Some people go through life without reflecting on how their decisions have shaped them as a person. The poems “Fire and Ice” and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost both use the importance of decision making and its effects on the way we live to highlight how our path through life is defined by our choices. At the same time, Frost uses extreme opposites in “Fire and Ice” and similarities of choices in “The Road Not Taken” to explore human nature and the permanence of decisions. “Fire and Ice” is a poem that depicts a bleak situation. image of the future in which there are two paths, fire and ice, both of which lead to the end of the world. Frost uses language throughout the poem that seems simple, but is actually very effective in communicating deeper, more insightful meanings. It links fire and ice to desire and hate and creates multiple levels of complexity. For example, the simple passage “Some say the world will end in fire, / Some say in ice.” (“Fire and Ice” 1-2) introduces the two main symbols of the poem, but, at the same time, draws the reader in because desire and hatred are such a personal and such a significant part of human nature. After the symbols are presented, the narrator involves himself in the poem by saying “From what I have tasted of desire / I keep with those who favor the fire.” (“Fire and Ice” 3-4). Here a clear decision is made in favor of fire, implying that the narrator favors desire. Frost believes that the world will eventually be destroyed by destructive and negative human traits: desire, greed, and jealousy. Yet, in Frost's mind, these traits are still preferable to hatred. This opinion is demonstrated by the narrator's choice of fire. Frost prefers the heat of passion and fire to...... middle of paper......we hate ourselves through the symbols of fire and ice. The narrator chooses fire over ice because it is what he is most relatable to and is, in his mind, preferable to the hatred and coldness of ice. The narrator in “The Road Not Taken” also makes a decision based on how the choices presented relate to him. They chose to be an individual and not shape their life around someone else's decision. “Fire and Ice” is, on a deeper level, also very different from “The Road Not Taken” because it presents two specific choices that both lead to the same end while “The Road Not Taken” opens up the possibility of infinite paths and decisions from result unknown. Regardless of where the poems lead the narrator, Frost makes it clear that our decisions affect who we are, but he also opens up speculation about what it would be like if we had taken different turns. It's impossible to know.