as dull. In order to capture the attention of children, Dr. Seuss puts a unique spin on the “accept everyone” narrative, showing the audience something they’ve never seen before. A great example of Dr. Seuss’ creativity is Mr. Gump, he has 7 humps, as opposed to a normal single-humped wump. The reader does not know what a wump is but the message is clear, accept Mr. Gump for his differences.

Dr. Seuss and Robert Frost created two distinct poems that share a common theme. Dr. Seuss targets a younger audience and conveys his message of acceptance using unique fictional characters, whereas Robert Frost targets a more mature audience and communicates his message of individuality through a relatable, human character. “One Fish Two Fish” and “The

Road Not Taken” create their own identity by telling a unique story for a unique audience, through unique characters.