After Apple-Picking

1.) The speaker seems to be lazy with his work, has hasn't filled one of his barrels and he has missed a few apples. He no longer wants to smell the apples, or listen to "rumbling sound" of the apples coming in, his feet are aching from the latter, and he just wants to be done. He has been picking apples for so long that every touch, smell, and sound of the apple picking has been burned into his brain, and although is was something that he once loved he has become tired of it, he shows to be overworked and he craves sleep. The speaker is simply becoming lazy with his work because he has been doing it for so long, and it is not enough for him anymore.

2.) It is obvious that the speaker once loved apple picking, but he no longer enjoys doing it because he has been doing it for so long. At this moment the speaker is no longer doing a good job at apple picking because he has become lazy with his work. He doesn't care to fill up one of his remaining barrels and he doesn't care enough to pick a few more apples hanging from the tree. He used to love his job, he loved the  great harvest of the apples, and he loved "cherishing" each apple in his hand and not allowing them to fall onto the ground. But that is no longer the case, now the apple picking seems to be more of a berdon then a privilege.

3.) Not only does he spend his days picking apples, but he also spends his nights dreaming about picking apples. This man's life is completely centered around his apple picking, has nothing else to live for, nothing else to dream about, and he is realizing that which is what is causing the resentment towards picking apples.

4.) The speaker seems to be going through life as if he is asleep, he has been doing the same thing everyday for so long that he is constantly thinking about, and even dreaming about it. He does nothing else but this one job and he has probably done it so much that he could do it in his sleep. In order for this to end for him he needs to wake up and do something different with his life. Because Apple Picking no longer contains excitement for him. Sleep is usually a time that people cherish, but in this case sleeping for the speaker is just like being awake because all he does is dream about what he does during the day, which is apple picking.

5.) a.) The latter symbolizes the repetitiveness of this mans life, he just keeps climbing up the latter, hoping to be free when he gets to the top, but each step is just another step towards the same fate, and the end of latter could mean the end of the speakers life. B.) Winter is the time that the speaker is not picking apples, the speaker seems to be looking forward to winter because it is the one time that his life is not completely surrounded by picking apples, just as the apple trees are dead, the speakers exhausting repetitive career is also momentarily dead. C.) The harvest symbolizes another chapter in the speakers repetitive life, something that he used to look forward to but now dreads. Each harvest means another year older, and another year wasted doing the same thing that he no longer loves. D.) The speaker is watching his life drag on through the window pane, he sees himself living a life he no longer loves and it causes even more resentment. The essence of winter symbolizes, the last step of the speakers journey, when winter comes his repetitive life will end but it will seem less like a tragedy and more like relief.

6.) Woodchucks, like bears hibernate, instead of sleeping at night they sleep all winter,
this could symbolize that when winter comes and the harvest is over, the speakers life will also be over, he will permanently hibernate and no longer will have to go through life only picking apples.

7.) This poem explains the life of a man who is no longer satisfied with the career he has chosen, it was a career he once loved, but he did it for so long that it completely took over his life, and now his time is coming to an end, and as his life fades, so does his appeal to work hard. Not only does he spend his days picking apples, but he spends his night dreaming about picking apples, and the smells, and the sounds, and the feelings, all have become burned into his mind and he just wants to break free, but as he walks up the repetitive latter of his life, he gets closer and closer to the end where he will fade into a deep sleep that will no longer consist of dreams of apple-picking but will be essentially the end of his life.