Literary Analysis Essay on Out, Out by Robert Frost and Disabled by Wilfred Owen

Introduction

Out, out by Robert Frost demonstrates how the life of a boy in his youth is blighted by accident involving a buzz saw which severs his hand off his arm, instantly ending his life. This pain and suffering related to Disabled by Wilfred Owen which describes the experience of a war veteran being treated as an outcast of society due to his lack of mobility thus showing that the prime of his life is over, and so is his euphoria.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Owen is able to invoke pathos in Disabled by portraying the protagonist's realization that he had "threw away his knees" which exemplifies that the protagonist feels responsible and that this unfortunate realization is in itself a form of pain and suffering as the protagonist is faced with a feeling of regret and remorse. Contrastingly Frost is able to showcase pathos by the idea of childhood innocence as a young boy is doing "man's work" and is lead to the point of desperation as he yells "Don't let him sister!" The exclamation mark emphasizes the boy's imperative tone by showing how broken he is in his defenseless state, therefore, implying that the boy is aware of his inevitable death. This indicates that both poems have themes of regret as both characters are aware of their upcoming suffering.

To portray the pain and to suffer the structure of both poems has been important as this can be used to create suspense and tension. The poem Out, out has been written in only one stanza. Frost did this to symbolize the short yet instant chronology of the event to show how quickly a person's life can turn upside down, therefore, reminding the reader that life isn't easy and can be extremely difficult which allows the reader to empathize with the character in the poem. On the contrast, Disabled is written with a varying rhyme scheme, Owen was presenting the ideas as thoughts going through the protagonist's head, to symbolize how broken the protagonist has become from both war and being an outcast of society thus portraying how people can get marginalized through no fault of their own.

These poems have been able to accomplish their portrayal of pain and suffering through the use of specific language features to immerse the reader into these feelings which the protagonists of both poems are experiencing. In Out, out, Frost uses Onomatopoeia to describe the action of the chainsaw "The buzz saw snarled and rattled." This compares the saw to a Snake which is silent predators; this contributes to a foreshadowing of the protagonist's sudden and unexpected death. The comparison also alludes to the snake in the garden of Eden which caused Adam and Eve to be kicked out of paradise which is a form of pain and suffering, therefore, giving a good representation of the agony caused by the protagonist's death. In Disabled, Owen uses a simile to show how the protagonist is treated as an outcast "All of them touch him like some queer disease." By use of the word queer, it indicates that the general public view the protagonist as strange or odd due to his war injury and how that ranks him in society.When compounded with the word disease which indicates that he is part of infection in society, shows that he is unwanted by the masses and then ignored this contrastingly shows his suffering when survival is usually viewed as a victory.

Both poems are a portrayal of pain and suffering in some form. Out, out conveys the death of a boy who was carrying out his regular duties and Disabled conveys the stand-offish attitudes people have towards a war hero just because of his disability. While both forms of suffering were from carrying out a necessary duty, they were also opposite outcomes, yet both of them show how both survival and death can inevitably lead to suffering.

The poem Out, Out by Robert Frost brings out the idealistic sense of pain and suffering in several ways. For instance, it does this when the poet describes the boy's outcry when the saw severs his hand; he writes, "The boy's first outcry was a rueful laugh, as he swung toward them holding up the hand." The pain and suffering from these events are apparent as the boy is in intense pain, one can even picture him moving away from the saw blade as he tries to hold his hand that is almost falling off. He does this in an effort to seek refuge and perhaps a solution, but again; reality must have hit him that he may not be able to find the solace and solution that he seeks from the rest of the workers, this in itself must have caused him pain too.

The poem also instills emotions to the readers as one could infer the state the sister was in at the sight of her brother's lifeless body and the lack of interest from the workers. They both watched as he breathed his last with no emotions, one would say. "Little-less-nothing! ... No more to build on there," this can be construed to mean that the body was now valueless since the boy had died. After the unfortunate turn of events, they go back to their daily affairs and abandon the body as if nothing had happened. This brings out the pain and suffering the sister is now left to undergo all by herself and the harsh realities she has to face on her own.

In a similar fashion of theme, Disabled by Wilfred Owen has also been able to bring out the concept of pain and suffering. Owen depicts the arrays of pain through a sense of regret in his voice; he does this by showcasing the lack of wisdom he had at the time he was joining the military. He even lied about his age for all he thought about at the time was the glory and saluted he would receive. He now sits in his wheelchair in sorrows and devastates at the ugly sight of himself that he will have to get accustomed to. He is filled with rage because he thought of war as being glamorous.

The poet also regrets as he reminisces on the soul-search question he was asked when he wanted to join the military when all he thought of was power and glory; something he never bothered to answer genuinely. He is now hit with the harsh realities of the present noting how blurred his future has become. He is aware that he will continuously visit hospitals and this will cause him recurrent suffering that will be occasioned by pity from those in power that are responsible for the state he is in in the first place. As the poem ends, the poet brings out a heart-shuttering reminder to the reader when he "wonders why they do not come to put him to bed since it is so cold and late." This will forever remain a painful reminder that he will forever be dependent on others and that he can no longer do things on his own let alone enjoy the glory and prestige he once dreamt of.