The Mending Wall

Part 1A: Which two of the following best identify the central theme of this poem?

• "the importance of boundaries" and "questioning the status quo"

• "human connection" and "the importance of boundaries"

• "questioning the status quo" and "human connection

Part B: Which two phrases from the text best support the answers to Part 1A?

• "Good fences make good neighbors" and "There where it is we do not need the wall:/ He is all pine and I am apple orchard"

• "There where it is we do not need the wall:/ He is all pine and I am apple orchard" and "Before I built a wall I'd ask to know / What I was walling in or walling out, / And to whom I was like to give offense"

• "Good fences make good neighbors" and "Before I built a wall I'd ask to know / What I was walling in or walling out, / And to whom I was like to give offense"

Part 2A: What does the word "spell" most closely mean as it is used in line 18?

• command

• hex

• moment

• fascination

Part B: Which phrase from the text best supports the answer to Part 2A?

• "To each the boulders that have fallen to each"

• "And some are loaves and some so nearly balls"

• "to make them balance"

• "Stay where you are until our backs are turned!"

Do you think the speaker's attitude toward the wall changes throughout the poem, or does he question its necessity from the beginning?

• Yes, the author initially is confused about the need of the wall, but comes to see its importance by the end of the poem.

• No, from the beginning of the poem the author harbors the idea that there is something that doesn’t want a wall in place, but he only becomes vocal about it nearing the end of the poem.

The speaker says that his neighbor "will not go behind his father's saying" that "Good fences make good neighbors." In the context of this poem, what are the effects of being a follower?

• The poem shows that followers get stuck in nonsensical traditions and have retrogressive mindsets.

• This poem shows that followers are more willing to get rid of traditional boundaries to encourage human connection.

Despite the speaker's insistence toward the end of the poem that they do not need a fence, the neighbor refuses to consider change. In the context of this poem, why do people resist change?

• People resist change because they know that traditional methods are always the best ones.

• People simply do what they have always done because it is easier to just accept things the way that the currently are.