Klein

Medaille students read the following readings that dealt, on some level, with “fences” either physical or metaphorical. Robert Frost “Mending Wall” Naomi Klein “Fences of Enclosure, Windows of Possibility” C. M. Mayo “El Halloween and the Dia de Muertos”

Then they were asked to respond to the following question. The Kadir Has students are invited to give their responses, when and where they can:

Each of these authors treat the theme of "fences" metaphorically. (In fact, Klein even acknowledges that she sees the idea of fences as a theme. Compare/contrast the various metaphorical meanings of fences. You might also want to consider the fences that influence you and yourr life.

Brimarie143: All three authors have differnt points of view on what the meaning of a fence is. Maybe they are different because they all have different fences surrounding them in thier lives and the ones that are mentioned are the ones that affect them the most. Some are ecconomical others are emotional. However, Naomi Klein said in her story, "All these fences are connected: the real ones, made of steel and razor wire, are needed to enforce the virtual ones the put resources and wealth out of the hands of so many." I agree with Klein because with one fence being knocked down another one has to be put up. I have had sumerous fences in my life. One of them was built when I was in middle school. People betrayed me and for that i put up a barrier of trust. I didn't trust anyone, no matter if they were one of my good friends. To this day it is still hard to trust people 100% but it is getting easier because now i know what kind of people to associate myslef with. I still have a fence up it just has a few holes and gates in it and it is low enough where i can jump over it if i need to.

Chris Waclawski: I believe Robert Frost's poem was more straight foward than Klein's and Mayo's readings. Frost's "Mending Wall" mentioned an actual wall being built to divide neighbors. Mayo mentions many fences and I believe most of them are fences caused by environmental or social problems. In the reading Xantus stated, "Near my camp is at present a perfect desolation, I killed everything." This shows the "fence" betweem him and nature. I believe Naomi Klein's reading was dealing with the economic "fences". It shows that capitalism and fences go together. Private individuals would hold on to wealth being fenced in. I think a social fence is the one that most affects me. Sometimes it feels like I'm blocked in with no time to socialize or go out with friends. My days are occupied with school, work, soccer, homework, and a much need nights sleep. However, i do occasionaly hang out with friends, I just need to find the time to hop the fence.

Emilee430: I agree with Chris's statement about the reading. The reading from Mayo, right at the beginning states "yet meet we shall... on lips of living men." I believe says a lot about how people come in and out of our lives, getting through the economical fences that we are faced with. Also keeping people out but in the end we will all meet and be able to talk about issues and topics that you kept inside only to learn that your neighbor may have had the same economical or social problems/ issues. Another quote that I liked was “live to surf, surf to live” on page 115. I liked that quote because I believe that everyone should do what they love when they are alive. If you need to build fences, then you can but make sure you put a gate in there so you can let people in. In the poem “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost he speaks more as the fences actually being physical and in the line Good Fences Make Good Neighbors you can build a fence with no cracks, 10 feet tall or you can put up a picket fence with a nice gate and create the relationships that you choose. Its all how you approach the situations that you are given.

RMC58: I agree with Emilee in that the reading from Mayo seems to be talking about fences through an economic standpoint. The author talks about the children on Halloween and their homemade costumes, it shows how they make do with what they have. This deals with fences because these are the lives of people trying to overlook the economic differences from them and the people on the other side of the fence. Take for instance, "the grass is always greener on the other side." These people have to live on the side of the less fortunate. "Mending Wall" is the more literal meaning of fences. Fences create a gap between people. The author questions why fences make good neighbors. Almost taking offense to the nature of a fence between what are called "good neighbors."

Tmt43: Robert Frost views fences in the more literal sense. Fences are a way to keep people out and act as barriers. Mayo and Klein view fences in a more metaphorical scense. Klein explains "economical fences," while Mayo sees fences more as themes. Depending on where you are in your life and your own personal situations, fences can be/symbolize almost anything. There can even be "sub-fences" within the main fences of your life. I personally put up a fence/barrier in order to protect myself from getting emotionally hurt. I have a gate on my fence which allows me to let who I want to come through and who I want to stay out. I am still part of an "social fence," hang out with friends and family, I just try to steer clear of the drama that can come along with it. Having that fence acting as a controllable boundry helps me do that.