...A stone wall separates the speaker’s property from his neighbor’s. In spring, the two meet to walk the wall and jointly make repairs. The speaker sees no reason for the wall to be kept—there are no cows to be contained, just apple and pine trees. He does not believe in walls for the sake of walls. The neighbor resorts to an old adage: “Good fences make good neighbors.” The speaker remains unconvinced and mischievously presses the neighbor to look beyond the old-fashioned folly of such reasoning. His neighbor will not be swayed. The speaker envisions his neighbor as a holdover from a justifiably outmoded era, a living example of a dark-age mentality. But the neighbor simply repeats the adage. The image at the heart of “Mending Wall” is arresting: two men meeting on terms of civility and neighborliness to build a barrier between them. They do so out of tradition, out of habit. Yet the very earth conspires against them and makes their task Sisyphean. Sisyphus, you may recall, is the figure in Greek mythology condemned perpetually to push a boulder up a hill, only to have the boulder roll down again. These men push boulders back on top of the wall; yet just as inevitably, whether at the hand of hunters or sprites, or the frost and thaw of nature’s invisible hand, the boulders tumble down again. Still, the neighbors persist. The poem, thus, seems to meditate conventionally on three grand themes: barrier-building (segregation, in the broadest sense of the word), the doomed nature of...
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...“The Mending Wall” have themes that almost mirror each other exactly. One shows a small town and its tradition of a cruel, random murder each and every June, that has been repeated for hundreds of years. The other shows two neighbors repairing a wall, the narrator thinks that repairing the wall is unnecessary and that the wall should not exist only to exist and serve no purpose, but his neighbor claims that the wall is key to maintaining their relationship. Both Shirley Jackson and Robert Frost play with the idea of blindly following tradition and how it can be harmful. This short story and poem are similar because in both, there are people who refuse to question tradition; while they differ because the consequences of ignorance are much greater in “The Lottery”. “He only says, “Good Fences make good neighbours.” Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder if I could put a notion in his head: “Why do they make good neighbours?”” The message Robert Frost tries to convey in this poem, is that breaking free of tradition if one feels the need to do so, is not wrong. He’s trying to tell the reader to be the one who questions things rather than just blindly following someone else’s beliefs or customs. In the short...
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...Tradition Triggers Tragedy Traditions are blueprints for our beliefs, values, memories, relationships, and overall, our bond to society. They give a sense of belonging and can bring families together and reconnect friends. Not all traditions are healthy though. Both “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost reveal the dangers in following tradition blindly. However, Frost uses symbolism to address this theme, while Jackson relies on word choice that creates a suspenseful tone. Initially, Both Jackson and Frost urge the reader to notice the negative impacts on questionable traditions. The citizens in “The Lottery” choose to carry out a tradition of coming together to find a winner of the town lottery in order to sacrifice...
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...“Mending Wall” by Robert Frost The harsh reality of life is that many of us put up walls for no reason other than we were told by someone, or it was passed down from generation to generation without question. We will erect walls around types of people, places, religion, and things without understanding why we even do it. “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost portrays a view that we are seeing today around the world. So many groups of people all walled off from each other, and it does not allow them to become friends or to understand each other’s culture. When the wall comes down, people figure out that all of us want the same things out of life. Robert Frost’s “Mending Wall” is about walls that people set up for no reason whatsoever. Frosty shows quickly that there is something wrong when he begins the point with “something there is that does not love a wall” (563). The poem tells the story of two landowners who appear to be following a tradition that has been passed down from father to son. They never discuss the importance of the wall; however, they meet every year to walk their respective sides of the wall and attempt to repair it. The poem leads the reader to believe that they repair this wall only once a year after each winter. The leakage from either side of the wall is not the entire reason for the task. The speaker goes as far as to say to the stones themselves “stay where you are until our backs are turned” (563); this would lead you to believe that there is no...
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...Robert Frost is one of America’s most beloved poets, and "Mending Wall" is one of his most popular poems. This poem tells the tale of a rock wall which sits between two properties in the countryside. Something continually destroys this rock wall. A compelling aspect of "Mending Wall" is the Frostian sense of mystery and loneliness. What begins as a quest to discover the identity of the wall-destroyer, ends in a meditation on the value of tradition and boundaries. "Mending Wall" is the first poem in North of Boston, Frost’s second book of poetry. This book was published when Frost was in England, rubbing elbows with the likes of W.B. Yeats, T.S. Eliot, andEzra Pound. Frost was a contemporary of many modernist poetic movements, but he isn’t associated with any particular group of poets. He marched to his own drummer, and as a result, he garnered a good deal of criticism from the literary world. But, it is precisely because he was such an individual and his voice so original that Frost became so beloved. Born in San Francisco, Frost moved to Massachusetts at age eleven following his father’s death. He attended both Dartmouth College and Harvard University, but never earned a college degree. He was, however, often invited to teach at Dartmouth and Harvard later on in his life. You know you’re good when you get to teach college students without having a diploma yourself. After spending some time in England, Frost befriended a lot of poetic giants, including William Butler Yeats...
