Comparing The Theme Of Change In Mending Wall 'And We Real Cool'

A wall, is a physical structure that serves to hold back pressure and is used in certain situations to keep danger out (Webster’s New World College Dictionary). However, what about imaginary or metaphoric walls; what purpose do those walls serve to a community of humans? Imaginative walls are used by humans to create confinement and solitude toward an object, person, place, or thing. Moreover, imaginative walls are also used as a metaphoric example of denial; not wanting to express change or adjustment to a certain circumstance. In the poem, “Mending Wall”, written by Robert Frost, the author incorporates the idea of questioning change through building a fence every year between two neighbors. The fence symbolizes a wall and is used as a metaphor to show two sides of thinking; one where the narrator is depicted in a liberal mindset, and the other where the neighbor sticks to tradition and continues to not question the fence. Another example of change can be read in the short work, “We Real Cool”, written by Gwendolyn Brooks and justifies the idea of change through some teenagers playing pool in a pool

Once again, the examples that these two works showcase in their literature is that change is a recurring topic amongst any community; change can be interpreted as an imaginative barrier, a defense mechanism, and also a way to escape reality. Subsequently, the idea of using an imaginative barrier as a wall in order to disconnect from society is seen in the short work “Mending Wall”. In the work, the narrator mentions how the two neighbors never really meet, only in the spring to fix the fence for repairs after the winter. The narrator mentions to the neighbor “There where it is we do not need the wall” explaining how there is no need for the fence because the fence really serves no purpose (Frost line 23). However,