Fire And Ice Essay, Research Paper
If you had a choice on how the world would end, what would you choose? Would your choice to be go painfully but fast? Perhaps you would rather it be so slow and painless you do not even realize it is happening? That?s what I believe Robert Frost?s poem Fire and Ice is meant to express. Although the poem is short, it holds a very interesting question to think about. The question is which way would you rather the world come to an end. There are two choices.
The first two lines in Fire and Ice express the choices, «Some say the world will end in fire, / Some say in ice.» I feel that he uses the term fire not to hold the direct meaning of a burning flame, but to represent the punishment something can inflict upon an object. It presents the image of the intense pain in which a burn can inflict, along with the extraordinary speed in which it happens. Fire causes a tremendous amount of destruction to virtually anything within seconds. It could also represent just a violent ending. Either way, it would be nice to have things over with fast, but the intense pain might not make it worth it. For the world to end in ice, seems to present the image of a slower, numbing effect. I feel he uses ice to represent a slow, almost unnoticeable change that eventually causes the destruction of mankind.
Fire, instantaneous combustion of an object. Frost uses fire to represent an ending with incredible speed and unimaginable pain. The quote, «From what I?ve tasted of desire» seems to represent the tendency of people to be impatient. The way many people of today are, they can not wait. They must have what they want, and they must have it now. That is one of the main purposes of a loan. Someone wants a car, but does not want to take the time to save the money. They instead borrow the money and have to pay it back, of course at a higher cost with interest. I can honestly say that a huge majority of people are in debt. They could not wait. They had to have something now. I feel that the quote explains this by using the word «desire.» It presents the fact that people are not willing to wait, if the world is going to end, let it happen. In my interpretation, the narrator agrees with this due to the line «I hold with those who favor fire.»
«But if it had to perish twice,» shows that although the narrator would rather get it over fast, he believes there is another way that is not such a bad option. The alternative to fire, which is ice, also has its advantages. The line, «I think I know enough hate,» shows that the violence of fire is caused by hate and evil. «To say that for destruction ice / Is also great,» represents the fact that there is a calm, slow way to end things. For the world to end in ice, it would take a great deal of time. Perhaps happening so slowly no person would even notice. It could be happening as you read this paper. Ice represents a numbing effect. Think of rubbing an ice cube across your arm for a few minutes. At first you can feel it, but as time goes on, you feel nothing. Soon, anything you do to that area of your arm is completely undetectable. You do not feel a thing. If people are exposed to the same thing for an extended period of time, a slight increase in intensity goes virtually unnoticed. Take language on television for example, or even in the movies. When they first came out, many things were thought to be «unacceptable.» If they were to air the cartoon «South Park» back in 1960, the station would probably lose their license. However, as time progressed, stations slowly introduced the «unacceptable» words, and people just adjusted. Since the change happened over such a long time, people barely even noticed the change. This is what I think Frost was trying to represent by the term ice. The last line in his poem, talking about the destruction of the world by way of ice is, «And would suffice.» I think this final comment expresses his view that although he favors a quick and painful ending, a slow, unnoticeable one would not be such a bad option.
Robert Frost?s poem Fire and Ice probably has many different interpretations. The one I have chosen I believe poses a very interesting and important question though. When something bad is going to happen, what is the better way? To have things happen fast but with intense pain or destruction. Or should things change slowly so the damage is not recognized? I would choose for the world to end in ice. How would you like the world to end?
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