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  • Essay / The World of the Rural Child in the Poem "Out, Out"

    Throughout "Out, Out", Frost uses a multitude of techniques in order to express thoughts, feelings and character poignancy of a young child and the rural idyll he inhabits. The exploration of this important theme, and the injection of subtle vocabulary, allegory and syntax it entails, is of paramount importance to Frost and he treats it with corresponding luster. Throughout the poem, Frost evokes a dark and utterly malevolent image of innocence overwhelmed by the adult, industrial world: a theme prevalent in much of his poems. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay From the beginning of the poem, Frost immediately creates the feeling that the rural idyll is being entreated by an evil being: industry. For example: “And the circular saw groaned and shook, groaned and shook. The repetition in this extract is obviously an appropriate method of expressing the relentlessness of the circular saw, but it is its positioning that strikes the reader: it comes after a brief passage from Frost eloquently describing the surrounding landscape: " Sweet- scented stuff as the breeze passed through it... under the sunset far in Vermont. This quote helps juxtapose rural and industrial life and is also, obviously, allegorical of the life of the boy who was killed by the saw. However, Frost also explores later themes that underlie the majority of the poem. For example, on many occasions it seems that Frost, using events unfolding throughout the poem, is commenting on the naivety and short-sightedness of farmers in rural America: "From there those who looked up could count five mountain ranges. This quote particularly shows Frost making a deep and subtle inference that farmers do not appreciate the stunning beauty around them and nature as an entity, they simply destroy it. Another example of this theme resurfacing is, “No one believed.” This extract shows the sheer stupidity of those around the child and the generic ignorance of the rural world when it comes to encouraging industry. Quotes similar to those above also create a deep sense of empathy in the reader and an abject dislike of adults: a factor that greatly increases the reader's emotional involvement in the poem and the success of the piece . Vocabulary and syntax are also technical. protagonists in the transmission of the themes mentioned above; for example, Frost elicits a higher level of emotion by using simple, childish phrases and words: "A big boy does a man's job." This quote highlights the ridiculousness of the tasks given to the boy and how he is forced to "grow up" and how adults steal his blissful innocence, just as, ultimately, industry steals rural life: a technique characteristic of Frostian. It seems, however, that Frost's main concern when choosing vocabulary was to emphasize the brevity of the child's existence, for example by extracting the title from the Shakespearean quotation: "Out, Out-brief Candle". This again reiterates the purity of youth and the underlying callousness of man's heart, but also refers to the apparent insignificance of life in general: "Nothing left to build on that." » What happens next is also an important theme throughout the poem. Often expressed through the vulgarity of adults and industry, it proves to be an instigator of undeniable emotion in the reader and, above all, highlights the unpleasant and mediocre existence of the child: "And.