Mending Wall

1. In line 6, “them” refers to

• a. “boulders” (line 3)

• b. “gaps” (line 4)

• c. “two” (line 4)

• d. “hunters” (line 5)

• e. dogs” (line 9)

2. How does the speaker’s repetition of the neighbor’s cherished belief about the importance of walls (lines 27 and 45) convey the poem’s criticism of an undesirable social pattern?

• a. The speaker uses the neighbor as an example of what happens when people are too isolated from one another.

• b. The speaker imagines a conversation in which the neighbor openly expresses his hostility toward other people.

• c. The speaker suggests that the neighbor thinks of the task of mending as a game to illustrate the neighbor’s belief in strict social rules.

• d. The speaker describes the neighbor’s superstitious beliefs about elves in order to characterize him as uncivilized and misguided.

• e. The speaker treats the neighbor’s words about fences as evidence of a worldview that is closed-minded in general.

3. Line 28 (“Spring . . . wonder”) most clearly marks a shift in the speaker’s focus from the practical task at hand to

• a. planning ahead for future uses of the land

• b. enjoying the beauty of the day instead of working

• c. reflection on his long friendship with the neighbor

• d. speculation about the nature of fences and boundaries

• e. uneasiness about the influence of supernatural forces

4. In line 40 (“like . . . armed”), the speaker uses a simile to draw attention to the contrast between

• a. attitudes toward tedious labor

• b. solutions to a long-standing problem

• c. two distinct perspectives of the world

• d. personal beliefs about honorable conduct

• e. opposing sides in a controversy

5. The repetition of line 1 (“Something . . . wall”) in line 35 most clearly reflects the speaker’s

• a. forceful attempt to make sure that the neighbor hears what he has to say

• b. involuntary tendency to repeat himself in conversations with the neighbor

• c. unfulfilled impulse to share his personal reflections with the neighbor

• d. inescapable guilt about the damage he has caused to the landscape

• e. uneasy feeling about the unexplained events that have occurred on his property

6. In the context of the poem, which image most fully reflects the speaker’s disapproval of the neighbor’s attitudes?

• a. “gaps even two can pass abreast” (line 4)

• b. “the boulders that have fallen” (line 16)

• c. “He is all pine” (line 24)

• d. “He moves in darkness” (line 41)

• e. “the shade of trees” (line 42)