Societal Barriers in Robert Frost's Poem The Mending Wall

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Societal Barriers in Robert Frost's Poem The Mending Wall

"The Mending Wall" by Robert Frost is one of the poems in his collection that he wrote after his encounters with back- country, New England farmers. The poem centers on a wall that separates one neighbor from the other. The introduction to the wall describes the large gaps in need of repair that appear after hunters accidentally shoot the wall while hunting rabbits. The narrator then lets his neighbor know that the wall is in need of repair and they walk with the wall between them in order to view what needs repair. The narrator then notices that the wall is not necessary because his apple trees will never get across to eat the cones under his pines. However, the other farmer says the one line that his own father instilled in him: " Good fences make good neighbors." The narrator then begins to sincerely question why there is this wall and what they are trying to wall in or out. The steadfast neighbor only replies what has been instilled in him: " Good fences make good neighbors."

The language that Frost uses is very appropriate for the setting and tone of the poem. His use of informal or common language lends itself to the way in which a New England farmer would communicate with his neighbor. The way in which Frost uses clarifications on statements he makes using phrases such as "I mean" and asking rhetorical questions about the usefulness of the wall help to make the narrator more personal to the reader and provoke internal observation along with the inner thoughts of the speaker.

At a closer observation of the poem a meaning that goes far beyond building a stone wall emerges. The wall represents the barriers that society erects to separate the...

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...ely happiness. This statement of selecting what to wall in or out is also closely related to the issue of immigration and who should be let in and who should not. This wall is a way of discriminating against who can enter America and who is excluded, such as Asians and other ethnic groups.

Line 43 makes a strong statement concerning the way parents pass their beliefs on to their children. In this line we discover that the phrase " Good fences make good neighbors" was a favorite saying of the farmer's father. Thus, the explanation of why the wall is mended continually comes to light. This barrier was established in the mind of the farmer at a young age and he will not undermine the teachings of his father. In this idea the continuance and survival of prejudice and segregation is therefore discovered and the wall is mended for yet another generation to keep.

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