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...Mending Wall Analysis Robert Frost is often referred to as a poet of nature. Words and phrases such as fire and ice, flowers in bloom, apple orchards and rolling hills, are all important elements of Frost's work. These ‘benign' objects provide an alternative way to look at the world and are often used as metaphors to describe a darker view of nature and humans. In Frost's poetry, the depth is as important as the surface. The darker aspects of Frost's poetry are often portrayed through the use of symbolism, vivid imagery, and selective word choice. Frost's poems appear to be simple on the surface, yet upon further scrutiny the poems reveal themselves as elusive. Frost utilizes ordinary objects to create a deeper meaning. For example, the poem "Mending Wall", appears to be about the differences between two neighbors and their ideas on rebuilding a wall. On the other hand, the wall may be viewed, in a more general sense, as a symbol to represent all the antagonistic or mistrustful barriers that divide man from man.It describes how the conservative farmer follows traditions blindly and the isolated life followed by him. It reflects how people make physical barriers and that later in life come to their social life too. Where neighbor with pine tree, believes that this separation is needed as it is essential for their privacy and personal life. The poem explores a paradox in human nature. The first few lines reflect demolition of the wall, ? Something there is that doesn?t...
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...Although Robert Frost and F. Scott Fitzgerald are from the same time era and passed away at around the same time, they had many differences in their writing styles. Robert Frost was poetically inclined in his writing ‘The Mending Wall’ which I will be comparing to Fitzgerald’s ‘Winter Dreams’ which is more on the story side of the spectrum. Frost went through a string of jobs before finding his passion in poetry. He became interested in high school, but didn’t pursue a career in it until much later. Fitzgerald was born into a upper middle class family and had always been interested in stories. Both of these artists fell in love with writing during their younger years. Robert Frost was writing his poems around the 19th century and draws his...
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...and literature. “Modernist literature is characterized chiefly by a rejection of 19th-century traditions and of their consensus between author and reader” (Baldick 159). The writers wanted to develop and introduce completely new forms of literature that were more of the times which intensified after World War I. The desire for the importance of literature in the modern world was the typical belief of most modernist writers, which included Frost. Robert Frost is a modern poet due to his poetry having been awarded with the mindfulness of the problems of man living in the modern world. Science and Technology were dominating the modern world of the times. Frost was quoted to say "The object in writing poetry is to make all poems sound as different as possible from each other. But for this, in addition to the tricks any poet knows, we need the help of context--meaning--subject matter. That is the greatest help towards variety. All that can be done with words is soon told. So also with meters. . . . The possibilities for tune from the dramatic tones of meaning struck across the rigidity of a limited meter are endless. And we are back in poetry as merely one more art of having something to say, sound or unsound. Probably better if sound, because deeper and from wider experience." (VanDoren). His ideas of keeping with himself are seen in his poetry throughout his life. “Mending Wall” is the first work in Frost's second book of poetry, “North of Boston,” which was published upon...
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...art and literature. “Modernist literature is characterized chiefly by a rejection of 19th-century traditions and of their consensus between author and reader” (Baldick 159). The writers wanted to develop and introduce completely new forms of literature that were more of the times which intensified after World War I. The desire for the importance of literature in the modern world was the typical belief of most modernist writers, which included Frost. Robert Frost is a modern poet due to his poetry having been awarded with the mindfulness of the problems of man living in the modern world. Science and Technology were dominating the modern world of the times. Frost was quoted to say "The object in writing poetry is to make all poems sound as different as possible from each other. But for this, in addition to the tricks any poet knows, we need the help of context--meaning--subject matter. That is the greatest help towards variety. All that can be done with words is soon told. So also with meters. . . . The possibilities for tune from the dramatic tones of meaning struck across the rigidity of a limited meter are endless. And we are back in poetry as merely one more art of having something to say, sound or unsound. Probably better if sound, because deeper and from wider experience." (VanDoren). His ideas of keeping with himself are seen in his poetry throughout his life. “Mending Wall” is the first work in Frost's second book of poetry, “North of Boston,” which was published upon...
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...Poetic Imagery and Political Realities Kathy Kubisty, Omar Contreras, Adolfo Arce University of Phoenix Eng/ 302 David Maker August 24, 2010 Poetic Imagery and Political Realities Poetry has been around for many centuries and the world has witnessed many fine artistic poem writers. Throughout this paper, the life of Robert Frost will be explained along with some of his outstanding poetry. We will discuss who he was, how Frost started in writing his poetry, and how some of his poems relate to what is happening in today's world. Robert Frost was named after the Southern General, Robert E. Lee. He was born on March 26, 1874, in San Francisco, California. Because his parents were a teacher and a journalist, he was always around books. He studied literature from William Shakespeare and poems from Robert Burns and William Wordsworth. Robert excelled in many topics in school such as history, botany, Latin, and Greek. Frost also played football and graduated top of his high school class. Robert Frost started writing poems at an early age. His first poem, “La Noche Triste” was published in his high school newspaper. Frost later enrolled in an Ivy League college in Hanover, New Hampshire. Robert Frost was not fond of the campus life so he quit college and started teaching while he was writing poetry. Frost got his first break as a poet in 1894 when the New York Magazine, “Independent” published his poem, “My Butterfly” for only 15 dollars. Robert Frost later in 1895 married...
