Position:Home>Poetry> How does the poem 'Out, Out-' by Robert Frost demonstrate Loss?
Question: How does the poem 'Out, Out-' by Robert Frost demonstrate Loss!?
The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard
And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood,
Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it!.
And from there those that lifted eyes could count
Five mountain ranges one behing the other
Under the sunset far into Vermont!.
And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled,
As it ran light, or had to bear a load!.
And nothing happened: day was all but done!.
Call it a day, I wish they might have said
To please the boy by giving him the half hour
That a boy counts so much when saved from work!.
His sister stood beside him in her apron
To tell them "Supper!." At the word, the saw,
As if it meant to prove saws know what supper meant,
Leaped out at the boy's hand, or seemed to leap -
He must have given the hand!. However it was,
Neither refused the meeting!. But the hand!
Half in appeal, but half as if to keep
The life from spilling!. Then the boy saw all -
Since he was old enough to know, big boy
Doing a man's work, though a child at heart -
He saw all was spoiled!. "Don't let him cut my hand off -
The doctor, when he comes!. Don't let him, sister!"
So!. The hand was gone already!.
The doctor put him in the dark of ether!.
He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath!.
And then - the watcher at his pulse took a fright!.
No one believed!. They listened to his heart!.
Little - less - nothing! - and that ended it!.
No more to build on there!. And they, since they
Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
Before checking out the loss, look at the sinister way that the saw is depicted!. In the first few lines, it is personified in an ominous way!. Notice the cacaphonous sounds of how it "snarled and rattled!." The harsh sounds of a saw seem more sinister here (the way a vicious dog would snarl)!. And it "had to bear a load," which suggests that the saw is wearied or not pleased by its task!.!.!.!.until the sister calls "Supper!." Now saw is personified in a sinister way!. It seems to "know what supper meant,": That is, it's ready to eat, and its supper is the little boy's hand!.
Loss is shown as the boy helplessly begs to keep his hand!. He sees the damage, though, and knows "all was spoiled!." Still, he repeats his "Don't let him" plea!. This shows loss since the boy has no control and is begging even though his "hand was gone already!."
At this point, the reader feels connected with this helpless boy as he lays there and "puffed his lips out with his breath!." The next lines are completely unexpected!. Frost highlights how unexpected it is by showing that even from those who were there, "No one believed" what happened next!. The helpless boy was dying!. Frost emphasizes this loss with one concise line that records the boy's passing: "Little - less- nothing! - and that ended it!." Frost does not dramatize this death!. No flowery eulogies or exaggerated words!. Instead, he shows how there is nothing left, and the people turn back "to their affairs!." It's a realistic way to show death, and it evokes a sense of loss and sorrow in us since it isn't overly dramatized!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Well, this poem is about a young boy who is made to do chores that would be better suited to a man!. He ends up accidentally slicing his hand with the buzz saw, and then he dies a little while later!. Frost expresses that this could have been avoided if they'd only given him a half an hour to have fun and be a boy!. I think the loss of the boy is best expressed with the line "Little - less - nothing! - and that ended it!." I hope this helps!.Www@QuestionHome@Com