ಮನಕ್ಕೆ ನೆನಹಾಗಿ...

I was just going through my old gmail conversations, and I found this one. This is a result of a 'homwork' that I had given to a very special friend of mine. I'll talk about this little girl, Anu, Anoohya, some other time. The assignment was to read Robert Frost's famous poem Mending Wall, and to send me a writeup based on her reading. The poem starts with these seemingly peculiar line -

"SOMETHING there is that doesn’t love a wall,"

Read the complete poem here. Read two 'reviews' below -

Anu says -

I have written a few things about Robert Frosts "mending wall" next in the mail, I must admit that Nehi was great help to understand a poem; So, rest assured that she had a influence in thinking & dissecting the poem.......
Mending Wall, portrays the routines of two neighbors who are constantly mending the fence that is wall, that separates their properties. If a stone is missing form the fence, you can bet that the two men are out there putting it back together piece by piece.
I found, Poet's description of every detail in this poem is quite interesting, very pleasant to read, and extremely imaginable. He leaves the reader to decide for himself what deductions
he is to make from the reading. On one hand, Frost makes literal implications about what the two men are doing. For instance, they are physically putting the stones back, one by one. Their dedication, commitment, and constant drive shines through when reading how persistence these men seem about keeping the wall intact. Quite the contrary however, is the inferences that something even deeper is going on. There is a sharing experience taking place here. Indeed, by
laboring so hard, each man is experiencing physical repercussions, but they are also using this time as a "meet and greet" period.
We can gather from the beginning of the poem that the wall has many forces that keep's it in shambles. For instance, Frost writes; "...that sends the frozen ground swell under it and spills the upper boulders in the sun...", and "I have come after them(hunters) and made
repair where they have left not one stone on a stone..."
The man and his neighbor don't seem to have time for anything else, for it sounds as if they are constantly making repairs. Is there a reason for this?
Also note that not only are these men completing a manly task, but they are also "building" some type of relationship. If this were not an issue, the neighbor would not repeat;
"Good fences make good neighbors."
As the man tells his story, we find that even though the two men may be conversing and interacting, there is some distance between them at all times. The man says; "...on a day we meet to walk the line and set the wall between us once again."
It seems to show that even though there is a need for friendship in each of us, it is equally as necessary for us to have our own space.
As the poem continues we see that what is taking place is almost like a game. In fact, he says; "Oh, just another kind of outdoor game."
And the narrator continues by saying, "We keep the wall between us as we go". This is almost like there is this game of leapfrog taking place!
"He is all pine and I am apple orchard," This seems to indicate that each of us are different. Having different likes, dislikes, etc. One of the men farms "apples", while the other
just has "pines". Nonetheless, each are special and both of them contain separate, yet endearing qualities.
Why Frost's used of the "stone" itself ? What could he have meant by this poem?
"Stay where you are until our backs are turned".
He is speaking to the stones. In other words he is telling them that if they are going to fall, please wait until he is not looking. This seems to be an odd touch to this poem. It almost
appears that the man is so bored at times that he would talk about or to anything. Maybe the neighbor is not as much of a talker as one might have imagined. Maybe the man only has himself and these inanimate objects to converse with. After all, the only quote by the
neighbor in this poem is; "Good fences make good neighbors."
In another light however, there is the idea of separation, or segregation. I have briefly touched on the idea that the two men are consistently kept apart by this wall. In addition
though, the author contrasts his "wall" of separation with the idea of segregation in our world. We are left with the impression that if two people have differences, no matter the extent, they are not considered equals by society.
Finally, there is the recurring idea that the wall should not be there in the first place.
"Something there is that doesn't love a wall."
This sentence infers that the wall separating we as a people, needs to come down. It is virtually impossible for us to build lasting relationships while we are still possessed with hatred and discrimination.
I must admitt that Nehi had interpreted this poem in atleast 5 more ways, but all other ways look too philosophical.. So I have taken this theme & wrieen to you ..

Sanket says -

Good. You've done the homework well. I like the way you have let your thought process in different directions.
Well.. the poem, as u'd have observed, is exptremely readable, interesting and funny, even when we dont bother abt how to interpret it. it makes a good reading even when we dont subject it to a microscopic view. however, it reveals a lot of significance on further
reading.
The basic idea of the poem is in the first couple of lines. "something there is that doesnt like a wall". the nature doesnt like a wall, and through various means it tries to bring down the walls that human beings unnecessarily build across them.
The poem also talks about individualism in a subtle manner, and that individualism is all the more reason for not needing a wall (pine and apple).
Every man has always been unique and different than the other. But individualism as a virtue is a relatively modern concept. The poet says, we are two different individuals. then how do u think we can meddle with each others' lives? So.. there's no need for a wall.
The poet also mocks in a subtle manner that we spend most part of our lives in building these walls, when it is not at all necessary. We could rather have had all that time to build ourselves. our own self. our individuality. our uniqueness.
The narrator (an alter ego of the poet), is a sensible person, with a modern outlook, and is absolutely bored and tired of this game of building a wall ("stay there till we turn our backs"). However, the other guy (his neighbor), wants to stick to what his father had said, "good fences make good neighbors". he just wants to stick to the age old beliefs without evaluating their worth/meaning/practicability in the modern age. the narrator, hence, rightly describes him as a person living in 'stone age'.

Well.. i can go on writing .. but i guess i've given u the essential ideas and pointers.