The Mending Wall by Robert Frost - Essay Example

In Robert Frost’s “Mending Wall,” two characters, the feeling of indifference between them, and the stonewall dividing their properties which ironically served as a way for them to communicate. The poem is mainly about two neighbors who seldom encounter each other except on the only instances that the two neighbors come across each other are when they both have to fix the stone fences dividing their property but they do not engage in friendly conversations. Repair of the walls had seem to become a ritual to both characters as they already expect that when Spring comes, they have to go out of their houses and fix their stone fences. It was not directly indicated in the poem if both men take pleasure in the mending task. However, they seem to be quite comfortable to be in each other’s company provided that the speaker’s neighbor does not cross the wall between them which seems to be the neighbor’s refuge or shield from being too close to other people even to his next-door neighbor. In this allegorical poem, the speaker in the “Mending Wall” alternately describes the real scenario going on between him and his neighbor while interjecting symbolical descriptions of his neighbor. The vivid and detailed description of the two characters and the interaction of these characters by Robert Frost induce the readers to visualize the scenario and the features of the two characters. Frost’s use of the first-person narrative in the poem added gravity to the circumstances of the occurrence being recounted by the poem’s speaker. It also makes the reader feel as though he is witnessing the occurrence first hand and was given the chance to judge between the two characters. The two characters foil for each other in such a way that they highlight each other’s distinct characteristics. This is apparent in the line saying, “He is all pine and I am apple orchard.” The line describes how the two characters are much different from each other. The speaker was an apple orchard which apparently signifies that his character was more inclined to changes as opposed to the neighbor’s character who was described as “all pine” which seem to signify that the man appears to be serious, gloomy, and unapproachable. The character of the speaker in the poem foils the character of the neighbor because he sees the wall as unnecessary. If given an option, the speaker may choose not to repair the walls and just totally pull down the wall. He may also go over to his neighbor’s house and offer friendship. This is evident in the lines “There where it is we do not need the wall: He is all pine and I am apple orchard. My apple trees will never get across And eat the cones under his pines.” The neighbor on the other hand, foils for the speaker’s character because impliedly the neighbor was an old-fashioned and distant character. In the last lines where the speaker says, “He moves in darkness as it seems to me, Not of woods only and the shade of trees. He will not go behind his fathers saying, And he likes having thought of it so well He says again, Good fences make good neighbors.” The neighbor can be pictured as a quiet and reserved man who only spoke just to be civil. Evidently, the two neighbors only meet during Spring time and when repairs on the walls are necessary. In the lines “Something there is that doesnt love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it And spills the upper boulders in the sun, And makes gaps even two can pass abreast,” the “frozen ground” and the presence of the “sun” suggests that the setting was indeed during Spring. Other lines that confirms the setting to be during Spring directly mentions of Spring. This can be read in this line, “But at spring mending-time we find them there.” Another line reads, “Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder If I could put a notion in his head:” The lines, “Something there is that doesnt love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it And spills the upper boulders in the sun, And makes gaps even two can pass abreast,” also explain one of the factors that affects the stone fences. Apparently, the snow covered ground under the stone fences swells that causes the stones on the upper part of the fences to loosen and eventually come off. This explains why the two neighbors always had to repair the stone fences during Spring. The other factor that causes the boulders from stone fences to come off is the hunters who pass by their properties. This can be read in the lines saying, “The work of hunters is another thing: I have come after them and made repair Where they have left not one stone on a stone, But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,” Spring and the hunters are the two factors that causes the stone fences of the two neighbors to come apart and this repairing the damages in the stone fences gives the two men to interact. Although the other man simply refuses to go beyond their polite interaction and build a friendship with the speaker instead of building the wall dividing not only their properties but obstructs their chance to build a friendship. In the way the speaker narrates this occurrence, he obviously sees his neighbor as an old-fashioned and reserved person. In the lines saying, “He only says, Good fences make good neighbors. Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder If I could put a notion in his head: Why do they make good neighbors? Isnt it Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.” the speaker feels an urge to challenge his neighbor’s old notion of “Good fences make good neighbors.” The speaker wanted his neighbor to shun all his inhibitions signified by the stone wall dividing their properties and build a better relationship as friends than just fence-mending mates. In the lines, “He will not go behind his fathers saying, And he likes having thought of it so well” the speaker concedes to the fact that his neighbor would not change his old-fashioned ways as he holds on firmly to his age-old adage as his neighbor repeats the line “Good fences make good neighbors.” The speaker describes his neighbor as “He is all pine” which apparently signifies that his neighbor was the silent type whose shadowy character cannot be easily deciphered similar to the pine trees which stands stiff and still in his property and are dark, shady and emits the slightest noise. This is also evident in the lines saying, “In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed. He moves in darkness as it seems to