Haynes Finney
Robert Frost
'Out-Out'

1 The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard
2 And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood,
3 Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it.
4 And from there those that lifted eyes could count
5 Five mountain ranges one behing the other
6 Under the sunset far into Vermont.
7 And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled,
8 As it ran light, or had to bear a load.
9 And nothing happened: day was all but done.
10 Call it a day, I wish they might have said
11 To please the boy by giving him the half hour
12 That a boy counts so much when saved from work.
13 His sister stood beside them in her apron
14 To tell them "Supper." At the word, the saw,
15 As if it meant to prove saws know what supper meant,
16 Leaped out at the boy's hand, or seemed to leap -
17 He must have given the hand. However it was,
18 Neither refused the meeting. But the hand!
19 The boy's first outcry was a rueful laugh.
20 As he swung toward them holding up the hand
21 Half in appeal, but half as if to keep
22 The life from spilling. Then the boy saw all -
23 Since he was old enough to know, big boy
24 Doing a man's work, though a child at heart -
25 He saw all was spoiled. "Don't let him cut my hand off -
26 The doctor, when he comes. Don't let him, sister!"
27 So. The hand was gone already.
28 The doctor put him in the dark of ether.
29 He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath.
30 And then - the watcher at his pulse took a fright.
31 No one believed. They listened to his heart.
32 Little - less - nothing! - and that ended it.
33 No more to build on there. And they, since they
34 Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.

Personal Conclusions

8 links:
Robert Frost, 'Out Out', Vermont, I, Lines 13-18, Lines 19-26, Lines 32-34, Personal Conclusions
- posted by Haynes Finney @ 3:26 PM 1 comments

 
Setting
The setting of this work is very easy to deduce from the content of this work. There are four main phrases/words in this poem that help to identify the setting. First, the simple call of 'supper' dates this poem. While a common word in the deep south, this word would no longer be used in Vermont. Also, in modern times such a scene would rarely occur; it is very uncommon in today's society for a family to eat together, much less the woman call the men in from a long day's work in the fields to enjoy a meal. So, it can be noted that this poem is set in the past, most likely in frontier times. Second, the saw that the boy helps operate in the poem is old fashioned. The saw was one that took multiple men to operate. This fact again dates the poem to frontier days. Third, the most telling detail of the age of the poem is the use of ether. Ether was used in early medicine to put people asleep during an operation. It was very dangerous but affective in its purpose. Again, the use of ether by the doctor gives the poem its old age. It is interesting to know the setting of this poem because it becomes readily apparent how a boy could die from a simple saw cut. Finally, knowing where the place of the poem, Vermont, also explains how the boy could die so easily. It would take a doctor a long time just to reach the boy, much less administer care. In conclusion, knowing the setting of this poem makes reading the poem much more interesting.


- posted by Haynes Finney @ 2:55 PM 0 comments

 
Lines 13-18

Lines 13-18 are dense with content and show just how good Robert Frost was with crafting words. These lines tell a small story within the poem about the interaction between the boy and the saw. For these two parties to have an interaction in interesting because the saw itself does not posses any human qualities. In giving the saw human qualities, Frost is using personification. The first time Frost uses personification is in line 13 where he writes, "His sister stood beside them." Them refers to the boy and the saw; here, the saw is make the boy's equal. This line could also foreshadow the coming events in the next lines. Why would the sister not just address the boy? Lines 15 and 16 continue the use of personification; they read, "as if to prove the saw knew what supper meant, leaped out at the boy's hand." Saw do not have the ability to leap. Rather, the boy must have made a mindless mistake. The saw he was using was probably a stationary one, so it is likely that the boy may have accidentally sat his hand on the saw. Line 17 even states, "he must have given the hand." The meeting between the boy and the saw is much more interesting with the use of personification. The longing of the saw for supper is an irregular idea at best but makes the poem interesting. Line 18 wraps up this small segment. While, "neither refused the meeting," it seems the only resulting emotion was the boy's anguish. Even though the saw hungered for supper, it experienced no satisfaction from the supper it actually received.

Again, Frost's mastery of words is amazing. In these six short lines there is much action and extreme emotion.

