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Assignment
The American Literature
S. B. Gardi
Department of English, MKBU
Nirali N. Makvana
Sem :- 3
Roll no. :- 14
The Lines that continue to Separate us : Borders in our " Borderless " world, with the reference of the poem " Mending Wall " by Robert Frost
♧ Abstract :-
Yes, we are included in the list of developed countries. Am I right? But why ? What are the reasons ? According to my opinion developed in the sense we are increasing our nuclear power, planes, Helicopters and many more powerful weapons for defeating the other countries and making our navy and army more powerful and rich. Because we have the relationship of animosity to each other. Only because of the little piece of land. Time and again the army of each country is killing people of other neighbouring countries. After these all can we say that we are in the list of developed countries because our army is so powerful and rich. We must have to think about it in detail. So, here I am dealing with the topic, " The Lines that continue to Separate us : Borders in our Borderless world with the reference of the Poem " Mending Wall " by Robert Frost.
♧ Research objectives :-
♤ To know more about how Robert Frost reflects the relationship between the countries through his poem, " Mending Wall. "
♤ To peek into the current relationship of India with neighbour countries and their animosity relations.
♤ To know some other literary examples or works which portrays the picture of this type of issues.
♧ Introduction :-
Robert Lee Frost was born on 26th March 1874 and died on 29th January 1963. He was an American poet. His work was initially published in the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. Frost frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes.
Frost was honoured frequently during his lifetime and is the only poet to receive four Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. He became one of America's rare public literary figures, almost an artistic institution. He was awarded the " Congressional Gold Medal in 1960 for his poetic works. On July 22, 1961 Frost was named Poet Laureate of Vermont.
♧ Critical evaluation of the poem,
Mending Wall
Frost’s Mending Wall, which can also be read in full here, was published in 1914 by David Nutt. In modern literature, it is considered as one of the most analyzed and anthologized poems. In the poem, the poet is a New England farmer, who walks along with his neighbor in the spring season to repair the stone wall that falls between their two farms. As they start mending the wall, the narrator asks his neighbor why we need a wall. The poet says that there is something that doesn’t love a wall, but his neighbor says, “Good fences make good neighbors.”
Mending Wall principally analyses the nature of human relationships. When you read Mending Wall it feels like peeling off an onion. The reader analyses, philosophizes and dives deep to search for a definite conclusion that he is unable to find. Yet the quest is more thrilling and rewarding as compared to the Holy Grail itself. The reader understands life in a new way and challenges all definitions.
At the very outset, the poem takes you to the nature of things. Therefore, the narrator says something does exist in the nature that does not want a wall. He says man makes many walls, but they all get damaged and destroyed either by nature or by the hunters who search for rabbits for their hungry dogs. Hence, as soon as the spring season starts, he (narrator), with his neighbor, sets out to repair the wall that keeps their properties separated. Though the narrator comes together with his neighbor to repair the wall, he regards it an act of stupidity. He believes that in fact both of them don’t need a wall. He asks why should there be a wall, when his neighbor has only pine trees and he has apple. How could his apple trees go across the border and eat his neighbor’s pine cones. Moreover there is no chance of offending one and another as they don’t also have any cows at their homes. While the narrator tries to make his neighbor understand that they don’t need a wall, his neighbor is stone-headed savage, who only believes in his father’s age old saying that, “Good fences make good neighbors.”
In terms of form, “Mending Wall” is not structured with stanzas; it is a simple forty-five lines of first-person narrative. Frost does maintain iambic stresses, but he is flexible with the form in order to maintain the conversational feel of the poem. He also shies away from any obvious rhyme patterns and instead relies upon the occasional internal rhyme and the use of assonance in certain ending terms (such as “wall,” “hill,” “balls,” “well”).
This poem is the first work in Frost's second book of poetry, “North of Boston,” which was published upon his return from England in 1915. While living in England with his family, Frost was exceptionally homesick for the farm in New Hampshire where he had lived with his wife from 1900 to 1909. Despite the eventual failure of the farm, Frost associated his time in New Hampshire with a peaceful, rural sensibility that he instilled in the majority of his subsequent poems. “Mending Wall” is autobiographical on an even more specific level: a French-Canadian named Napoleon Guay had been Frost’s neighbor in New Hampshire, and the two had often walked along their property line and repaired the wall that separated their land. Ironically, the most famous line of the poem
“Good fences make good neighbors”
was not invented by Frost himself, but was rather a phrase that Guay frequently declared to Frost during their walks. This particular adage was a popular colonial proverb in the middle of the 17th century, but variations of it also appeared in Norway,
“There must be a fence between good neighbors”
Germany,
“Between neighbor’s gardens a fence is good”
Japan,
“Build a fence even between intimate friends”
and even India,
“Love your neighbor, but do not throw down the dividing wall."