me, Not of woods only and the shade of trees.” The speaker reiterates that his neighbor’s character is obscure and prefers seclusion. “He moves in darkness as it seems to me, Not of woods only and the shade of trees.” means his neighbor remains unfamiliar and aloof thus he sees him as someone moving in darkness which was not caused by his neighbor’s shady pine trees. Furthermore, the speaker describes his neighbor as someone who has unwavering beliefs and in his unfaltering loyalty to his beliefs, he became cold and firm like the stones he resolutely places in his fence. The lines saying “Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.” and the line which reads, “He will not go behind his fathers saying,” are evidences of what the speaker thinks of his neighbor. The speaker also sees his neighbor as a bit irrational. The lines saying, “There where it is we do not need the wall: He is all pine and I am apple orchard. My apple trees will never get across And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him. He only says, Good fences make good neighbors. Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder If I could put a notion in his head: Why do they make good neighbors? Isnt it Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.” show that the speaker sees his neighbor’s persistent attitude in keeping and restoring the stone walls as ridiculous. He states that there is no need for the stone fence because both of them do not have cows. Both of them only have trees planted in their properties thus the idea of the fence, which was meant to keep cattle and other animals from crossing over to other properties and cause damage, is meaningless. On the other hand, this brings in focus the view of the speaker on stone walls. In the opening lines, “Something there is that doesnt love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, And spills the upper boulders in the sun; And makes gaps even two can pass abreast” it can be deciphered that the speaker does not agree on maintaining the stone wall. He implies that the idea of a wall was not a good idea at all that even the snow-covered ground agrees to his thought sending some of the stones to loosen and fall out from the wall. Frost writes, “There where it is we do not need the wall: He is all pine and I am apple orchard. My apple trees will never get across And eat the cones under his pines,” showing the outlook of the poem’s speaker on the stone fence. He sees it as unnecessary but he was obliged to mend the wall with his neighbor since it was the only instance and perhaps the only way that they would interact. He perceives the wall to be an obstruction to a better relationship with his next-door neighbor but also sees it as an opportunity to at least speak with his neighbor and a chance to convince his neighbor to tear down the stone wall. In convincing his neighbor to pull down the stone fence, the speaker wanted to tell his neighbor that they have no cows to keep from passing from one property to the other. This can be read in the lines saying, “If I could put a notion in his head: Why do they make good neighbors? Isnt it Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.” The speaker also wanted to tell his neighbor that elves may be causing the walls to come apart though the speaker himself thinks otherwise. This is evident in the lines saying, “Something there is that doesnt love a wall, That wants it down. I could say Elves to him, But its not elves exactly, and Id rather” The speaker also believes that fences are not necessary to make good neighbors. He was implying in the lines, “But at spring mending-time we find them there. I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;” These lines indicate that being a good willed neighbor, the speaker even informs his neighbor that the stone fence needs repair even though he does not see the stone fence necessary. Despite the fact that the speaker does not agree on keeping the stone fence, he still mends it with his neighbor for camaraderie’s sake. It is evident that the speaker is a good neighbor because he keeps his thoughts about the stone fence to himself. Although the speaker thinks it silly to put a wall between his property and this neighbor’s property, he does not speak up to his neighbor nor laugh at the ridiculous idea of maintaining the fence. On the other hand, the adage repeatedly stated by the speaker’s neighbor might be true. The stone fence made the speaker a good neighbor in such a way that the speaker cannot walk up to his neighbor and tell him frankly that the keeping the fence in place was a very ridiculous and irrational idea because there was clearly no reason for them to maintain the fence. The fence seems to make the speaker more polite and careful in dealing and speaking with his next-door neighbor because he was not too familiar with the man. In addition, the speaker cannot say outright to his neighbor that he was conditioned by his father to believe the old adage on fences and that this belief is not always true. This can be read in line saying, “He will not go behind his fathers saying, And he likes having thought of it so well He says again, Good fences make good neighbors.” The speaker apparently believes that his neighbor’s act is a conditioned response. He sees this conditioned response of his neighbor to be absurd that he was driven to conclude that his neighbor was a mysterious character who firmly believes in the lessons he had learned from his father. He makes a subtle mockery of this conditioned response by mentioning that elves may be causing the boulders from the stone fence to come off. The speaker obviously prefers original thinking to conditioned response since the speaker himself is an original or imaginative thinker. This is another point that makes the two characters foils for each other. The speaker had imagined several reasons behind the inexplicable damages to the stone fence while his neighbor was nonchalant about the issue. The speaker had also imagined the characteristic of his neighbor and concluded that his neighbor was simply old fashioned and cold to other people like the pine tress planted in his property. “Mending Wall” may be simple and humorous as it appears but this allegorical poem delves into the diversity of man and how their unique ways of interaction. The poem also effectively gives the readers an interesting point of view into the two divergent characters as if to teach readers to respect and understand that people have their own differences. Read More