Analysis Of Robert Frost's Poem Out, Out

Robert Frost’s iconic poem Out, Out is a one stanza poem that depicts a scene of a boy working and losing his hand. Author of the book “Modern Critical Views: Robert Frost”, Harold Bloom makes the argument that the “they” in the poem are at fault for the boy losing his hand and ultimately his death. I, however, beg to differ. I believe the boy, himself is responsible for the loss of his hand and his demise. The boy had the knowledge of the work, no one pushed his hand into the saw, and he rushed his work. All these factors led to a tragic accident.

To summarize, the poem Out, Out is set in a rural area and it is around dusk and the air is “sweet-scented” (Frost). Out, Out depicts a young boy in a rural area doing yard work. The boy is young and is using a buzz saw, and it is close to the end of the day. While finishing up his work he slices off his hand and dies.

Harold Bloom, an American literary critic, believes outright that the “they” in the poem “are thus responsible [for the loss of the boy’s life]” (Bloom 78). Bloom believes the adults or “they” had narrow viewpoints because Frost used the words “lifted eyes”, “they do not lift their eyes; the sunset is ignored” (Bloom 78). They also did not let the boy finish his work 30 minutes early if they had done so the accident would have been avoided. For these explanations and direct quotes show how Harold Bloom stated his argument.

On the contrary, the boy, who is not named is the only one responsible for his death. We the readers must understand that in rural areas, it was not uncommon to have young children doing labor to help the family out. The boy was old enough to be “doing a man’s work” (Frost), thus he should be able to do his work properly and efficiently. The boy must have been accustomed to the workings of this piece of machinery enough to be utilizing it on his own. Therefore, knowing all the risks that accompany the