Generally speaking, human beings are neither wholly irrational nor rational. They are both. Many people justifiably build walls in order to shut other out due to lack of comfort or possible vulnerability. However, in some cases humans take the action of “building walls” too far, and this is where it becomes completely irrational. When it comes to fear, it can be very difficult to differentiate what is rational versus what is irrational. When building walls, or choosing not to, personal experiences and knowledge should always be taken into consideration. In order to decipher when it’s appropriate to put up walls and when it is not, we must give ourselves time to not only think but to absorb what has occurred.
Walls are put up for all different types of reasons. In some cases they are necessary and in others they tend to not make much sense. In Robert Frost’s poem “Mending Wall,” the wall built between the two properties makes complete sense to the neighbor, but to the narrator it is unreasonable and hard to decipher. The wall was probably built with practicality in mind, yet Frost highlights the ambiguous perception it may create in someone who is being “walled out.” Many people are known to “build walls instead of bridges” and this is what can ruin many relationships. When a person is more inviting and social they would be more inclined to “build bridges,” but people who are enclosed and private tend to “build walls.” It is often difficult for the person on the other end to interpret the intent of the “builder,” complicating the interaction. “Mending Wall,” suggests a generally good relationship between the speaker/narrator and his neighbor. They are meeting in their respective yards to make repairs on the wall that separates th...
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...ilding walls. However, this is more often than not, unnecessary. Irrationally shutting others out and building walls can damage or even ruin alliances, relationships and friendships for good. These are things that should be chiefly valued by individuals everywhere. This is why thinking before acting or speaking is highly important and taking the time and effort to make rational decisions should always be of paramount concern to individuals, groups and nations.
Works Cited
Frost, R. (2003, January 3). Mending wall. Retrieved from poemhunter.com website: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/mending-wall/
Parris, M. (2006). It's time we all signed up for the rest of the world team. International Views: America and the Rest of the World.
Bhargava, R. (2001). Responses to 9.11: Individual and collective dimensions. International Views: America and the Rest of the World.
This stood out to me because it is very true. If there is a wall then there are people that have to guard it. If the guards don't do their job then people can break through the wall. If there are no guards then people can just climb over it with ease. One of the connections that I had with this poem was the Great Wall of China. When I read this
, ‘My apples will never get across and eat the cones under his pines, and I tell him. He only says, good fences make good neighbours.’ This shows that there is clearly no substantial reason for the wall to be built but one neighbour carries the view that ‘good neighbours make good fences’ and no
Human's fears should not be taken lightly. Fear could do anything to one's minds, though without fear, man can be as savage as animals. In the book Lord of the Flies, William Golding presented fear of the unknown to be a powerful force in a man's mind. Fear of the unknown is a powerful force, which can turn to either insight or hysteria. The kids feared of not being rescued off of the island, so they made signal fires on top of the mountain. Then, there and gone, Roger's fear of the old rules he abided to. Also, there were the fears of the beast which confused and isolated the kids from the top of the mountain.
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were horrific and traumatic events that affected not only the United States but had global ramifications as well. The events of that day produced immediate and long term effects on numerous aspects of society. The human tragedy in the loss of human life was immeasurable. The societal effects of 9/11 continue to be present even today as the war against terror continues. It is difficult to measure the societal impacts, but the economic cost of the attacks, have been and continue to be measured.
Walls are one of man’s oldest defenses; physical barriers that are erected to keep people out, or, in some cases, to keep them in. Walls are physical fortifications that create tension and distain among people on both sides. This is what the Berlin Wall, or der Mauer in German, was; a physical barrier created in Berlin, Germany during the Cold War. It was created by the East Germans in an attempt to stop East German citizens from immigrating to Western Germany. However, the Berlin wall was a crude attempt to separate the political and social variances in Germany during the Cold War, because, while it created a physical barrier, it still was unable separate people in an ethic manor.
The September 11th attacks did leave a mark on the United States. The world watched the media account of the tragic events as they were captured by digital and print media. The author in this article explores different aspects of the tragedy to analyze the both Australian and American thoughts and understanding of the events. She has broken it down into categories: the aftermath of the attacks, interpretations of the attacks, and challenges that impeded existing structures of representation. Questions of how the attack was viewed, and how the terrorist evoked terror and mass terrorism are reviewed. In essence Western civilization was forever changed after September 11th 2001. The events of September 11 did leave something other than destruction and loss of lives. More than structures were demolished, a nation was forever changed. The attacks were so blind siding that, according to McMillian (2004) “…no retaliatory acts action was commenced during this 72-hour period against the suspected terrorist or the group to which they were linked, namely Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network in Afghanistan” (p. 2). How can this be explained? Did the United States really knowingly harbor terrorist, or was the United States blind-sided. Either way it is not an easy pill to swallow. According to the reports the pilots were trained in America. A war was created against terrorism, the target Afghanistan. Starting in early January 2000, the “planes operation” formation would begin in California. Nawaf al Hazmi and Khalid al Mildhar would arrive arrived in Los Angeles under the order of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM). He was the organizer of the “planes operation”, and he instructed those under him what to and not to do to draw any unnecessary attentio...
