I Wouldn’t Turn Back

 The Wayfarer by Stephen Crane is an allegory of life. The poem tells a tale of a traveler who sets out to travel down a pathway that can be described as a “Pathway to the truth” however, the journey is not as smooth as expected, he is struck by astonishment as the path to the truth is filled with overgrown weeds.  In the poem, there is a theme of literary impressionism. Crane's usage of assonance, metaphors, and imagery supports the theme of literary impressionism. The support works to show the reader that finding the truth is difficult; therefore, these devices add to the work as a whole to convince the reader, that the path to the truth is often difficult but it is worth taking.

The author of "The Wayfarer" was the youngest of fourteen siblings and son to a Methodist minister (americanpoems.com). At a young age, Crane followed the course of his family's beliefs of Christianity; however, Crane's interests became more prominent as he entered his higher education (The Encyclopdeia of New York, 418). Within a military institution of college, Stephen Crane used observations and personal experiences to create characters and themes of growth and maturity (poetryfoundation.org). Others view the last sentence of the poem in question, as the character turning away from the path of truth.

 Crane is known to utilize literary impressions throughout his poems and the Wayfarer is not an exception.  The pathway is a metaphor, the narrator sees that the path is filled with overgrown weeds and this symbolizes that accepting the truth is often difficult (Crane, et al., n.p). The difficulty of the path shows the reader struggle that is often involved when choosing the truth and that it is not easy to discern the truth since it is clouded with “weeds” (Crane, et al., n.p). Also, every weed has been described as a singular knife which is a metaphorical meaning, each of those weeds serves as an obstacle to the truth. To the reader, these weeds represent factors that include deceit, self-serving motives, and white lies told by the government and corrupt politicians.

The definition of wayfarer is a person who travels on foot. In Crane's poem, the traveler stumbles upon a road that would lead him to the truth. Crane's usage of naturalistic imagery allows the reader to as though they can visually see the path to truth. Weeds have overcome the foreseen path to truth, which is a metaphor for time. The road to truth has not been taken for a long time (Rogers, 295). The narrator himself has second thoughts on whether to take the road or not. To journey this road the traveler would have to avoid the sharp knives that are the weeds to successfully reach the desired destination. This path is difficult to take and the speaker must be careful when taking the path. The more difficult the path is the more it is worth taking. For the reader, staying truthful and always telling the truth is not simple but it is always worth it.

Throughout the poem, the serious mood is portrayed through the usage of assonance. The emotion allows the reader to reflect on how truth is painful to find in any circumstance; however, Crane states, "Doubtless there are other roads." The meaning behind Cranes' statement is that the wayfarer dreads the path he has chosen, yet proceeds on his course to get the truth. Others argue his statement says that he turns away to find another path. It’s certainly hard to argue which direction the wayfarer takes because on a pessimistic note it can be argued that the speaker decides to take another path since the road to truth is too treacherous and the weeds cannot be avoided (Rogers, 297). The poem echoes and portrays what takes place in the real-world setting, In the world, there are always two choices either choose the truth or choose dishonesty which is much simpler. Also, if the speaker really chose to take a different path, it could be interpreted to mean that people are cowards and do not place any value to the truth, instead of facing the truth they run away from it.  In addition, the use of assonance brings forth the despair of the speaker, who is on the verge of losing hope of being able to trend the path of truth.  The use of assonance as literary impressionism convinces the reader of the hard and difficult nature of truth.

The poem can also serve as a metaphor for betrayal and mistrust that can be interpreted as being lied to and being backstabbed since the weeds are a metaphor for knives. These weeds also serve as evidence of obstacles that hinder one from taking a truthful path. The speaker also acknowledges that not many show interest in seeking the truth since it is evidence that the path has not been traveled much. Dishonesty, lies, and deceit are the paths people take since they seem much easier (Rogers, 298). The use of metaphors by the poet clearly shows that truth is much avoided.  

Conclusively, Crane has used impression as a realistic style throughout his poem, literary impressionism has been evidenced through the use of metaphors, assonance, and imagery support.  These literary devices are used together by Crane to show and support his idea of truth that the path to the truth is often hard and full of obstacles, nevertheless, it is worth taking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Crane, Stephen, Claire Illouz, Claire Illouz, Claire Illouz, and Michael Caine. The Wayfarer.        Chérence: C. Illouz, 2011. Print.

Rogers, Rodney O. “Stephen Crane and Impressionism.” Nineteenth-Century Fiction, vol. 24,      no. 3, 1969, pp. 292–304. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2932859. Accessed 26 Apr.     2020.

The Encyclopdeia of New York. Syracuse, N.Y: Syracuse University Press, 2005. Print.