John French's Post on "After Apple-Picking" by Robert Frost

“After Apple-Picking”, by Robert Frost is a personal poem about the internal struggle of an old and tired apple-picker to find his own self-worth. Superficially, it seems as if the apple-picker is simply making trivial observations about his occupation and his surroundings. However, after closer inspection, it is apparent that the apple-picker is relating the apples to people in society. Frost subverts cliché by the use of symbolism to express the apple-picker’s internal strife rather than explicitly stating his internal conflict. The apple-picker sees himself as one of the discarded apples that is considered “worthless”. He struggles to find the worth of himself and the significance of his existence.

At the start of the poem, the apple-picker describes the emotions that one feels after a long day of work. Although not explicitly stated, we can assume that since the ladder is “still” pointing toward heaven that the apple picker has been out for a while picking apples. We get a sense that the apple picker has gotten tired and frustrated to the point that he cannot work any longer- a mood that every reader who has worked tirelessly is able to emotionally connect with. It seems as if the barrel that the apple-picker does not fill with apples is symbolic of missed opportunities and unfulfilled goals. The wording of the line “But I am done with apple-picking now” can be interpreted two ways: He is done for the day, or he is done for the rest of his life.

The poem goes on to describe the seasonal change from fall to winter. The apple-picker describes a “strangeness” that he got from something he saw. When thinking about the nature of an apple-picker, one might agree that the occupation does not require much qualification nor does it entail anything out of the ordinary. The apple-picker, therefore, can be interpreted to represent an average man. The fact that the apple-picker cannot “rub the strangeness from his sight” is significant. Something out of the ordinary has caused the apple-picker to become anxious.

We come to find that the “pane of glass” that the apple-picker has skimmed out of the trough might be the reason for the apple-pickers’ strange feelings. The apple-picker holds the piece of glass out against the world of “hoary grass”, or in other words, the overused grass. The overused grass signifies the countless times the apple-picker has walked on the grass to travel to the apple orchard. Like the overused grass, the apple-picker has lost his youthfulness and he is no longer as strong and efficient as he used to be. The poem elaborates on the internal struggle between the apple-picker and his sense of self-worth. Everything from the dreams of apples, to the ache in his foot from standing on the ladder, to the sounds of loads of apples in the cellar bin prevents the apple-picker from getting his mind off of the apples and ultimately his struggle with his self worth.

In the last part of the poem, the apple-picker mentions the intense caution he had while picking apples. He explains that if he were to ever drop an apple, regardless of it being bruised or damaged, then it would be added to “… the cider apple heap/ As of no worth.” It is evident that the apple-picker is not concerned with such trivial matters as apples, but instead he sees the apples as people. It seems as if he finds himself in the same category of the apples that were carelessly dropped and consequently considered worthless. The apple-picker is struggling to find his worth within society. The mentioning of the woodchuck signifies that the apple-picker’s struggle has advanced to a point where he finds it difficult to align himself with the rest of humanity. One might suggest that the apple-picker has spent so much time up in trees that he feels as though he might as well be a woodchuck rather than a human. Unfortunately, the woodchuck has left for the winter and is not there to help the apple-picker distinguish himself as a human.

By the end of the poem, winter has come and the apple-picker has not come to an ultimate decision about his self-worth. It is possible that the old apple-picker will die before the next harvest time and it is up to the reader to determine whether the apple-picker will resolve his internal conflict before he passes away.