What does it mean when neighbors say good fences make good neighbors?

Category: books and literature poetry
4/5 (1,365 Views . 38 Votes)
Good fences make good neighbors. Good neighbors respect one another's property. Good farmers, for example, maintain their fences in order to keep their livestock from wandering onto neighboring farms. This proverb appears in the poem “Mending Wall,” by Robert Frost.



Accordingly, what does the Neighbour mean by good fences make good Neighbours?

This means that it is better for people to mind their own business and to respect the privacy of others.

One may also ask, do fences make good neighbors essay? Good Fences Make Good Neighbors. Fence is necessary to keep the privacy of any land. A fence gives some sort of separation to both the houses. Too much friendliness may make a person poke his nose into other people's private affairs.

Subsequently, one may also ask, where did the saying good fences make good neighbors come from?

One place it can be found is in Poor Richard's Almanack by Benjamin Franklin. His version is: “Love your neighbor; yet don't pull down your hedge.” It's interesting that the specific wording of the proverb, “Good fences make good neighborsis fairly modern. It comes from Robert Frost's poem Mending Wall from 1914.

What does the neighbor say in mending wall?

The neighbor's favorite saying is “good fences make good neighbors.” The speaker's neighbor believes that neighbors should have fences between them. He seems to think there should be separation, and he would rather stay away from his neighbor in order to avoid conflict. He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."

29 Related Question Answers Found

Why does the speaker disagree with his neighbor about the fence?

"Good fences make good neighbors" means, on the one hand, that the fence has divided the neighbors' properties. It keeps everything neat and clean and prevents any conflict from occurring. It is for this reason that the speaker disagrees with the idea that "good fences make good neighbors."

What are good neighbors?

Good Neighbors Are Friendly
A good neighbor is someone who is nice and approachable. No one says you have to be best friends with the person across the hall, but you should at least be able to smile and say hello to the person and receive some sort of friendly response, as opposed to a glare or simply being ignored.

What is the irony in mending wall?

Perhaps the greatest irony in the poem "Mending Wall " is that the speaker continues to help rebuild the wall even as he realizes he disagrees with its presence. As the poem progresses, the speaker notes how all sorts of natural forces, like the ground and animals, conspire to take down the wall each winter.

How does the Neighbour justify the need for walls or fences?

How does the neighbour justify the need for walls prefences? Answer: The neighbour justifies the need for walls or fences saying that 'Good fences make good neighbours. This is perhaps the most important line of the poem and is repeated at the end of the poem.

What is the message of the Mending Wall?


A widely accepted theme of "The Mending Wall" concerns the self-imposed barriers that prevent human interaction. In the poem, the speaker's neighbor keeps pointlessly rebuilding a wall; more than benefitting anyone, the fence is harmful to their land. But the neighbor is relentless in its maintenance, nonetheless.

What is the difference between the speaker's view of the wall and his neighbor's view of it?

What is different about the way the speaker and the neighbor view the wall? The speaker views the wall as a way to "mend" the friendship between he and his neighbor, but the neighbor sees it as something that should be used to keep them apart.

What is the conflict in mending wall?

The conflict in "Mending Wall" develops as the speaker reveals more and more of himself while portraying a native Yankee and responding to the regional spirit he embodies. The opposition between observer and observed--and the tension produced by the observer's awareness of the difference--is crucial to the poem.

What does the term mending fences mean?

Definition of mend fences. : to improve or repair a relationship that has been damaged by an argument or disagreement She mended fences with her father. She and her father are trying to mend their fences. After the election, he spent a lot of time mending political fences.

Which lines from mending wall best indicate that the speaker is amused while repairing the wall?


The lines from "Mending Wall" that best indicate that the speaker is amused while repairing the wall are these ones: We have to use a spell to make them balance: / "Stay where you are until our backs are turned!" This sentence shows the playfulness in the narrator's voice, as opposed to other lines that are far more

What does something there is that doesn't love a wall mean?

He says “something there is that doesn't love a wall” to create an essence of mystery in the very beginning and to refer to someone who is a mysterious person or creature or force which is trying to break the wall.

What does the phrase one on a side mean?

He is all pine and I am apple orchard. What does the phrase "one on a side" mean? The neighbor repairs his side of the wall while the speaker watches. The speaker and the neighbor repair the wall from the same side. The speaker repairs his side of the wall while the neighbor watches.

Who is the speaker of the Mending Wall?

The poem "Mending wall" by Robert Frost is about two rural neighbors that had a wall that separate them. The speaker is the apple orchard owner, as can be noted by the lines "He is all pine and I am apple orchard. My apple trees will never get across".

What is the darkness in mending wall?

The wall's origins are dark; the reasons to maintain it are dark -- no light illuminates the reasoning used by the neighbor who so wants to maintain the wall. Robert Frost's "Mending Wall" consists of an argument between the narrator about the need for a stone wall that separates their two properties.

What is the main difference between Sandburg's fog and Frost's Mending Wall?


The main difference between Sandburg'sFog” and Frost's "Mending Wall" is "Fog" uses metaphor, while "Mending Wall" does not. "Fog" is most likely Carl Sandburg's best-known poem and has been a prevalent decision for examine since it was first distributed in Chicago Poems in 1916.

How do you repair a fence?

It's a great time to mend fences.

5 Tips for Mending Fences in Your Relationships
  1. Remember the Good. Quit focusing on what went wrong.
  2. Reach Out. Don't let pride tell you that they need to make the first move.
  3. Apologize.
  4. Talk.
  5. Follow Up.