Novel Synthesis.

Each decision a person makes will have an affect on their lives. The poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost has a lot in common with a theme that is depicted in the novel Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup. "The Road Not Taken" demonstrates the importance of pushing past the obvious and taking the road "less traveled by" and how whichever "road" one might choose will affect things down the line. In a brief summary, the poem describes there being two roads, one that looks as if it's used quite frequently, and the other as if it's never been taken. Just because the one looks misused and forgotten the speaker chooses to take it. The speaker wanted "to [take] the other, as just as fair". Knowing both roads "equally lay" but not knowing exactly where the one he is taking will end up, the narrator chooses the more vague road. In this instance, the narrator seems proud of the decision made and states that it made "all the difference". This relates to Slumdog Millionaire in a number of ways. Slumdog Millionaire, briefly, is about a teenager who wins a game show, but is accused of fraud because the producers of the show both don't have the money to actually reward him and cannot be convinced that an uneducated "dumb orphan boy" could possibly know the trivial answers. In hopes to have the charges dropped, Ram Mohammad Thomas explains to his defense lawyer story, by story how he knew the answers by experience. This relates to "The Road Not Taken" in a few ways. Firstly, it shows that every decision made ultimately affects another thing in your life. If Ram had not had some of these experiences, he would not have known the answer. Likewise, if the speaker in the poem had taken the other road, it would have been a completely different experience. It also touches on the fact that each "road" can be a different experience to each person. Just because the speaker in the poem was ultimately pleased with the decision made it does not mean that it would be right for everyone. In both pieces the main characters choose to look past the obvious and recognize that most things are not what they seem like at first glance. When the speaker in the poem first looks down at each road, he is slightly apprehensive as to which one to take. One looks as if its "grassy and [wants] wear", and the other is completely different. To connect with Slumdog Millionaire he is forced to make choices that are possibly more drastic and dangerous at times but ultimately both examples show that decision have a tendency to linger onto future decisions. If he had not had all of these life experiences, he wouldn't have known the answers to the questions. Experiences have a domino effect and shape who we turn out to be. Whether its fate or choice, each event helps mold the next.