- posted by Haynes Finney @ 2:51 PM 0 comments

 
Title - 'Out, Out'

- posted by Haynes Finney @ 2:34 PM 0 comments

 
Robert Frost

Robert Frost was one of the greatest poets to ever have lived. As happens in his poem 'Out-Out', Frost's life was struck with early tragedy. At the age of 11, Frost's father died and his family moved to Massachusetts. Frost finished his schooling in Massachusetts and then attended Dartmouth for a very short period. As with many brilliant men, he did not remain in college for very long. Leaving Dartmouth, he became a teacher for a little while and then decided to return to college. This time he attended Harvard but again left before earning a degree. Frost moved his wife and children to England in 1912 after selling the family farm in hopes of pursuing a career as a full time writer, having descent success with his very first publication. After quickly achieving success, Frost moved back to New York City as a full-time writer/poet. In his life Frost won 4 Pulitzer Prizes, the first of which coming in 1924. The total number of awards Frost won are too numerable to list. His love for words and his skill in crafting them into poems made Frost an all-time great poet.


'Out-Out' comes from Mountain Interval
Click the link for a list of awards won by Frost.
- posted by Haynes Finney @ 2:33 PM 0 comments

 
Personal Conclusions
Poetry has never been interesting to me. It has always been an art form that strikes me as one created by lazy people. Needless to say, I have never taken the time to pay much attention to poetry so this assignment was difficult for me to begin. However, after getting started, the beauty and art of crafting words struck me as a very exciting form of art. I love to read and create the setting in my head, kind of like a fantasy world. Poetry allows the reader to do just that but with much more detail. After reading the poem many times through, I felt as though I was there as the action unfolded. I could see facial expressions, understand emotions, and fear the end result. What allowed me to do this was how descriptive and clear Frost was with his words. This new world of poetry is very exciting to me.

As far as the theme of the poem, lack of value of human life, is concerned I must agree. In the business world, people's emotions and desires are cast aside. If someone does not produce, they no longer have a job. So what if they have a family to feed. This simple example of the workplace is a mild one at best. As people, we create values important to us. If people do not match up to our values, they do not matter to us. How quickly we forget that everyone is a person with feelings and desires. This is really a sad situation that only seems encouraged by pop-culture and current media.

Finally, I surprisingly enjoyed doing a school project and plan to add poetry to me readings.
- posted by Haynes Finney @ 2:28 PM 0 comments

 
Speaker
The first person perspective in this poem makes for a good read. The poem is told like a story, full of interesting details. The speaker does not try too strongly to emphasize any specific ideas but does add flavor to the story. Only one time in the poem does the speaker actually refer to himself/herself. Line 10 reads, "Call it a day, I wish they might." The job and perspective of the narrator are unknown to the reader; the narrator could be a co-worker, a neighbor, or even a father. How does the narrator witness the event? Does this person usually have access to the boy's personal life? These are both interesting questions. As it reads, the narrator must live closely to the boy, most likely in the same house. It also seems that, because of how descriptive the poem is, it is told by a female. The description of the action is told through a caring perspective, not through the work-hardened perspective of a day laborer. Though is it not a large issue in the poem, the mystery behind the narrator is an interesting one.
- posted by Haynes Finney @ 2:27 PM 0 comments

 
Death of the Boy

- posted by Haynes Finney @ 2:10 PM 0 comments

 
Lines 19-26
A wonderfully tragic picture is painted in the minds of readers in lines 19-26. Vivid details make it possible for the reader to play the scene out in their mind, just like a movie. The scene in lines 20-22 is gruesome and tragic. Tears must have filled the boy's eyes as he held his hand up, probably at eye level. The boy must have looked at his sister with a terrible sense of desperation, silently yelling help. He had to know that nothing could be done; oh how he must have longed for the childhood he never had in that brief moment. One could easily imagine the look of despair the boy gives in lines 22-25. He was probably relatively calm until line 22 and then experienced a breakdown thereafter. Unfortunately, they boy was so hardened by "doing a man's work' that he had to know his eventual fate.


- posted by Haynes Finney @ 1:33 PM 0 comments