OUT, OUT-

ROBERT FROST


The poem "Out, Out-" by Robert Frost is "apparently based on a true story of a boy's
death whilst working in New England." The boy in question is Raymond Fitzgerald
who died in 1915. He passed away due to heart failure as he could not come to terms
with the fact that his hand had been chopped off by the buzz-saw. The poem is also a
statement on the war in England and Child Labour that had children attaining
manhood before they even reached it.
Significance of the Title- The account, though heart-rending, is described in an
objective manner by the poet. The fact that no personal comments are made on part
of the poet, exemplify that he does not intend to emotionally drain the readers.
Rather he intends on intellectually stimulating the readers into the inevitability of
death and the futility of life. The title has been taken from Macbeth's soliloquy in
which he ruminates over the death of his wife. The hollowness and insignificance of
life is hinted at in this soliloquy, by the eloquent image of the candle that mirrors the
transitory nature of life:
"Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts
and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by
an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing."
The sound and fury signified here is also reflected in the pandemonium created by
the buzz-saw. The immaterial nihilism that the material life arrives at is signified by
the word 'nothing'. Life's a poor player,as eventually it leads to death in spite of all its
valiant efforts. It is a walking shadow that has a manifestation but possesses no solid
existence.

Analysis- At the outset, the buzz-saw is shown to be snarling and rattling. The
twin-sided aspects of life are echoed here. The buzz-saw at once transforms itself into
the metaphor of the Giver of Life:it gives, yet it takes. The verb 'snarled' echoes how it
is animate, yet machine-like; human, yet devoid of emotions. The verb 'rattled"
sounds the rattle of the child and the rattle of the snake: innocence and iniquity at the
same time. The first three lines emphasize how this metaphor is appealing to the
three major sensory perceptions, the first to the ears, the second to the vision, and
the third to the olfactory sense.
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.

The tranquil scenery is contrasted against the loud noise of the machine. Science
pollutes the serenity of Nature. The boy is obviously quite young for the work
assigned to him. His thirst for childhood-exploits is condensed into the half-hour
break that he gets; as we perceive from his sister exclaiming: "Supper."
The gruesomeness of the situation is echoed by the irony of the understatement
"saved from work." One wonders if the poet really meant that, as the child's wasted
childhood was better being spent this way. As the child responds to his sister's call, he
carelessly drops the power-saw, and in an involuntary action of saving the power-saw
cuts his hand off. The meeting of the saw with the boy's hand was destined as
"neither refused the meeting". Critics have seen the same as an expression of New
England Calvinist philosophy that was prevalent during the times. The philosophy
preaches that everything in the world is predetermined.His hand was given, as
though to desperately save someone from sinking. The boy's first response is "a rueful
laugh" that renders the episode even more ghastly and horrific. "He holds up the
hand "as if to keep/ The life from spilling." The figure of speech utilized here is
metonymy; as something closely related to an aspect,is used to signify that aspect.
Here, the word 'life' is used to denote blood.
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 spoiled. "Don't let him cut my hand off-
The doctor, when he comes. Don't let him, sister!" So. But the hand was gone
already.
The boy is embittered at the incident, but is appalled at the prospect of losing his
hand. Though a child at heart, the maturity forced upon him beyond years enables
him to see that his life would be handicapped without his hand. He fervently pleads
for it, not to cut it off as a wasted/diseased part. It is for the reason that he would
never be complete again that he dies, rather than the shock of his wound. He could
no longer be the Man working on the power-saw. His manhood was flawed in the
process.
The last part records the reactions of the others to the predicament. They react very
hard-heartedly to the turn of affairs: "And they, since they/Were not the one dead,
turned to their affairs." They perhaps render themselves immune to experience by
finding refuge in the daily routine of life. They have an objective approach as it helps
them deal with things better. As, the saying goes, experience is the greatest Teacher.
And one of the lessons learnt was that Death is inevitable.The phrase "Little--less--
nothing!" points to the ultimate destination of Life: Nihilism.
They listened at his heart. Little--less--nothing!--and that ended it.
The poem thus leaves a thunderous effect on us through the subtle technique of
meiosis(understatement). Harold Bloom has stated that the poem is "one of Frost's
most respected poems, but it has not received the same depth of critical attention and
explication as poems such as "The Road Not Taken" and "Stopping by Woods On a
Snowy Evening".

Symbols The symbol of the candle is indeed significant as it stands for the brevity
of life.The buzz-saw underlines the boy's mechanical routine. The juxtaposition of the
buzz-saw against the tranquil nature highlights the conflict between science and
nature;culture and nature where a boy is forced to relegate his childhood that goes
against Nature. The sister wearing an apron signifies the same. The handicap of the
boy emblematizes the handicap of civilization that is incomplete in spite of the
professed leaps made by technology. The 'half-hour' break symbolizes the
condensation of his childhood.
Style and Technique The poem is penned in blank verse with deviations from
iambic pentameter. The poet utilizes onomatopoeia,assonance and alliteration.Frost
employs imagery that assists in the narrative mode of story-telling.He adopts
objectivity in tone and succeeds in stimulating the readers rather than emotionally
draining them.In this sense, his method is like Brecht's alienation technique.In
"Out,Out-" , Robert Frost makes use of a contrarian style.For instance,though the
poem about Life,it uses a machine to make a statement on the same.Though the poet
utilizes meiosis(understatement),the subtle treatment leaves a lasting impression on
the readers' mind. Though the poet denotes,he connotes more.


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 behind 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 to prove saws know what supper meant,
Leaped out at the boys hand, or seemed to leap
He must have given the hand. However it was,
Neither refused the meeting. But the hand!
The boys first outcry was a rueful laugh,
As he swung toward them holding up 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 mans work, though a child at heart
He saw all was spoiled. Dont let him cut my hand off
The doctor, when he comes. Dont let him, sister!
So. But 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 thenthe watcher at his pulse took fright.
No one believed. They listened to his heart.
Littlelessnothing!and that ended it.
No more to build on there. And they, since they
Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.