Good Fences Make Good Neighbours
“Good Fences Make Good Neighbours”- Robert Frost
This phrase was first used in 1914 in a poem called The Mending Wall by Robert Frost. This paradox has become a proverb which essentially means that “People live more harmoniously when there are clear boundaries between their properties and lives”. There are, however, many different opinions on the truth of this proverb. Does separation and the creation of boundaries really keep the peace and make people better neighbours or do the boundaries we place between ourselves push us further apart?
When looking at this proverb in a literal sense, it is important to realise that there are many examples where walls have severed ties between people and created unrest instead of harmony. An example of this is the Berlin Wall. It was originally constructed in order to separate the areas of Germany which had different political orientations. The people who were responsible for the building of the wall believed that creating a boundary between groups of people with different political beliefs would keep the peace. This, however, was not the case. At least 137 people died because of the violence that this divide created and when the wall came down the country united as one. In this case good fences most certainly did not create good neighbours. They created unhappiness, unrest and even death.
Boundaries can cause unhappiness but they can create peace and order. Frost himself even says that walls are necessary when keeping livestock as this eliminates the potential for arguments over which animal belongs to which man. In an even more literal sense I believe the walls we build between our houses and, therefore, our neighbours make us ourselves into better neighbours. Because we are then no longer living “in each other’s pockets”, we manage to allow each other privacy but strive to be welcoming if needs be. I believe that these walls then provide each neighbour with enough space to live their lives independently but still
This phrase was first used in 1914 in a poem called The Mending Wall by Robert Frost. This paradox has become a proverb which essentially means that “People live more harmoniously when there are clear boundaries between their properties and lives”. There are, however, many different opinions on the truth of this proverb. Does separation and the creation of boundaries really keep the peace and make people better neighbours or do the boundaries we place between ourselves push us further apart?
When looking at this proverb in a literal sense, it is important to realise that there are many examples where walls have severed ties between people and created unrest instead of harmony. An example of this is the Berlin Wall. It was originally constructed in order to separate the areas of Germany which had different political orientations. The people who were responsible for the building of the wall believed that creating a boundary between groups of people with different political beliefs would keep the peace. This, however, was not the case. At least 137 people died because of the violence that this divide created and when the wall came down the country united as one. In this case good fences most certainly did not create good neighbours. They created unhappiness, unrest and even death.
Boundaries can cause unhappiness but they can create peace and order. Frost himself even says that walls are necessary when keeping livestock as this eliminates the potential for arguments over which animal belongs to which man. In an even more literal sense I believe the walls we build between our houses and, therefore, our neighbours make us ourselves into better neighbours. Because we are then no longer living “in each other’s pockets”, we manage to allow each other privacy but strive to be welcoming if needs be. I believe that these walls then provide each neighbour with enough space to live their lives independently but still