ENGL 1302- 03
16 September 2011 Gambling With Stones
It is sad that in reality and in literature, love and cherish thy neighbor is only a fantasy. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a prime example of violence and cruelty as a major theme. Also take note in the cruelty of the citizens by their unwillingness to stand up and oppose “The Lottery.” Then, in Robert Frost’s Mending Wall, one learns of hermetical neighbors who are obsessed with keeping a wall of privacy at their property line. Do “good fences make good neighbors”, or are people’s views on “love thy neighbor” truly jaded?
Jackson's fiction is noted for exploring incongruities in everyday life, and “The Lottery”, perhaps her most exemplary work in this respect, examines humanity's capacity for evil within a contemporary, familiar, American setting. Noting that the story’s characters, physical environment, and even its climactic action lacks significant …show more content…
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. Frost'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"