In the poem “Mending Wall,” Robert Frost narrates a story of two neighbors meeting to rebuild the stone wall, a traditional routine for them every spring. The speaker communicates with the neighbor by continually questioning the legitimacy of the wall. Although the persona appears to engage in a monologue at some point, the central theme of human interaction is apparent. The building of the walls conveys an important message about human life regarding relationships in society. Traditionally, humans are social beings yet they cultivate discrimination based on various aspects. While the conventional belief is that separation promotes good relationships, the truth is that it kills human relationships. Hence, the speaker is disturbed so much by the idea of having to mend the wall every spring even though they have no cattle to restrain from wandering on the farm. Understandably, the speaker and the neighbor have some differences shown by the types of crops on their farms. The speaker has apples while the neighbor has pines on his farm. Thus, the crops symbolize their difference which can either be racial, religious, based on gender, or any other significant feature.
The structure of the poem provides both emotional and philosophical content. First, the poem is written in the form of a short story where the speaker recounts one remarkable event in his life related to the tradition of wall-building during the spring season. Here, the speaker seems to remember the happenings due to annoyance and bitterness for lack of reasonable explanation to justify wall building. Hence, the speaker’s observance of nature reveals his philosophies about life. The speaker does not believe in boundaries in human relations, yet the traditions he believes are archaic and compel him to conform. Unfortunately, the speaker’s position about discrimination in society is ambiguous as he mildly protests, but continues to build the wall anyway, which is ironic. Notably, the symbolism in the poem is conspicuous and helps depict the theme. The wall symbolizes boundaries or segregations in the society that are long-held by the community, yet no one can give a valid reason for their continued existence.
I can connect quite well with the poem, given my historical understanding of racial discrimination in America. The building of the wall is allegorical of acceptance of discrimination in society. For instance, in the late 19th century, discrimination in schools was legalized by the Supreme Court ruling that validated the idea of “separate but equal.” Still, there are numerous gaps in society, such as gender-based wage gaps, leadership, economic, and health disparities. Some find no issue with such segregation the same way the neighbor believes walls are necessary for good relationships as he repeats the phrase “walls make good neighbors.” The expression also marks the end of the poem, meaning the issue was not resolved, allowing it to continue as a routine. Overall, the poem depicts human nature that has accepted and normalized boundaries and differences in society without trying to find solutions.
Reference
Frost, R. (n.d.). “Neither out far nor in deep”The Literature Network. Web.