Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost is about the narrator riding his horse through the woods and, as the title says, stopping there on a snowy evening. This story could be taken figuratively or literally.

Figuratively:

“Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow” (The American Tradition in Literature 900).

The woods seem to resemble his life. Because it is woods and not an open valley, it seems to give his life a negative connotation. The woods belong to someone else. However, Frost questions who this is. Frost questions if God is in charge of his life. If He is, Frost believes that God cannot see him.

“My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year” (The American Tradition in Literature 900).

This could mean that others might think it odd that he is to be in depression without an appearance of a reason why. And yet, “the darkest evening of the year” may mean that it is the darkest day for him – not an absence of light, but an absence of happiness.

“He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound’s the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake” (The American Tradition in Literature 901).

This stanza could be a reflection of his loneliness. The reader may draw this conclusion from the only sounds being the wind and snow.

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep” (American Tradition in Literature 901).

This stanza seems to reflect that death seems lovely by describing the darkness of the woods are this. However, he has promises to keep and much time before he dies. It suggests that Frost carries on with his life.

Literally:

On the other hand, Frost was quoted saying that he was annoyed by people analyzing his work and “pressing it for more than it should be pressed for. It means enough without its being pressed…I don’t say that somebody shouldn’t press it, but I don’t want to be there.”

This story could simply mean that he was enjoying the woods of a person who lives in the city on a quiet, dark night. The narrator wanted to stay and look into the woods “lovely, dark, and deep”, but needed to get home to his home that is miles away.

Since Frost never told his readers what this poem is to mean, one can only speculate.

Either way, this is a beautifully written poem.

The Mill

“The Mill” by Edwin Arlington Robinson is an ominous poem written about the negative side of the Industrial Revolution. Many of the jobs done by hand could now be done by machinery. Thus, many were laid off. That is exactly what happened to the miller in this story. The miller’s wife waited a long time for him to come home, just so that he could say, “There are no more millers any more” (The American Tradition in Literature 834). The miller’s wife sat staring for a long time before she left the house. She went to the mill and saw her husband hanging from a beam. He had committed suicide. She kept walking and threw herself into the water, committing suicide as well. The last phrases in the stanza suggest that the deaths and disappearances of these workers during the Industrial Revolution time period would not affect society in the least. “Though ruffled once, would soon appear

The same as ever to the sight” (The American Tradition in Literature 835).

This is a very depressing story line. The entirety of the poem gives a gloomy tone and invokes an eerie feeling in the reader in order to reflect the sad lives of these people. Robinson creates this tone in a few ways.

The first way that this feeling is invoked is the simple way in which he wrote the words; there is simplicity in his writing. It has a “seemingly uncaring” and matter-of-fact tone. These next few quotes show the author’s matter-of-fact tone:

“And what was hanging from a beam

Would not have heeded where she went” (The American Tradition in Literature 835).

“The miller’s wife had waited long,

The tea was cold, the fire dead…” (The American Tradition in Literature 834).

One reason the simplicity is so successful is because it is horrid without embellishments. Suicide is not usually talked about simply – the writing is ironic. Robinson wrote with this irony to create a stir in the reader. The tone does not match the building climax. In other words, readers would most likely not expect that the characters were a stanza away from suicide.

The next thing he does to create the gloomy feeling of the present is contrast it with the past.

“And in the mill there was a warm

And mealy fragrance of the past” (The American Tradition in Literature 834).

The words “warm” and “mealy” invoke a healthy and lively feeling in the reader that greatly contrast words such as “cold”, “dead”, and “black”. It gives a positive feeling of the past, making the present seem that much worse.

These same words hold much symbolism in the poem. For example, the “cold tea”, “dead fire”, and “black water” symbolize death.

Robinson’s morbid tone, grim diction, cold imagery, irony, and symbolism are a reflection of the lost lives in the Industrial Revolution.

Richard Cory

http://ohmyhandmade.com/2013/what-we-love/dont-compare-your-inside-to-someone-elses-outside/

“Don’t compare your inside to someone else’s outside.”

Picture a woman, usually beautiful and very put together, with mascara running down her perfectly made-up face. Her red lipstick was wiped off, and she could feel the pang in her chest. Sobbing after another fight with her husband, this woman grabbed the Christmas cookies and stack of Christmas cards. She could practically smell the tears hit the fresh envelopes as she saw perfect family after perfect family. Her shoulders shook when she knew, just knew, that every family must be happy except for hers. There could be no hurt in the families that shopped at the grocery store together, she thought – especially this particular family. They were a family of three that lived a few streets over. They were now smiling at her, scoffing at her with their eyes, on the front of the Christmas card.

A few streets over, the man and woman from the card sat down together to open up their stack. The one neatly placed on the top was from the woman’s family introduced in the first paragraph. They smiled together as they saw the pictures of their neighbors who seemed to be perfectly happy. Their eyes grew a little dimmer as they read, however. The corner of their mouths and furrow of their brows would warn onlookers of sadness. as they read about the successes of their neighbors’ kids. They were very happy for them, but it brought back the ache they were experiencing in their own lives. Their only child was now eight, and they had had three miscarriages. The wife was fighting numbness, and the husband was trying to care for her and their little boy as best as he could. They were getting by together, but it hurt.

