FIRE AND ICE

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
a. Theme

The theme of this particular poem is easy to determine, which is The End,
specifically the end the world. This is already obvious from the first line, which is
“Some say the world will end in fire”.
b. Content and Context

The writer, Robert Frost thinks that the world will end either fire or ice. We can
look at both possibilities in a literal or methaphorical way. When we look at those
possibilities, in a literal way we can do that using science. When the writer, Robert Frost
made this poem, he had a conversation with a astronomer about how the world would
end. Harlow Shapley, the astronomer told Robert Frost that the world could either end
with the sun blowing up incinerate earth with its immense heat or earth could drift away
from the sun and slowly freeze until it could not sustain life anymore. This conversation
inspired Robert Frost to made this poem.

If we interpret this poem in a methaphorical way, the poem would end up with a
different meaning. The word “fire” can be interpreted as humankind’s desire and
emotion. This is shown in the poem in line three and four, which is “from what I've tasted
of desire” and “i hold with those who favor fire”. The word “ice” can also be interpreted
as humandkind’s hatred of themselves. This is shown in the poem in line six until nine
which is “i think i know enough of hate”, “to say that for destruction ice”, ”is also great”,
and ”and would suffice”.

The world ending with humankind’s passion and desire, which could mean the
desire to in a faith and innovate, explore the earth and expand could completely wipe out
the earth natural resources and in turn wipe out mankind itself. The world ending in fire
could also mean the end of the world in the hands of global warming. Overpolluting the
world with greenhouse gasses could heat up the entire world and end mankind’s legacy.
 The world ending with mankind’s hatred towards themselves could mean the world
ending with war. A war that will divide mankind into pieces and ultimately end mankind.
At first, the world will enter another cold war with each faction trying to gain superiority
over other factions. The world will enter the state of unrest and uncertainty with each
faction tearing for their own life. After that, when one of the faction declares an all-out
war with the other faction. When that happens, the world will be filled with mushroom
clouds and enter a permanent nuclear winter, ending the world in ice.
c. Reflection

I had a pretty bad experience in junior high school. A lot bad things happened one
after another and make me feel useless and depressed. I don’t really have any friends
either. Because of that, I started to seek for attention from others. I start to seek attention
by trying to have good grades. At first, I succeeded in having friends and I was happy, or
so I thought. I started to feel that my friends weren’t really my friends and they are just
using me for their advantages. I began to feel that way when I realized that I never been
invited to any party or meetings by my “friend”. This realization made me hate my friends
and slowly but surely also made me hate myself. My personality started getting more and
more unfriendly until it unbearable for everyone. Needless to say, I lost most if not all of
my friends, not that I have any friend in the first place.

My self-loathing slowly got worse over the time I spend in that place and I started
to really hate going to school. My world starts to be filled with hate, like in the poem of
“Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost. The difference is, my hatred is mostly towards myself. I
started to contemplate to end my world in ice, to end my world by succumbing to hatred
and self-loathing. I wanted to end it all and suicide is an option to do so. But fortunately,
I was saved when I entered the 11th grade.

My homeroom teacher was supporting me to reform and start to love myself. I also
met friends that I hold dear and share a lot of happy memories together with them. When
I look at my old self now, I can’t help but laugh at him. My world now will not end
anytime soon, and if it does end, it sure won’t end in ice.
 Earth Song
Michael Jackson (1995)
What about sunrise Aah, ooh
What about rain Aah, ooh

What about all the things that you I used to dream

said
I used to glance beyond the stars
We were to gain
Now I don't know where we are
What about killing fields
Although I know we've drifted far
Is there a time
Aah, ooh
What about all the things
Aah, ooh
That you said were yours and mine
Aah, ooh
Did you ever stop to notice
Aah, ooh
All the blood we've shed before
Hey, what about yesterday
Did you ever stop to notice
(What about us)
This crying Earth, these weeping
What about the seas
shores
(What about us)
Aah, ooh
The heavens are falling down
What have we done to the world
(What about us)
Look what we've done
I can't even breathe
What about all the peace
(What about us)
That you pledge your only son
What about apathy
What about flowering fields
(What about us)
Is there a time
Drowning in the seas
What about all the dreams
(What about us)
That you said was yours and mine
What about the promised land
Did you ever stop to notice
All the children dead from war
Did you ever stop to notice

This crying earth, these weeping

shores
 Preachin' what I believe
(What about us)
What about the holy land
(What about it)
What about the greed
(What about us)
Where did we go wrong
Someone tell me why
(What about us)
What about baby boy
(What about him)
What about the days
(What about us)
What about all their joy
Do we give a damn
Aah, ooh
Aah, ooh

This song and the poem “Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost shared a common theme,
which is the destruction of the earth or world. That being said this song and the poem
have a different way to convey their message. Both the song and the poem have a
different tone in delivering that theme to the listener. This song delivers its message with
a lot of emotion, while the poem seems indifferent about the subject. This song shows
desperate situation of the earth with a lot of “Aah”s and “Ooh”s. those sounds are used
to replicate human screams and cries. This song also tries to tell that the world could end
in another way. This song tells about a world that is ending with both ice and fire. While
the poem told that the wor;d could end in either fire or ice, this song is telling the listener
that the world could and will end with a combination of fire and ice, a combination of
mankind’s desire and hatred.

In the world of fire, mankind is ending the world by killing the earth by over-
exploitation and by destroying the forests and other natural landscapes of earth. In the
music video, we see a scene where deforestation is happening and weeping natives that
are living near the forest, possibly because the forest is their source of food to survive. In
the lyrics, the songwriter describes the earth as “crying” because of what humans have
done to the world.

In the world of ice, the situation is not good either. Mankind keeps on waging
war against each other and leaving a lot of bloodshed. In the lyrics “did you ever stop to
notice all the children dead from war” told us that a lot of casualties in this war are
inexperienced young people and even children are becoming victims of our wars. The
lyrics “what about all the peace that you pledge your only son” implies that the peace we
promised to our descendants are being broken because our hatred and ultimately, our
descendants have to resume our battle and war. This vicious cycle continues until we end
up destroying each other and there is nothing else left in the world. The war will continue
to rage on and sucking all joy out of the world. The world of ice also fuels the world of
fire even further. The ambition of mankind to be stronger and ruling over each other will
lead to more exploitation and destruction of the natural resources.