Needless Boundaries in Frost's Mending Wall

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Needless Boundaries in Frost's Mending Wall

As long as man has existed, territories and boundaries have been a part of life. Everyone finds a need to have a part of this earth that he can call his own. As soon as one finds his own space, he begins to set boundaries sometimes in the form of walls or fences. This creation of a wall raises the question with the poet, Robert Frost, as to what they are “walling in or walling out.” In his poem “Mending Wall,” Frost as the narrator participates in the repairing of a wall that he finds little purpose in.

Frost suggests that besides himself there is “something” mysterious that doesn’t like walls. For example, the frozen ground swells to make gaps big enough to walk through and hunters with their dogs perhaps hav...

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