In "Mending Wall" the main character finds gaps in the fence. I believe the emotions between the characters make these gaps. He informs the neighbor and together they repair the fence with boulders. When they meet they argue or have communication problems. This is why they manage to repair the barricade between them. However, I would say that their emotions, especially the main character’s, try to get the boulders off balance so the wall can be leveled with the ground. The balancing of boulders is a symbol of their meetings; "We have to use a spell to make them balance". "We wear our fingers rough", the author writes about the handling of the boulders. One may interpret this to signify that the meetings between these two "neighbors" are very hard on them.
Mending Wall written by Robert Frost, describes the relationship between two neighbors and idea of maintaining barriers. Where one of them feels that there is no need of this wall, 'There where it is we do not need the wall: He is all pine and I am apple orchard.' On the other hand his neighbor remains unconvinced and follows inherited wisdom passed down to him by his father, 'Good fences make good neighbors.' They even kept the wall while mending it, this reflect that they never interact with each other, ?We keep the wall between us as we go?. Robert Frost has maintained this literal meaning of physical barriers but it does contain metaphor as representation of these physical barriers separating the neighbors and also their friendship.
...ion society adopts: Although people can be good friends, there will always be a barrier standing between them, acting as a boundary that separates their social relations from their personal privacy, “walling in” what they do not wish to share with others.
Fear is an everyday emotion that the human race must face, and it can bring out the best and worst of us, but its how we choose to deal with it that truly defines us.
The conflict in "Mending Wall" develops as the speaker reveals more and more of himself while portraying a native Yankee and responding to the regional spirit he embodies. The opposition between observer and observed--and the tension produced by the observer's awareness of the difference--is crucial to the poem. Ultimately, the very knowledge of this opposition becomes itself a kind of barrier behind which the persona, for all his dislike of walls, finds himself confined.
The theme of the poem is about two neighbours who disagree over the need of a wall to separate their properties. Not only does the wall act as a divider in separating estates, it also acts as a barrier in the neighbours' friendship, separating them. For the neighbour with the pine trees, the wall is of great significance, as it provides a sense of security and privacy. He believes that although two people can still be friendly neighbours, some form of barrier is needed to separate them and 'wall in' the personal space and privacy of the individual. This is shown through his repeated saying, 'good fences make good neighbours' (line 27). The neighbour's property is a representation of his privacy and the wall acts as a barrier against intrusion.
The air is cool and crisp. Roosters can be heard welcoming the sun to a new day and a woman is seen, wearing a clean colorful wrap about her body and head, her shadow casting a lone silhouette on the stone wall. The woman leans over to slide a piece of paper into one of the cracks, hoping her prayer will be heard in this city of Jerusalem. Millions are inserting their prayers into the walls of Japanese temples, while an inmate in one of a hundred prisons across the United States looks past his wall toward the prayers he did not keep. Billions fall asleep each night surrounded by four walls and thousands travel to China to witness the grandest one of all. Who builds walls and who tears them down?
Frost begins the poem by relating the damage that has been inflicted upon the wall. The stunning image of the force "that sends the frozen-ground-swell under it and spills the upper boulders in the sun, and makes gaps even two can pass abreast" shows us that something natural, beautiful, and perhaps divine is taking place (2-4). From the very beginning he suggests that living without the wall is something positive. As the poem continues, we are introduced to two farmers engaged in the annual task of making repairs to the stone wall which separates their properties. In lines 14-17, Frost gives us the description of the neighbors meeting to walk the line, each picking up and r...
The poem “Mending Wall” begins by the narrator telling is that there is a wall that is constantly being taken down by nature, and the narrator and his neighbor have to keep re-building it. But as the poem progresses, the narrator becomes unsure with himself, and begins to say that there is a wall “There where it is we do not need the wall” (23). He starts to question why a wall is there, knowing that he can never get across it to his neighbor. As the poem keeps progressing, he learns that the wall is there because of his neighbors tradition from his father, and he ends up saying “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall that wants it down (35), and he is talking about himself. In the progression of this poem, we see the narrator’s character change from someone who is persistent to someone who has hatred for what he is doing. He becomes more aware, having an epiphany, learning that there is truly no need for a wall, and it is only there because his neighbor is following his father’s tradition that requires him to keep the wall up. Through this characterization, we see that by only one side having hatred for the other, it can cause a division between them, because one person disagrees with the other. Through this poem, we see many character changes amongst the narrator, but one character that stays the same