Personification of the buzz saw in Robert Frost's "Out, Out"

¶ … Robert Frost

Personification in "Out, Out"

Personification as the main poetic device in the poem

The buzz saw's first impression on readers

Frost's main intention in using the buzz saw as a being

Robert Frost's 1916 poem "Out, Out" discusses the case of a young boy who works on the buzz saw and loses his hand and then his life as a result of being unable to comprehend the threat the machine poses. One of the poem's main purposes is to emphasize the fact that life goes on regardless of what happens to particular individuals. Even though it is tragic that the young boy suffers and dies, people around him can't help but to continue with their choirs, as they do not have time to concentrate on matters that do not concern them directly.

III. The buzz saw's first impression on readers

In contrast to individuals who worked with it, readers immediately become familiarized with its nature and are likely to express little to no surprise when they come across the moment when it leaps out of the boy's hand. The fact that it is able to leap on its own further contributes to the personification process that Frost wants to put across.

IV. Frost's main intention in using the buzz saw as a being

Frost wants to display the buzz saw as a person and in order to do so he further emphasizes the fact that it is capable to put across feelings that are characteristic to human beings. Similar to a human being, the buzz saw can sometimes run light and sometimes it appears that it is more difficult for him to go through a load. This makes it possible for readers to comprehend that a person needs to be well-acquainted with the saw and with its nature in order for him or her to operate it correctly. It is virtually as if an individual would need to have a special relationship with the buzz saw in order for it to be able to complete its missions and so as for the respective person to avoid coming across significant problems while operating the machine.

The saw apparently reacts similar to the boy at the moment when his sister comes out and announces that supper is ready. Frost actually emphasizes this concept by presenting the saw as a living being that understood what supper was and, just as the boy, felt that it could no longer continue to work as it had to get resources that it was in so much need of. However, the resources in this situation were related to the boy's hand. It practically seems that the snarling saw leaped out and bit the boy's flesh in an attempt to get the resources it was interested in.

V. Conclusion

Frost's use of personification throughout the poem is impressive and it is most probably meant to amplify the feelings the boy experienced. Thinking about a machine that took on human-like attributes and is responsible for taking a young boy's life is truly breath-taking and makes it possible for readers to understand the gravity of the respective event.

Hindman, Hugh D. "Child Labor: An American History," (M.E. Sharpe, 2002)