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 them in her apron
To tell them ‘Supper’. At the 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!
The boy’s 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 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 doctor put him in the dark of ether.
He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath.
And then — the watcher at his pulse took fright.
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.
————————————-
The poem “Out, Out-” takes an idyllic northern American image “Five mountain ranges one behind the other/ Under the sunset far into Vermont” and turns it into a briefly tragic scene quickly lost amongst the hectic lives of the characters the poem introduces us to. Layered into this obvious tragedy, Frost intertwines the living with the object, with both taking on the others form during the course of the poem.
The role of the saw in the poem is obviously critical, and the personification of the object by the poet is an important point to note, we are quickly introduced to the saw, “snarling and rattling”, like a chained up angry dog, which later jumps from the boy’s hand as though unleashed with devastating force. The fact that such an inanimate object is given such life by such a simple personification, to the point of killing a human is an interesting one to consider. The saw is made intelligent too, appearing to know the word “Supper” and responding accordingly when the sister makes the call.
This tool then is obviously like any normal buzz saw (itself an interesting label with onomatopaeic qualities), so it must be through the fault of the operator that the saw is brought to life. It would only be through the carelessness of the boy operating it that the saw could get out of control, meaning that, if it were not for the demise of the character, anger would be a normal reaction to such a lack of control. However, we are given crucial bits of information which help us to feel sorry for the main character in the poem. The first, we are told, is that he is a boy, just a boy. During the process of having his hand severed, we are told he becomes a man, but it is important to remember that he remains a boy throughout the course of the poem.The second tool Frost uses to make us pity the boy, aside from his death, is the unsympathetic ending the poem has. As the two other characters return to their lives, we are given a potent reminder that the boy will not be returning to his.
————————————–
Other things to note:
- The significance of the line “The doctor put him in the dark of ether”.
- The boy’s initial response to the accident.
- The fading of life represented by the line “Little — less — nothing! — and that ended it.”
- The vague irony of him cutting wood for the stove but never knowing the fruit of his work, ie, his supper.
- The hint of religious connotation in the idea of the last supper.
- The significance of short sentences, “So.” and “But the hand!”
- The almost delicious juxtaposition of the line “The boy saw all” with the fact that it was the saw which had caused the problem in the first place.
