People set up personal boundaries for many reasons. For some it is to keep out neighbors or animals, yet for others it is to keep something in, such as young children or a promiscuous wife with a wandering eye. In the poem by Robert Frost, both Robert and his neighbor have a wall made out of stone between their homes. Because the wall is made out of stone, it somehow breaks down and needs to be mended during the spring time. I believe that the wall is both physical and mental and I will tell you why.
Perhaps it is a physical wall, and because of frost heaves and animals stepping on the wall, the stones become misplaced. Or perhaps it is a mental wall that is broken down over the winter months because of a lack of communication between the neighbors. Perhaps all the hurtful things that were said and all the untruths that were told were forgotten over the winter and when the two neighbors returned in the spring, they were able to remember exactly why they disliked each other so much. I know that the wall is described in detail throughout the poem as something physical. However, as I have said before, I believe the neighbors have two walls, one that is physical and one that is mental. It only seems suitable that if an owner does not want anyone else to encroach on there property, the wall they are setting up between themselves and the rest of the world is mental. It also seems as though Robert does not want the wall but his neighbor insists on having one. So if in fact I am right about the wall being physical and mental, perhaps Robert is the culprit who has engaged in something that has caused the neighbor to distrust him. Maybe Robert has done something that has made his neighbor fear for his personal safety. It seems that would be the only logical reason to put up a wall. Something must have happened in the past that made Robert’s neighbor put up that wall; something that happened a long time ago. The deed that had occurred