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...what is being discussed in Robert Frost’s poem the “Mending Wall.” Having a good fence allows for privacy and is the right of a homeowner. “The central theme of "Mending Wall" is whether it is wise to erect walls and other types of barriers.” not this period (Cummings, 2008).this period is correct An immediate reading seems to suggest that walls or fences are obstacles and if you tear them down you can open up the door to friendship, unity, and better communication. Nevertheless, the one neighbor insists that “good fences make good neighbors.” same here (Davis and Lynn, 2006, p. 82). The destruction of the Berlin Wall in 1989 demonstrates the point that Frost is trying to make that walls or barriers are obstacles. The Berlin Wall, which had divided Berlin since 1961, "fell" on November 9. For almost 30 years, the Wall and the heavily fortified border between East and West Germany kept East Germans as prisoners in their own country, tore families apart, and caused many deaths when East Germans were shot trying to flee. I am not going continue to correct them as you get the point by now. (McGill, 2009, p. 1-2). The original Berlin Wall was a collection of wire and loose cinder blocks; however, over the years, turned out to become a concrete barrier that stood fifteen feet high. There were sections of the wall that included watchtowers, electric fences, and automatic guns. In addition, there was a smaller wall that enclosed West Berlin completely which kept all...
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...What is a wall? Anyone can answer that it's a simple logical question. But what would someone say if I asked, what does a wall symbolize? Than the question becomes a bit more complex because you have to think in what context is the wall being used. The poem “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost is a blank verse poem in which the speaker explains the tedious task he has to do each year. He and his neighbor have to get together each spring and fix the wall that separates the two properties. The speaker and his neighbor seem to have polar personalities since they don’t seem to interact much during the rest of the year. The speaker conveys their conflicting personalities by his use of symbolism and metaphor to express their differences....
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...little cow getting licked clean by its mother. If you have ever owned cattle you would know how important it is to have a steady flow of water for them to bath in, if it is sitting water it will fill up with poop, and Algae, and debris. The water would be filled with disease and would stink horribly. The mom licking the calf shows that it is taking care of it, and shows the mother relationship. This is important because most readers can relate, makes me feel sympathy and love for the calf like my mother shows to me. Mending Wall- Two neighbors have a stone wall that separates the two properties, during the spring time they meet and walk along side by side fixing the rocks that have rolled off. They talk and laugh, they have a good time, one says "Good fences, make good neighbors". This poem is slightly confusing, the poem never states that there are animals, and they don't seem to have a problem with each other. However, these two men build up a stone wall out of tradition knowing that the rocks will fall again. Maybe it is so they can (in the future) be in each others presence again. Fire and Ice- Two people are arguing about how the world will come to an end, whether its fiery or if it will freeze. the last sentence says " It may not have the same grandeur as the fireball ending, but it'll do the trick." As we discussed this poem in class someone had made the statement that, it doesn't really seem like this guy really cares how the world will end. Whether he believes he will be...
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...Examine the argument that neighbourly relations are characterised by friendly distance. The practice of being a neighbour is a complex one. There are unwritten rules and expectations of what being a neighbour constitutes. We as a neighbour tend to grow up being a neighbour, and as such we are expected to know how to behave, as a neighbour should. Various studies have given us an insight into to what is actually expected of a good neighbour. The following piece of work examines the argument that, neighbourly relations are characterised by friendly distance. It will also attempt to explain the unwritten rules and guidelines which we live to, in order to live together and yet at the same time live apart. Studies over the years in different settings show widespread agreement on what people in the neighbourhood want from those that live around them. Studies in the 1980s found that the main characteristics that people questioned highlighted were. Friendliness and helpfulness, and distance (Abrams and Brown, 1984). These characteristics appear not to be exclusive to the United Kingdom. Studies in the USA also found that neighbours were expected to be friendly but without intruding on one’s privacy (McGahan, 1972, p, 402). Kate Fox (2004) also suggests in her book that interaction between neighbours is primarily in public spaces and on the boundaries, these being defined as ‘gardens or hedges, driveways’. These spaces constitute a division between public and private places and it...
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...English 2328 Spring 2011 Unit Two: Early Twentieth Century Review Sheets |Survey Highlights |Modernism in American Literature |Imagism, Imagery, Image | |Major Authors |Some distinguishing characteristics— |From Pound's "A Retrospect": | |Historical Context |Rejection of traditional values and assumptions, in society and art. |—Three principles of Imagism: | |Intellectual Movements |Strong break with traditional literary forms and techniques of |1. Direct treatment of 'thing' whether subjective or objective. | |Genres, Elements of Literature |expression. |2. To use absolutely no word that does not contribute to the | |Authors |—Avant-garde, innovative |presentation. | |Robert Frost, Ezra Pound, and T. S. Eliot |—Frost's "old-fashioned way to be new" |3. As regarding...
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