Comparing Mending Wall And The Road Not Taken

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Robert Frost and Individualism
Personal freedom is something that we all value and cherish. Our forefathers founded this country on the premise of freedom of choice. However, since its inception, there has been a struggle within our country to find and maintain a critical balance so that individuals are free to exercise personal choice so as not to infringe upon the rights of others. Robert Frost speaks to individualism in both of his poems, “Mending Wall” and “The Road Not Taken.” These poems illustrate not only the need for boundaries in our society, but conversely the necessity of balancing the individual’s choice against the fundamental rights of the group.
Frost began publishing his poetry during a time of transition both in America …show more content…

We see people who feel there is no need for boundaries. They feel like their rights should reign supreme without consideration for the rights of others; on the other hand, the government feels the need to maintain traditional boundaries by means of our judicial system. “The debate over the meaning of the wall expresses the American debate between two principles, the freedom of the individual imagination to express itself without limitation and the pragmatic need to check a potentially dangerous extension of the rights of some over others” (Tuten 203, 204). If the rights of the individual become paramount, this will become detrimental to our society as some distinct boundaries are necessary to maintain a well-ordered, productive society. “Even though humans long to connect with one another, a connection that is too close or boundaries that are indistinct can be dangerous” (Ruby, par. 1). Just as the two men in the poem both work together and apart, it is imperative that we all work together for the common good, while still allowing for self-expression and differing …show more content…

The poem begins with its primary metaphor, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, / And sorry I could not travel both / And be one traveler, long I stood” (1452). Here the tone of the poem suggests that the speaker faces a difficult choice. He wishes to pursue two conflicting paths while realizing he must choose because traveling both is unrealistic. After evaluating both courses, the poem ends with his reflection that “I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference” (1453). Many see those lines as signifying that an independent, unconventional life is more advantageous than living one’s life within the constraints of

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