Let us see the examples of issues in modern times between India and neighbouring countries.
♧ Issues between India & Pakistan :
India and Pakistan have fought in numerous armed conflicts since their independence. There are three major wars that have taken place between the two states, namely in 1947, 1965 and the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. In addition to this was the unofficial Kargil War in 1999 and some border skirmishes. The history between India and Pakistan, both nuclear powers, is inextricably linked. The countries have fought a series of wars since gaining their independence from Great Britain in 1947, largely over the Kashmir region, to which both countries lay claim.
India became a nuclear power in 1974, and Pakistan became a nuclear power in 1998.
Neither country has used nuclear weapons in conflict, but many experts fear that the ongoing crisis could escalate beyond conventional weapons use.
Here is a brief history of the conflict between the two countries.
August 1947: Following the end of British rule, British India was partitioned into India and Pakistan. The provincial division was based on Hindu and Muslim majorities, which caused mass migration for those that did not live in the majorities. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed in communal violence resulting in an atmosphere of hostility that has remained for decades. The Jammu and Kashmir regions have been disputed since partition, with Pakistan and India both claiming ownership.
♧ Issues between India and China :-
In August, India accused China of provoking military tensions at the border twice within a week. Both charges were denied by China, which said the stand-off was "entirely" India's fault. In early September, China accused India of firing shots at its troops. India accused China of firing into the air. Relations between India and China have been worsening over the past few months, and the two world powers are facing off against each other along their disputed border in the Himalayan region. What ' s the source of tension?
The root cause lies in an ill-defined, 3,440km (2,100-mile)-long border that both countries dispute.
Rivers, lakes and snowcaps along the frontier mean the line can shift, bringing soldiers face to face at many points, sometimes leading to confrontation.
The two nations are also competing to build infrastructure along the border, which is also known as the Line of Actual Control. India's construction of a new road to a high-altitude air base is seen as one of the main triggers for a clash with Chinese troops in June that left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead .
♧ " This Bloody Line " by Redcliffe :-
Marking the 70th anniversary of the partition of British India, and the creation of India and Pakistan as two independent countries, India Today tapped director Ram Madhvani and Equinox Films/Great Guns, to create a short film featuring Sir Cyril Radcliffe.
Radcliffe is most well known for drawing the dividing line that soon led to one of the largest mass migrations in human history.
Set in 1966, ‘This Bloody Line’ delves into the circumstances surrounding the partition through a fictitious conversation between Sir Cyril Radcliffe and his wife Antonia. In the film, which was remarkably filmed in a day, centers on W.H.Auden’s scathing poem, “Partition“, forces the aged Radcliffe to revisit painful memories and confront his role in an event that resulted in the loss of millions of lives.
♧ To Sum up :-
Thus, above all information making us aware about how we are growing. Our country becoming more powerful year by year but we are putting steps back by increasing animosity with our neighbouring countries. As we all know that " Literature is the mirror of society " it portrays the picture of the situation and issues between society and countries through literature.
♧ References :-
♧ Alexander, Deepa. The Man Who Saw Tomorrow. 3 Apr. 2017, www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/ram-madhvanis-short-film-this-bloody-line/article17772788.ece.
♧ Frost, Robert. "Mending Wall." Gleeditions, 17 Apr. 2011, www.gleeditions.com/mendingwall/students/pages.asp?lid=305&pg=5. Originally published in Tendencies in Modern American Poetry, edited by Amy Lowell, Macmillan, 1917, pp. 92-93.
♧ Karackattu, Joe Thomas. “India - China Border Dispute : Boundary - Making and Shaping of Material Realities from the Mid - Nineteenth to Mid - Twentieth Century .” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , vol. 28, 2017, pp. 2–25.
♧ Singh, Sandeep, et al. “Changing Equations of India - Pakistan Relations : Unresolved Kashmir Dispute as a Decider Factor .” International Research Journal of Social Sciences , vol. 4, no. 3, 2015, pp. 88–95.
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