Symbolism In Harlem And Out, Out By Robert Frost

The irony of feeding the innocent human the idea of war to fulfil its hunger War never changes, the conflict brought about by human nature is timeless; this is evident in the commonalities found through the evaluation of “Harlem” by Langston Hughes, which was written during World War II , and “Out, Out” by Robert Frost, which was written during World War I. One of the major goals of human existence is to fulfil the human condition, and the human condition is not satisfied without constant evolution. Constant evolution comes at a lofty price, and that price is often paid in blood. “Out, Out” by Robert Frost is about a boy that lost his hand to a buzz saw by being oblivious to the safety of his hand when his sister called him to supper. The …show more content…
This free form style is symbolic of the unpredictable nature of the boy’s life and how it was cut at random. Frost also uses alliteration of the s sound suggests a snakelike quality, which indicates that danger was lurking throughout the poem. Frost used the symbol of dark ether to signify that death was imminent. He also used metonymy “The life from spilling” being a substitution for bleeding out, “Leaped out at the boy’s hand” for the action that took the boy’s hand, and “child at heart” meaning a person with childlike qualities. Frost also enjoyed referencing Shakespeare in his works, and “Out, Out” was no exception as he titled his work after the phrase “Out, out, brief candle!” which was also a reference to the futility of life. Above all of the literary devices used by Frost, the most common device in “Out, Out” was personification. Frost personified the inanimate objects of the buzz saw and the boy’s hand. The buzz saw was described with bestial qualities as it “snarled and rattled” like a beast on the prowl, it “made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood” like an animal defecating its feces, and it “knew what supper meant” and “Leaped out at the boy’s hand” finally striking its prey. The hand was personified with the quote “Neither refused the meeting. But the hand! ”, meaning that the hand was personified and represented a person refusing death. Overall, this poem had an emotionally …show more content…
There is a plethora of similes to seemingly unrelated items that can be interpreted as the process of a fruit becoming too ripe on a tree and eventually falling off its branch and exploding its innards on the ground. The heavy use of imagery is used to give the poem a more creative and curious tone. Overall the tone of the poem is more anxious and curious in order to create a sense of urgency and this urgency encourages a reflection of one’s own dreams. The narrator of this poem is probably a young African American as the author Langston Hughes wrote several poems for his people and culture. In fact, it can even be speculated to be a young man fresh back from fighting in World War II. Personification is not used in this poem as greatly when compared to “Out, Out”, but it is still relevant as the idea of a dream, the central focus of the poem, is solely personified. Hughes personifies this idea of a dream with similes as though it is a tangible object and saying that it can run and perform other physical