The idea that a man can make a life for himself from practically nothing has been a staple of American literature since the Colonial era. This particular brand of hard working idealism is more fondly referred to as “the American Dream,” but in more recent decades, a more sinister theme has begun to appear. The realization that everything that has been obtained through honest labor can be stripped away at any moment is increasingly incorporated into American writing. This is also known as “the American Nightmare.” The poetry of Robert Frost is said to represent both of these literary views, whether in a single work or a collection. This stark contrast can best be seen when comparing his poems “After Apple-Picking” and “Directive.”
At first glance, “After Apple-Picking” appears to be a sullen and slightly bitter account of working in an apple orchard. With the narrator sneaking in small complaints like “my instep arch not only keeps the ache/It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round,” it can be quite easy to mistake this poem for an account of all things that make life in America seem like a nightmare (Frost ln. 21-22). But a second read through reveals the work to be a satisfied, although weary, story about harvesting apples.
Though the narrator makes it quite clear that his work is exhausting by admitting that he is “overtired/Of the great harvest [he himself] desired,” that same quote shows that he is glad to have a job at all (Frost ln. 28-29). He never says it outright, but this strongly hints that he knows he can be much worse off than working in an apple orchard. There isn’t any back story for the narrator in this poem, but the “desiring” of the apple harvest suggests that he may have been out of work for some time. And while there is no mention of payment, it can be safely assume that it isn’t much. Perhaps he is paid only a few dollars a day, but those are a few dollars he didn’t have before.
Amid the half-hearted protests against the difficult manual labor, there is an undercurrent of sadness and disappointment. These feelings are in no way directed toward the narrator’s job, but are rooted in his observations of how other people treat each other. In the picturesque vision of the American Dream, society is homogenous, relaxed and conflict-free. This is not the case in the society the narrator inhabits. He subtly compares how members of his community treat each other to how the orchard deals with cider apples. He says that “For all/That struck the earth/No matter if not bruised or spiked with stubble/Went surely to the cider-apple heap/As of no worth” (Frost ln 32-36). There is nothing wrong with these doomed fruit except for their unfortunate contact with the ground. The ground is dirty, and while none of this dirt has transferred to the apple, the mere knowledge of it touching the ground has tarnished it and sentenced it to the cider press.
The application of the “sins of the father” idea to apples very much reflects how people treat each other. An individual can be known to come from a problematic family, but has caused no trouble himself. His personal actions can, and most often will, be overshadowed by the unsavory reputation of his family, effectively casting him to the fringes of society. In his marginal existence, he will continuously battle to overcome the reputation that so unfairly preceded him in order to prove to society that he is, indeed, a virtuous individual.
It is not only family that has this effect upon a person’s fate. A man’s choice of friends often leads him into trouble as well. As we grow up and mature, our interests change and alliances shift. Sometimes these shifts lead us into greater social acceptance and personal happiness, while other times they will lead us down a path of semi-self-destruction. As with the example of family, a person can spend an entire lifetime trying to prove to society that he is a wholesome person that just made a few mistakes, but has learned from them to be an even better person.
The narrator reflects upon this theme and tells readers that “One can see what will trouble/This sleep of [his], whatever sleep it is” (Frost ln 37-38). “After Apple-Picking” largely deals with the narrator’s contentment with attaining his piece of the American Dream, but it also shows how disturbed he is by the actions of his fellow man.
While “After Apple-Picking” carefully weighs the pros and cons of American society, “Directive” focuses almost solely upon the negative aspects. In the beginning of the poem, Frost paints a desolate picture of a town ravaged by some sort of economic crisis: “There is a house that is no more a house/Upon a farm that is no more a farm/And in a town that is no more a town” (Frost ln. 5-7). The poem presents no pretenses about leading an idyllic life. Since this poem was written in 1947, the economic crisis that brought about the abandonment of this town is most likely the Great Depression. This makes sense, since the post-war American economy was booming.
Frost’s choice of imagery and description of the ghost town serves to remind Americans that it wasn’t so long ago that no one had much of anything at all. The abandoned house and farm strike at the very heart of the modern version of the American Dream: that every man has the right to buy his own home and land. The farm also reminds readers that the economy still relies, to some extent, upon agriculture. When farmers lose their land, there is a trickle up effect on the economy. If enough farmers are evicted from their properties, food supplies drop, affecting domestic trade, which in turn affects global trade. This area of the global stock market would impact the business and technology markets, effectively bringing the country to its knees.
But Frost is not so much concerned with the country, or world, as a whole, but rather the impact the Depression had on this one small town. He personifies the town and the humiliation it suffered by saying it has “Great monolithic knees that the former town/Long since gave up pretense of keeping covered” (Frost ln 11-12). The pretense mentioned could mean any great number of things, but the one theme that rises above the rest is that the town gave up on trying to pretend that everything was going well.
He expands upon this act the town put on by later describing a children’s play-house: “First there’s the children’s house of make-believe/Some shattered dishes underneath a pine/The playthings in the playhouse of the children” (Frost ln 41-43). The “house of make-believe” that Frost speaks of represents the lies the adults had told themselves and their children when things first started to go bad. The plates represent the lies as well. By being “shattered…underneath a pine,” it symbolizes the point where the ruse was given up, where the gravity of the situation had been fully realized.
The line immediately following this description further serves to underscore the utter desperation of the situation: “Weep for what little things could make them glad” (Frost ln. 44). Superficially, it seems that Frost has chosen to shift attention from lofty, ethereal ideas to concrete, physical possessions. This most certainly factors into the overall message of the poem. “Little things” that were once considered trivial are now luxuries due to the economic pitfall; Items like toys, new clothes and shoes. What a family has is patched, re-patched and replaced only when absolutely necessary.
At the end of the poem, Frost speaks of “a broken drinking goblet like the Grail” (ln 56). This is the point where readers catch a glimpse of that picturesque vision of the American Dream they saw in “After Apple-Picking.” Frost proclaims that he “stole the goblet from the children’s playhouse” (ln 60). It is highly doubtful that an actual goblet was stolen from an actual playhouse, but rather what was “stolen” was hope. Albeit, this particular brand of hope is “broken” but it is not so destroyed that it is beyond any chance of salvation. Because no one takes something and hides it away, as Frost says he does in the poem, if they do not believe it can be repaired.
The salvation of hope, however broken, can be seen as a kind of redemption for mankind during this time of crisis. Because when all physical possessions are stripped away, all men are left with is hope and the will to survive.
Works Cited
Frost, Robert. After Apple-Picking.” “Directive.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Vol. D. 7th ed. W. W. Norton & Company. New York. 2007. Print.
