Where It All Goes Down
New England: this is a classic Frost setting. We're in rural New Hampshire, close to the Vermont border. What does this mean for you, dear reader?
Well, first of all, we're in an old school place. That means wood-fired stoves and cold winters. This brings us to the saw—we're rural enough that we need wood for heat, but we have tools like buzz saws to make the process of slicing the wood easier. Also notice that the buzz saw is never described in terms of its looks—it is only described in terms of the sounds it makes ("snarl and rattle"), and what it does (cuts). It's almost like a wolf hidden by shadows, or a presence that cannot be understood—the saw is part of the setting, but you have to imagine it for yourself.
It's here in the country that industrial tools like saws meet older uses like wood-stove woodcutting. The rural setting also means no ambulances or hospitals in range. Don't let the old-time, country context fool you though, this setting is not just a backdrop for a Christmas sleigh ride. There's something disturbing about this place, where a human life is measured against its ability to pit machines against the natural world.