Literary Techniques Used In Robert Frost's Out, Out

Frost personifies the saw to resemble how humans are being controlled by their tools. In the beginning of ‘Out, Out—’, the saw is depicted as a tool that aids the young boy’s work. The reader notices that the saw is frequently the one “to bear a load”, and makes it seem like it is taking over the boy’s task (Frost, 8). However, it is not until line fifteen that the saw constructs the characteristics of a double-edged sword. The author carefully phrases his sentence when he says, “the saw…leaped out at the boy’s hand” (Frost, 17). Instead of placing the boy as the subject, the author chooses the saw as the subject, making it seem responsible for the accident. Meanwhile, the boy has “given the hand” to the saw, which makes him look vulnerable

and impotent in the situation (Frost, 17). These two lines make the reader realize two things: the boy’s innocence and the side-effect of utilizing tools to complete human tasks.

The saw, which have been attributed with animal-like qualities such as how it “snarled and rattled” (Frost, 1) has a stark contrast with the boy who finds half an hour of work very arduous (Frost, 11-12). Then, there is an irony of how humans created tools to make their lives and work more bearable, but in exchange for the facileness the boy gave his hand to the saw. At this point, the audience develops an ambivalent feeling towards the saw, or tools in general because these help humans in everyday duties, but they are simultaneously fronted with the revolting image of “life…spilling” from the boy’s hand (Frost, 23). Through embodying the saw with human traits and descriptions, the poet delivers the unstated drawbacks of modern-day tools and makes the reader recognize how the tools are expanding their superiority over humans. Some people might think that the example of the saw severing the boy’s hand is too extreme; however, this kind of accidents are prevalent nowadays due to the usage of tools. Not only is it important for people to use tools safely, but it is critical that people use and develop tools for tasks that require

aids. If humans refuse to fulfill their roles in the society and turn to inanimate objects for completing their jobs, it could only be a matter of time until the dreaded scenes of robots taking over humankind seen in movies become a reality.