How Does Frost Create Foreshadowing In Out, Out

In the short story “Out, Out—“, the title is originally a quotation from the play Macbeth. In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the quote is used to describe the sudden death of one of the main characters, Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth’s life is tragically ended and because it happened so suddenly, it is compared to a candle being blown out. Typically when a candle goes out, the person or group of people who were enjoying its light, are then left in confusion, fear, and darkness. The same can be said for those who experience the sudden death of a friend or family member. Frost utilizes the story of a young boy’s death to capture the helplessness and emotions that a person feels after the unexpected death of a loved one. Foreshadowing plays an important

The fact that the saw is portrayed as having an angry tone, sets up the possibility of conflict between the saw and the boy. This tone also utilizes foreshadowing to allude to the fact that the saw is “hungry.” At the mention of “Supper”, the saw seems to have a mind of its own as if it was a hungry person or a starving animal. By giving the saw animal-like characteristics instead of using a real animal, Frost is able to keep the attention on the boy rather than spend the majority of the story focusing on the saw or animal. Another use of personification is when the saw is described as one that “bears a load.” Typically humans are the ones who bear a load such as when they’re loading supplies or working hard. The fact that the boy isn’t mentioned until after the fact that the saw is bearing its load, makes the saw appear to be running on its own like a human

The tone of the first stanza is peaceful and beautiful, but as the story continues the tone shifts to become dramatic and tense. This helps build up the climax of the story to help signal the reader as to where the action is. Once the third and final shift occurs, the tone shifts into a detached and emotionless atmosphere, almost as if there were walls put in place. Frost does this to illustrate how people cope with the difficulty of death. After the doctors have made their attempts at revival, there isn’t much that can be done which leaves people one choice; to move on and “turn to their affairs.” On the surface, this may seem shallow and rude, but Frost conveys a deeper message of the fact that life keeps moving on whether people want it to or not. Frost isn’t saying that the friends and family of the deceased aren’t upset, they have every right to be. What he’s saying is that accidents happen in life, death is a natural occurrence, and if you’re “not the one dead, turn back to your