John Doe 1 John Doe
English 205
Walter Kalaidjian
3 October 2011
Frost’s Use of Symbolism in “Out, out”
“Out, out” by Robert Frost narrates an event that contains significant social
meaning pertaining to the subject of child labor during the period of World War I. The
poem describes a young boy losing his hand while working with a buzz-saw. The violent
meeting between the boy and saw represents the social conflict between children and the
conditions in which they worked. Frost portrays the boy as a symbol of innocence and
childhood; he represents the victim during this time period. He portrays the saw as a
symbol of oppressive labor; it represents the harsh circumstances at the time. After the
incident, the focus shifts to the relationship between the boy and the people around him.
Other adults at the scene did little to save the boy and quickly returned to their affairs
after the boy died. The adults in the poem represent the indifference of society to the
injustices. The interaction between the characters of the poem comments on a various
social subjects such as childhood, innocence, life, and death. Robert Frost symbolizes the
characters of the boy, the saw, and the adults in “Out, out” to depict different aspects of
society by describing the significance of the characters’ interactions.
The buzz-saw symbolizes the oppressor, and in the poem, it is depicted to have a
predatory presence. In the beginning, Frost describes the saw by engaging the reader’s
sense of sound, sight, and smell:
The buzz-saw snarled and rattled in the yard
John Doe 2 And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood,
Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it.
………………………………………………………………
And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled, (1-3, 7)
The words “snarled and rattled” describe the sound made by the saw (1). Frost
personifies the saw with predatory qualities. The sound “snarled” is often associated with
the aggressive growl of an animal. Also, “rattled” is an equally unpleasant sound and
often gives a disconcerting feeling. It can also be associated with the shaking of the
rattlesnake’s tail as a warning of its attack. This parallel also foreshadows the saw’s
Combine these two sentences
attack. Frost next engages the sense of sight. The saw “made dust and dropped stovelength sticks of wood” (2). This description allows the reader to visualize the saw at
work. The image is then accompanied by the smell of “sweet-scented stuff when the
breeze drew across it” (3). Based on this description, the sound is different than the sight
and the smell; the sound is daunting while sight and smell are neutral. This difference is
also present when the “snarled and rattled” repeats in line 7. It is followed by “as it ran
light, or had to bear a load” (8). The recurring sound of the saw mimics the intimidating
presence of a predator before the attack. Its presence also represents a disturbance in the
setting by introducing feelings of anxiety and stress as if something is about to happen.
The anxiety is further increased when Frost states the “day was all but done” (9). Frost
builds up tension in poem with foreshadowing and personifies the saw with diction.
The boy symbolizes childhood and innocence; his situation represents the harsh
conditions of his life. The reader gains an understanding of the boy through Frost’s
description of his scenario: “Call it a day, I wish they might have said / To please the boy
John Doe 3 by giving him the half hour / That a boy counts so much when saved from work” (10-12).
The boy is still working when the adults can simply tell him to “call it a day” (10). From
this, the reader can already see the adults take little responsibility for him. Had they given
him “the half hour”, his hand and his life would have been spared (11). Furthermore,
Frost emphasizes that the time “counts so much when saved from work” (12). Being
“saved from work” can be figuratively interpreted as being free from additional labor;
however, in the context of the poem, it represents the saving of the boy’s life from the
saw. While the adults are not directly responsible for the boy’s life, they are a component
of the society that allows such tragedies to occur. In that society, the boy is the victim.
The interaction between the saw and the boy symbolizes the consequence of child
labor:
To tell them "Supper." At that word, the saw,
As if to prove saws knew 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! (14-18)
The saw is again personified when it tries “to prove saws knew what supper meant” (15).
Furthermore, Frost reiterates the predatory nature of the saw by describing how it “leaped
out at the boy’s hand” (16). By describing the physical motion of the saw, he implies the
attack on the boy is intentional. The saw plays a very active role in poem so it can be held
accountable for taking the boy’s life. Frost imposes the blame for the incident on the saw
and the adults to maintain the boy’s innocence. At the time, many children did not have a
choice in the matter of working. Frost depicts this idea when he says the boy “must have
John Doe 4 given the hand” (17) and “neither refused the meeting” (18). The use of the word
“meeting” is ironic because a meeting is usually associated with the joining of two
individuals. In the poem, the “meeting” is a violent event that results in the near severing
of the boy’s hand. The consequence of the interaction between the boy and the saw is
symbolic of the numerous cases of lost limbs and lost lives in factories.
This relationship between the boy and the adults symbolizes the indifference and
passiveness of society concerning child labor. After the incident, their interaction consists
of limited care followed by apathy:
The doctor put him in the dark of ether.
…………………………………………………
No one believed. They listened at 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. (28, 31-34)
The doctor, instead of treating the injury, put the boy in the “dark of ether” (28). Ether is
used to put people to sleep before surgery, which is a procedure that leads to recovery.
However, in the poem it is used to put the boy out of his misery, which is the opposite of
recovering. Also, the choice to let him die should have been a last resort. The lack of
effort in providing care for the boy is an indication of their indifference. They simply did
not care enough to seek additional help. This attitude is further demonstrated after the
boy dies, when the incident has “no more to build on” (33). The statement casually
devalues the boy’s death and suggests that the incident has nothing more anyone should
think about. As follows, the adults “turned to their affairs” because they “were not the
John Doe 5 one[s] dead” (34). From this, the reader can conclude the adults are selfish and are
apathetic toward the boy’s death. The emotionless tone of the final lines parallels the
attitude of the adults. Frost describes the interaction between the boy and the adults to
show how little is done to aid child labor. By not doing anything, they are allowing it to
happen.
“Out, out” was written during an era in which children worked in hazardous
industrial conditions. Lives were lost, but the practice continued. The poem is a social
commentary on these harsh conditions. The boy represents the children and their loss of
childhood; the saw represents the oppressive circumstances and also, the cause of their
misery; the adults represent the rest of society doing little to help and allowing it to
continue. Frost effectively uses symbolism to produce a compelling piece of work that
speaks out against child labor.
Final comment:
Good Thematic
focus on Frost's
tone
Works Cited
Frost, Robert. “Out, out.” Mountain Interval. 1916. Poem 24.
John Doe 6