Both of these families had their own sets of problems, but saw each other as perfect. What goes on inside a person’s heart and home simply cannot be seen from the outside. There is not one person who is not struggling with something,

That is exactly the point that Edwin Arlington Robinson made with his poem “Richard Cory”. Richard Cory was a gentleman, rich, and graceful. He was admired and envied by all.

“In fine, we thought that he was everything

To make us wish that we were in his place” (The American Tradition in Literature 831).

 Because the town held him at a higher standard  than a regular human, it appears that they struggled on their own and barely spoke to him. They would never guess that anything was going on inside Richard’s own heart. They only thought that they had problems. But Richard had his own problems.

He killed himself from loneliness.

“Don’t compare your inside to someone else’s outside.”

Everyone on this Earth is struggling with something, no matter the size. Let’s learn from Robinson’s story, reach out, and have compassion on each other’s struggles… for we know what struggling means, too.

The Passing of Grandison

“The Passing of Grandison” by Charles W. Chesnutt teaches that one must back up their words with actions. The story began with Dick Owens attending a trial for a man who attempted to free a slave. Dick was “a youth of about twenty-two, intelligent, handsome, and amiable, but extremely indolent” (The American Tradition in Literature 640). He did not put forth effort in any area simply because he did not have to. However, this changed when the gorgeous Charity Lomax told him she would fall in love with him if he did something heroic. Dick, knowing she admired the man who helped someone else’s slave escape, decided to do this himself. Owens asked his father if he could take a slave up north to get away. His father agreed to this and offered Grandison, a loyal, trustworthy slave. Although Dick did everything possible to give Grandison the opportunity for freedom in the north, he did not take it. Grandison remained loyal. Dick even went as far as leaving him in Canada. Even this did not work, though, and Grandison made his way home to the south. Throughout the whole story, Grandison “passed” as an ignorant, loyal slave. The story surprised the Owenses and readers, however, when Grandison and his family were found physically “passing” out of their lives on a steamboat to Canada and freedom. For years, Grandison let his words and actions remain in alignment, waiting until the right moment to escape.

Grandison’s actions at the estate showed that he was content as a slave. He appreciated where he was for years and did not try to be more than he was expected. “He’s too fond of good eating, to risk losing his regular meals; besides, he’s sweet on your mother’s maid, Betty, and I’ve promised to let ‘em get married before long” (The American Tradition in Literature 643). He enjoyed his meals and even chose to marry. Settling down in Colonel Owen’s house caused the Colonel to trust him. Tom, Dick’s servant, on the other hand, did not solely fulfill his low expectations. The delight in his eyes was apparent when Dick talked about going up North, although his words showed no such thing. “Tom’s eyes belied his words, however, and his young master felt well assured that Tom needed only a good opportunity to make him run away” (The American Tradition in Literature 642). He also was caught reading the paper, although he was not supposed to know how to read. Grandison, on the other hand, never hinted that he wanted to leave. He did not learn more than he was supposed to, and he did what he was told. It was not the moment to escape yet.

Grandison’s actions were backed up by his words. 

“Well, I sh’d jes’ reckon I is better off, suh, dan dem low-down free niggers, suh! Ef anybody ax ‘em who dey b’long ter, dey has ter say nobody, e e’se lie erbout it. Anybody ax me who I b’longs ter, I ain’ got no ‘casion to be shame’ ter tell ‘em, no, suh, ‘deed I ain’, suh!” (The American Tradition in Literature 643)

This quote tells us a few different things. First, it is support to the fact that Grandison was not intelligent. He did not learn more than necessary. This only adds to Owens belief that Grandison would be loyal. Grandison did not have the education to think for himself. Second, he tells the Colonel that he is loyal. While this did not mean much in Tom’s case, Grandison’s words and actions lined up while at the estate. This was because it was not the opportune moment to escape yet. 

Grandison’s words and actions even lined up in the north. Dick Owens tried to release him willingly to freedom by placing him around the abolitionists. Much to Dick’s dismay, Grandison responded with, “dese yer abolitioners is jes’ pesterin’ de life out er me tryin’ ter git me ter run away. I don’ pay no ‘tention ter ‘em, but dey riles me so sometimes dat I’m feared I’ll his some of ‘em some er dese days, an’ dat mough git me inter trouble” (The American Tradition in Literature 646). Grandison acted frustrated with the abolitionists, did not take Dick’s money, and even refused to leave his master in Canada. His words and actions remained aligned even in the strongest temptation.

Grandison “passed” as loyal by his action of returning to the plantation. Because his words had matched his actions for so many years, Colonel Owens did not question him when he said he was kidnapped, gagged, and almost killed. He trusted his loyal slave completely and celebrated his return. 

Now was the perfect moment.

Grandison had been in Canada and was aware of how to get back. His master trusted him completely. He was recently married.

Grandison escaped with everything that truly mattered to him (his family) and fled to Canada without being suspected until he was gone.

Grandison’s life showed that, in order to be trusted, (whether using trickery like this slave or building honest relationships), one must match their words with their actions.

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