Robert Frost's Out, Out
In Robert Frost’s poem Out, Out, it appears as though a small boy is out doing some work that normally older men would do. Including this is cutting firewood with a chainsaw. As he is doing his work, his sister comes over to announce that dinner is ready. Then, in his own excitement, he loses control of the chainsaw and it cuts his hand. He pleads with his sister to not let the doctor cut of his hand. But the boy eventually loses too much blood and dies, and then everyone just moves on and goes back to their daily routines.
The first thing that came to mind from reading this poem is why no adults ever interfered at any point throughout the poem. Not once does an adult come to the boy and take over the work for him. Never does an adult tell
the boy that he can take a break. Then at the end, not a single person (adult or child) seems to mourn for the boy after he dies from his accident. Everyone just moves on without a second thought. It makes it seem as though this was just something that the people were accustomed to at the time. Maybe this was a period where people were dying almost on a daily basis and everyone just realized that there was no time to stop and mourn for others so often.
At point in the poem, it seems as though the chainsaw is blamed for this tragedy that befalls. While the saw is what caused the boy to lose his hand and bring about his death, the author seems to personify it. For example, when the boy’s sister came to announce dinner, the saw “leaped out at the boy’s hand”. By doing this, the author makes the saw responsible for the whole situation. It also seems as though the boy in
.“Out, Out—” page 2
The end could not fully control the saw. For the saw was designed and meant for a man to handle. Not a small boy. Frost describes the sounds of the saw by the literary device onomatopoeia, snarling and rattling throughout the poem. The saw ran perfectly the whole time; never showing strain while cutting wood or while it was just idling. And nothing happened: day was all but done, expresses the anxiety the little boy experiences while longing for something other than work to do. Thirty minutes before the end of his workday, the boy was tired and ready to quit working. He had been working all day and wished they would allow just thirty minutes extra for him to experience his childhood. The boy would count so much when saved from work, because he is not allowed the normal playful childhood.
Another thing that is revealed in the poem is how desperate the boy wanted to live. As soon as he loses his hand to the chainsaw, he begs for his sister to not let the doctor cut his hand off.
The first thing that came to mind from reading this poem is why no adults ever interfered at any point throughout the poem. Not once does an adult come to the boy and take over the work for him. Never does an adult tell
the boy that he can take a break. Then at the end, not a single person (adult or child) seems to mourn for the boy after he dies from his accident. Everyone just moves on without a second thought. It makes it seem as though this was just something that the people were accustomed to at the time. Maybe this was a period where people were dying almost on a daily basis and everyone just realized that there was no time to stop and mourn for others so often.
At point in the poem, it seems as though the chainsaw is blamed for this tragedy that befalls. While the saw is what caused the boy to lose his hand and bring about his death, the author seems to personify it. For example, when the boy’s sister came to announce dinner, the saw “leaped out at the boy’s hand”. By doing this, the author makes the saw responsible for the whole situation. It also seems as though the boy in
.“Out, Out—” page 2
The end could not fully control the saw. For the saw was designed and meant for a man to handle. Not a small boy. Frost describes the sounds of the saw by the literary device onomatopoeia, snarling and rattling throughout the poem. The saw ran perfectly the whole time; never showing strain while cutting wood or while it was just idling. And nothing happened: day was all but done, expresses the anxiety the little boy experiences while longing for something other than work to do. Thirty minutes before the end of his workday, the boy was tired and ready to quit working. He had been working all day and wished they would allow just thirty minutes extra for him to experience his childhood. The boy would count so much when saved from work, because he is not allowed the normal playful childhood.
Another thing that is revealed in the poem is how desperate the boy wanted to live. As soon as he loses his hand to the chainsaw, he begs for his sister to not let the doctor cut his hand off.