Robert Frost is an American poet that writes about everyday life in the form of the natural world. In his poem “Mending Wall” two neighbors come together in the spring to fix the wall that has been destroyed by time and nature, but he wonders if the wall is even necessary. With no hesitation, his neighbor kept the traditions of his father and builds the wall again for another year. Frost uses symbolism to show that the wall in the story is actually a barrier we put up in society. Over time it will begin to crumble and fall, but those who are weak minded will stick to tradition and prejudice will build them up again.
In “Mending Wall” Robert Frost’s poem starts off by “something there is that doesn’t love a wall”, he does not specify what something is (line 1). As the poem continues “frozen-ground-swell under it, /And spills the upper boulder in the sun”, shows that the “something” is actually nature (Frost lines 2-3). In nature there are no walls, physically or socially because everything coexists in a harmonious way. Frost utilizes the imagery of nature to depict people’s social and physical boundaries. Overtime society begins to crumble and down come these walls.
Though some barriers stay down others will begin to rise as more prejudiced minds stick to the common life they know. Frost shows that his neighbor’s wish to restore the wall is an act against nature when he says, “he will not go behind his father’s saying, /And he likes having thought of it so well” (line 45-46). This line indicates that the neighbor will follow his father’s request, even if it goes against nature’s. One can say that traditions continue for as long as you let them, continuously affecting the future generations by their ways and outcomes.
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Frost’s neighbor is one of those who were raised to be a firm believer that walls make good neighbors. He describes him as “old-stone savage armed”, indicating that he is a stubborn and true to his father’s will (line 41). As he is “armed”, the neighbor is stuck to his ideals that he will fight or defend it at all costs. Repeatedly, his neighbor keeps saying “Good fences make good neighbors” shows that privacy and individuality is what makes good neighbors (line 27). Yet the neighbor himself has no individuality, and became the essence of his father. Most likely he will go and pass it on to the next offspring.
Walls are created by people to prevent something they do not like from entering their domain. Separation also gives a sense of individuality and uniqueness. Not only are there physical walls, but social walls built by humanity. Society creates imaginary borders that separate those who do not have the same views such as: politics, nationality, social status, or religion. Frost states that, he and his neighbor get together: “But at spring mending-time we find them there/ I let my neighbor know beyond the hill” (lines 11-12). Spring is seen as the time people wake from the harsh winter and come together in a beautiful moment. As the new generation is born and the previous generation’s ideas diminish.
Yet for Frost, the idea of spring is tarnished by the idea that it is also the time where they gather and fill the gaps for another year. Even though Frost does not seem like the traditionalist type, he is the first to inform his neighbor about it. He mentions that “And on a day, we meet to walk the line/And set the wall between us once again” which show that the wall is only built out of habit, but time and nature always brought it down (line 13-14). Robert Waldinger, an American psychiatrist and Professor at Harvard Medical School, states that “Being human means there’s a wall-builder in each of us. Our minds naturally divide the world into me and not-me… our sages have taught that we’re all one, yet we still divide wherever we look” (para 4).
It is human nature to build a wall around those who do not share the same views, such as politics or gay marriage. Frost’s neighbor who is accustoms to his father ideals states that “He will not go behind his father’s saying, /And he likes having thought of it so well” (line 42-43). Most often, children inherit their parent’s ideas and do not create their own. However, by human nature, people have different perspectives than their parents. Which creates a new generation with different views than their predecessors. As these social fences begin to fall, the new generation do not follow the footstep of those who first created the wall. As people begin to accept new ideas the wall will begin to crumble, yet, those who are stuck in tradition are stuck in the endless loop of division.
When barriers are created to separate, some will begin to learn that it is futile to have one. There will always be two types of people when a wall is created; those who create it or rebuild it, and those who find no use of it and let it fall. As one of those who question the barrier, Frost states that “Before I built a wall I’d ask to know/What I was walling in or walling out” (line 41-42). Like a child who does not see anything wrong with skin color differences or same sex relationships, Frost sees the wall to be just as pointless. It serves little to no use for him, which leads him to question why build it in the first place. When rebuilding the wall, Frost sees it as a game “Oh, just another kind of outdoor game” (line 30). He does not see the wall as a means to separate their territory, but as a game.
Using it as a distraction to keep his attention away from the purpose of the wall. He loathes the wall and wishes to take it down, yet he is able to joke and play around. In society, people tend to make jokes about social barriers. This lightens the truth about the negatives of these separations. With the use of humor, Frost uses the pun “And to whom I was like to give offense” to show that mending time is just for amusement (line 43). His neighbor uses the idea that a fence can make good neighbors and Frost has the idea that who is he going to of fence. The pun shows that a fence is only a fence to Frost and creating one will only offend someone. As Frost continues to taunt and tease his neighbor, very little dialogue happens between the two.
The lack of conversation between the two about the barrier belittles the importance of the barrier. The speaker can very well live without it, however, his neighbor sees it as a principle he must obey and follow. This creates a contradiction between the two and will surely lead to a stalemate or the downfall of it. The poem shows the clash between two types of people when there is a wall, a traditionalist or a modernist. Frost uses the metaphor to show the distinction between the two, “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” (line 33-36).
Comparing the two shows the differences in views and the way they live. The neighbor who is “all pine” signifies that he is all rigid and dull with a one-track mindset on his views and traditions (line 33). As for Frost being an apple that is full of life and signifies joy with its warm colors, do not believe in creating these social barriers since they serve no purpose. Those who are conservative and old fashioned are the traditionalist, and those who act as complete social beings are the modernist. Heather Bullock, Professor and Department Chair of the Division of Social Sciences’ Psychology Department at UCSC, states that “increased inclusion and integration to breakdown economic and social boundaries” (para. 4). Movements are beginning to unite and break down these walls. As more apples begin to rise and pines begin to diminish, barriers will break down into unamendable pebbles.
Society is shaped by the people who live in it. Defined by its walls created by people, other than its physical walls there are social walls as well. In Robert Frost’s poem “Mending Walls”, he highlights the two types of individuals in society. The traditionalist who are old-fashioned and stubborn. And the modernist who are flexible and oppose the wall. Humans are made to be social beings and to coexist with one another. Yet social walls established by people prevent that, so good fences do not in fact make good neighbors.
