# Mending Wall explained — North of Boston

> Chapter companion for North of Boston by Robert Frost.

## What happens

The speaker describes the annual spring ritual of repairing a stone wall with his neighbor. While the speaker questions the necessity of the wall, noting that his apple trees will not cross into the neighbor's pines, the neighbor simply repeats the adage 'Good fences make good neighbours.' The poem explores the tension between questioning tradition and accepting it without thought.

## Themes in this chapter

### Tradition vs. Change

The speaker challenges the necessity of the wall, while the neighbor clings to the inherited saying 'Good fences make good neighbours,' highlighting the conflict between questioning tradition and following it blindly.

### Communication and Misunderstanding

The speaker and neighbor fail to truly communicate; the speaker's doubts are met only with a repeated proverb, showing a barrier in understanding between them.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The speaker who initiates the wall mending and questions its purpose.

### Unknown Narrator 2

The neighbor who insists on maintaining the wall, repeating the proverb 'Good fences make good neighbours.'

## Key lines

> Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, And spills the upper boulders in the sun;

There is a natural force that dislikes walls, causing the frozen ground to heave and topple the top stones.

_The speaker observes that nature itself works against the wall's permanence._

> He only says, “Good fences make good neighbours.”

The neighbor simply repeats the old saying that well-maintained boundaries lead to good relationships.

_The neighbor's unchanging response underscores his adherence to tradition._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/north_of_boston_se/chapters/mending-wall
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/north_of_boston_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/north_of_boston_se/chapters