Young Goodman Brown Essay

             As people get older they begin caring about what other people think about them. A child will wear two different shoes and his or her shirt inside out without a care in the world, but eventually they are taught that they need to dress a certain way and behave a certain way in public. They are taught standards, and administered punishment if they don’t meet these standards. As people grow up they must conform to these standards outwardly while they inwardly question why they have to be quiet and wear two shoes that are the same color. We are taught that we must do what everybody else is doing, because what everyone else is doing is right, and this carries on throughout our lives changing who we are and what our instincts to do are. Young Goodman Brown struggles with outward conformity and inward questioning in a parallel way. In the story he watches the entire town participate in a devil worshiping ritual. Everything he ever knew as good in the world was being tarnished in front of him. Every standard he had ever been taught was ripped from him, and he struggled between going with the crowd and sticking to what he knew.

            In Puritan societies of the early development of New England, children are taught god is good, and that the only thing they have to worry about in life is worshipping god and staying away from the devil. Goodman Brown was taught this. From his beginnings he outwardly conformed to worship god the Puritan way. If he showed any inward questioning he would be deemed devil worshipped and killed. His morals and beliefs were what he was taught as a child: god.

            When it came to the night in the forest, Goodman Brown’s beliefs were put into question. He felt the pressure to conform as he watched everyone including his symbolically named wife Faith, participate in a devil worshipping ceremony. Goodman Brown’s God fearing instincts and his love for Faith allow him to question what he is seeing and not initially go with the crowd. However after seeing even his Faith be tainted by the devil he gives in because the truest thing held to him, his beliefs, were tarnished.

            If we are stripped of what we hold to be true, stripped of the foundation of our very being, our ability to question, we are left with nothing but out ward conformity. Goodman Brown’s struggle with outward conformity and inward questioning is a good demonstration of humanity. Take away who you are on a personal level, and you are left with nothing but the chaos around you.

"Out Out" Essay

             Most people would agree that society focuses to heavily on working and making money rather than enjoying life and living it to its fullest potential. In his poem “Out Out,” Robert Frost demonstrates this through strong imagery, personification, and a shocking transition from peace to violence.  Frost begins the poem with imagery describing the surrounding landscape, showing how beautiful the world is and how enjoyable it could be without work. Frost then transitions to the boy working, juxtaposing the beauty of the mountains with the “snarling” of the buzz saw, personifying the saw as an evil being. Frost mentions how the boy longed to get even a half hour break so he could be a boy rather than be forced into doing “man’s work” while “still a boy at heart.” The boy’s sister soon arrives and announces supper is ready. Frost again personifies the saw “leaping” out of the boy’s hand and cutting his other one. Though the accident happened because the boy lost concentration, Frost blames the situation. If the boy hadn’t been forced into an early man hood and made to work, or had been given that half hour break, he would never have gotten hurt.

            If the boy had been allowed to enjoy his childhood, he wouldn’t have been working, and if he wasn’t working, he wouldn’t have been called for supper and been distracted and wouldn’t have cut his hand. Frost blames the work for the death of the boy demonstrating how making children do too much work can have severe consequences. While death may be a bit hyperbolic, it is clear that child labor can negatively affect a child. Children don’t always have the same attention span and same understanding for the importance of work and thus accidents like the one described by Frost can happen. Along with physical harm there is psychological damage that can come to a working child. In the beginning of the poem Frost mentions how the boy wanted to have a half an hour break to do things a boy would do like run around and play. Studies have shown that children who don’t play enough as children lack the social and creative skills necessary in adulthood for real jobs, while a farmhand may not need these skills, they are needed if the child every decided to leave the farm or to do business selling things in town.

            At the end of the poem, after the boy dies, all the on lookers, the boy’s sister and presumably the boy’s parents just return to work, unaffected by the death of a young innocent boy, since they “weren’t the ones dead.” This is another comment by Frost on the effect of work on society. If the people had taken the time away from work to develop a personal relationship with the boy they would have felt a pain from losing him. The people were too involved in their work to feel they needed to grieve for the boy. Even if the people didn’t know the boy they should still be effected by his death. Frost is showing that people have become so money oriented that they aren’t even impacted by the death of a boy right in front of them. If people cared about others as much as they did about money or themselves they would have stopped to help the boy and grieve for his passing instead of just turning their backs and going on with their lives.

            In conclusion, “Out Out,” by Robert Frost is social commentary on the negative impact of over working. If people stopped working and lived, building relationships and seeing the world, a lot of unnecessary consequences could be prevented, and life itself could become more enjoyable.

"Out Out" Poem Analysis Prompt

1971 Poem: “The Unknown Citizen” (W.H. Auden)

Prompt: In a brief essay, identify at least two of the implications implicit in the society reflected in the poem. Support your statements by specific references to the poem.

This prompt most defiantly fits the poem “Out Out” by Robert Frost, because the entire poem comments on society.  Frost reflects how over working is negatively affecting our society by consuming us and taking away life’s enjoyment.

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"Out, Out"

Meaning:

A boy is cutting wood with a personified "evil, snarling" saw, and cuts his hand when his sister calls him for dinner. He begs the doctor not to amputate but it is too late, the boy has lost too much blood and dies. Frost feels that if the boy had been allowed a half hour break, or told to take the rest of the day off, he would have been spared. After the boy dies everyone returns to their work, seemingly unaffected.Frost is showing us that to much work and no play can have serious consequences, causing physical harm, and such an obsession with our work that we forget the rest of the world. Though the poem is a bit of a hyperbole for what could happen, the message still gets across.

Antecedent Scenario:

Before the poem begins it is implied the boy has been working all day chopping wood or doing other chores.

Climax:

The boy's sister comes and calls him for dinner and the saw "leaps" out of his hand and cuts it badly.

Other Parts:

The doctor arrives and the boy begs not to get his hand amputated, but he has lost too much blood and dies. Everyone watching, presumably the boy's family, is unaffected because it wasn't them who got hurt, and return to their work.

Skeleton:

The poem appeals to our emotions by demonstrating the horrible affects of becoming disconcerted with the world because we are too obsessed with our work.

Content Genre Games:

Frost uses imagery and personification to describe the situation up to the climax, then after the climax is just vague enough to where it takes some thinking to figure out exactly what happened, but the general meaning is conveyed to the casual reader. Frost juxtaposes the peaceful outdoor setting with the violence of a severed hand to convey meaning.

Tone:

Frost's attitude shows that people need to take time to live and enjoy themselves without being completely consumed by their work.

Agency:

Frost gives agency to the saw portraying it as "snarling" and "jumping" out of the boy's hand. The boy is also given agency pleading for his life when he knows it is too late.

Roads Not Taken:

Frost could have described more with what the other people where doing before the incident and then referred back to them after the boys death.

Speech Acts:

There wasn't much dialogue in this poem. Frost mostly used onomatopoeia with the "buzzing" of the saw. The boy's sister did say "Supper" inciting the jumping of the saw to cut the boy's hand, and the boy did plead for his hand but there was no direct quotes.

Imagination:

Frost uses imagery in the beginning of the poem calling the reader to imagine the mountain ranges and at the end of the poem imagine how the boy dies since it isn't explicit.

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