Boy at the Window

 

Seeing the snowman standing all alone

In dusk and cold is more than he can bear.

The small boy weeps to hear the wind prepare

A night of gnashings and enormous moan.

His tearful sight can hardly reach to where

The pale-faced figure with bitumen eyes

Returns him such a god-forsaken stare

As outcast Adam gave to Paradise.

 

The man of snow is, nonetheless, content,

Having no wish to go inside and die.

Still, he is moved to see the youngster cry.

Though frozen water is his element,

He melts enough to drop from one soft eye

A trickle of the purest rain, a tear

For the child at the bright pane surrounded by

Such warmth, such light, such love, and so much fear.

 

 

Richard Wilbur’s poem “Boy at the Window” opens with a small boy looking out a window into a winter dusk.  The boy sees a snowman standing alone in the cold, and hearing the wind prepare a “night of gnashing and enormous moan” he cries for the solitary figure.  Out on the lawn the snowman is also watching the boy.  He is perfectly at ease in his frozen world but pities the child who lives in a world where there is fear.  Because the snowman is not human, he has no fear of death.  The boy, on the other hand, knows that all things that have life also face death, and that is what he sees as he looks out the window.

           

  We know from the poem that the boy cares for the snowman and is pained to see him in such a harsh environment.  Wilbur uses the archetypal Garden of Eden, casting the snowman as Adam and the young boy as God; but this is no Paradise.  The boy watches his creation from the window just as the snowman watches him, and although both are comfortable where they are, neither are perfect and carefree. We also know that the boy cannot clearly see the snowman out in the lawn.  His tears, brought on by his fear, impede his vision.  The snowman, on the other hand, can see the boy clearly enough to observe his tears, and although he does not worry for himself, “The man of snow is, nonetheless, content”, he feels for the boy.  The child is blinded by fear, and the number one fear for humanity is death.  Death is something that cannot be beaten. 

           

If death is inevitable, what is the point to life, and why is the snowman, the one facing death, not consumed with fear?  The small child does not understand that although everything must die and fear is something we all live with, you cannot let fear live your life.  The snowman has this knowledge, and so rather than focus on fear, he concentrates on compassion.  Instead of fearing for the boy, who will one day die, he has compassion for him.  This compassion allows him to melt enough to shed a single tear.  Both characters cry, but the small boy cries out of fear. 

           

The snowman is not truly facing death though, because he is not living.  So why is the boy so afraid for him?  The fears of the small child are also based on ignorance.  Because he, the boy, needs warmth and shelter from the cold winter night, he assumes that the snowman should have the same.  He doesn’t want to leave his friend and creation to face, what would be for him, death.  But even with warmth, light, and love, there is still fear and death.        

 

 

 

how to set up singing in account on windows bypass activation for windows xp sp2 interior window sill windows xp ftp required files windows mobile for blackberry pearl window insulating drape panels crl window cleaner verticle window blinds with sheers wep crack in windows windows anytime upgrade vista home basic to vista buisness catholic window clings windows 2000 fix windows nt hardware change subnet how to routing window 2003 server pacific fighters will not run on windows vista syncronize outlook contact windows contact free windows vista home premium download zone alarm for free windows me windows of bay austin window stores hp officejet window too large windows media player codec download pompano car window repair window screen upside down windows millenium diagnostic tools microsoft windows 2000 setup folders free photo software for windows vista clear vinal roll up window shades window framed mirrors windows vista wireless stops replacing windows in a brick house marvins windows and doors windows vps windows media player specs remove ratings from windows media player playlist windows messenger discovery bypassing a windows login windows apache log view downgrading p205 to windows xp windows vista slo windows vista command prompt commands windows backgroung group policy setting how much ram does windows server 2003 use analysis of a boy at the window by richard wilbur security downloads for windows windows xp advance options menu keyboard is disabled move windows start to secondary monitor how to install windows xp service pack 2 economic windows suspended sign holder for window display drop down trailer windows ebay windows vista error code 80071a91 transparent window stickers window guards for 1991 toyota truck windows beta 1 key free antivirus windows mobile 6 multiple desktop software windows windows 2003 scanners windows firewall missing satndby option missing windows xp pro problems with windows xp update windows vista multilingual user interface pack windows xp internet time server problem download windows messenger live script to check service pack level windows mele kalikimaka window sign solor windows windows randomly reboots windows xp cannot run safe mode windows xp domain password length change 24frdwfyuji02