Making choices Quote by Paul Murray
““On the way back, Dennis, who has been unusually quiet this lunchtime, speaks up. ‘I’ve been thinking about that Robert Frost poem,’ he says. ‘I don’t think it’s about making choices at all.’ ‘What’s it about, so?’ Geoff says. ‘Anal sex,’ Dennis says. ‘Anal sex?’ ‘How’d’you figure, Dennis?’ ‘Well, once you see it, it’s pretty obvious. Just look at what he says. He’s in a wood, right? He sees two roads in front of him. He takes the one less travelled. What else could it be about?””
About This Quote
Source Film: The Simpsons, Season 5 Episode “Homer and Apu”, 1993
The quote humorously reinterprets Frost’s poem as a metaphor for sexual preference, highlighting how people can project personal meanings onto ambiguous texts.
In simple terms: A joke about reading hidden sexual meaning into a poem.
Question assumptions about symbolic interpretations.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- casual conversation
- media analysis
- education
- creative writing
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How does humor affect our perception of classic literature?
- When is it appropriate to reinterpret art for comedic effect?
The joke may trivialize deeper literary themes and could be offensive to some audiences.