Good Fences Make Good Neighbors: "Mending The Wall" Written By Frost (Essay Sample)

Student’s Name Professor Course Date “Good Fences Make Good Neighbors.” "Mending the Wall" a poem written by Frost, brings out a comparative view based on the events of Frost and his neighbor going out every spring season to repair a wall made of stones that separate their property. Frost does not support the presence of the wall. The wall according to Frost is hostile, needless and somehow offensive as well as out fashioned to have. Frost's neighbor, who seems to be conventional, supports the presence of the stone wall. He opines that "Good fences make good neighbors". This is a traditional saying where people take a high regard on maintaining boundaries in the neighborhood to avoid conflicts over properties by showing clearly what the neighbor owns and therefore take full charge of that property. For instance, if there is a tree in between the neighbors' houses, in the absence of a fence, who is supposed to rake leaves when they fall? Without a wall, the neighbors may argue about this issue of raking the leaves. If there is a disagreement, the neighbors may decide to leave the leaves to pile but when there is a fence, it will distinguish clearly the tree belongs to one of the neighbors who will be responsible for maintaining the tree and raking the fall leaves thereby solving possible problem. Frost disagrees with the neighbor's explanation on the presence of the wall. He gives many reasons in the poem for not supporting the wall that separates their properties but the main one is that his property and the neighbor's property do not need a wall in between them because Frost has an apple tree while the neighbor has pine trees. Frost says, "My apple tree will never cross and eat all the cones under his pines." In this case, the neighbors have different distinct properties where the issue of raking the leaves does not arise and therefore there is no need to maintain the wall. Frost continues to say that trees do not need a fence since they do not steal or hinder someone from doing his activities like someone's dog when it is not chained or when there is no fence to keep the dog inside. Frost also reasons out that keeping cows need a fence but in this case, with the neighbor, there is no caw. There is neither animals that need the fence nor any property disagreement with his neighbor. Frost also opines in the poem that there is something threatening and unpleasant in a wall. He asserts that the wall means something dangerous is being kept away or is kept in and that is not pleasing. He therefore at the end likens his neighbor who likes fences to "an old stone-savage" figuratively meaning that maintaining wall is violent procedural that is only required during hazardous times. From the poem, the speaker seems willing to continue participating in the custom of repairing the wall to maintain the quality relationship that exists between the two neighbors. The wall depicts a point of two farmers who stay in rural areas and who do different farming activities. One has apple trees and another maintain pine trees. The annual repairing of the wall presents an opportunity for these neighbors to interact and communicate an aspect that could not have happened if the wall did not exist. Frost p...