"I'm Scared of It All" By Robert William Service
This poem is spoken through someone that feels trapped in "the haste and the waste of it all", meaning civilization. The first stanza voices the speaker's distaste of the "terrible town" and all of the big flashy aspects of society. Then, in the second stanza, he talks of the solitude and rawness of different aspects of the wild and states, "I know that I'm safer up there". Throughout the third stanza, the reader gets a description of the unfriendly faces of society and how lonely the speaker feels despite the crowds surrounding him. This is followed by another stanza illustrating the highlights of nature and then two criticizing society's materialism. In the final stanzas, the speaker concludes that, "nature is best after all" and decides to abandon civilization for the wild.
A very obvious contrast is drawn between civilization and nature within the lines of this poem. By the way the speaker repeatedly voices his fear of civilization we can see just how unpleasant our society can really be. Talking about people in general, the speaker says, "Just jaded and panting like dogs in a pack/ Just tensed and intent on the goal/ O God! but I'm lonesome". This reveals how society has molded us into a population so obsessed with the pursuit of success, that we forget to relax and enjoy the present. We are so caught up in our own lives and the "final destination" that we can be surrounded by people yet still feel utterly alone. In another stanza, the speaker says, "The getting, the spending, the fever, the fret --/ It's too bleeding cruel for me." This focuses on the materialistic aspect of civilization and the constant drive for more, more, more. Everyone is in such a frenzy to have the newest thing that they are practically sick with consumerism. On the other side of things, throughout the poem the speaker also talks about how great the wild is and how much better it is when compared to civilization. In the final stanza he says, "To be forming good habits up there/ To be starving on rabbits up there /In your hunger and woe, / Though it's sixty below, / Oh, I know that it's safer up there!" The wild is able to teach irreplaceable habits and lessons that society is not. Despite it's unpredictability and physical and mental trials, it provides a better basis on which to live your life. Even though it is riddled with danger, it is safer to live your life free and utterly alive in the wild than it is to let yourself be suppressed and controlled by society.
A very obvious contrast is drawn between civilization and nature within the lines of this poem. By the way the speaker repeatedly voices his fear of civilization we can see just how unpleasant our society can really be. Talking about people in general, the speaker says, "Just jaded and panting like dogs in a pack/ Just tensed and intent on the goal/ O God! but I'm lonesome". This reveals how society has molded us into a population so obsessed with the pursuit of success, that we forget to relax and enjoy the present. We are so caught up in our own lives and the "final destination" that we can be surrounded by people yet still feel utterly alone. In another stanza, the speaker says, "The getting, the spending, the fever, the fret --/ It's too bleeding cruel for me." This focuses on the materialistic aspect of civilization and the constant drive for more, more, more. Everyone is in such a frenzy to have the newest thing that they are practically sick with consumerism. On the other side of things, throughout the poem the speaker also talks about how great the wild is and how much better it is when compared to civilization. In the final stanza he says, "To be forming good habits up there/ To be starving on rabbits up there /In your hunger and woe, / Though it's sixty below, / Oh, I know that it's safer up there!" The wild is able to teach irreplaceable habits and lessons that society is not. Despite it's unpredictability and physical and mental trials, it provides a better basis on which to live your life. Even though it is riddled with danger, it is safer to live your life free and utterly alive in the wild than it is to let yourself be suppressed and controlled by society.