Three different texts, but all seem to have similar themes or the same ideas. In the texts, the authors try to convey a similar message. This message deals with tradition. They all talk about why the following tradition isn’t always the right thing to do. Saki shows following a family tradition can lead to death in “The ,” Meanwhile, Thornton Wilder shows how quickly life passes us by when we simply go through the motions in Our Town. Finally, Robert Frost questions following traditions with a reason in the “Mending Wall.
” Although they all do a great job of delivering this message to the audience, I believe that Robert Frost does the best job supporting the theme with his poem.
In the mending wall, two neighbors meet every year to repair a stone wall to separate their properties. They do this even though neither one of them need to separate their properties due to the fact that they have no livestock.
Frost believes that the wall shouldn’t exist. The neighbor believes that the wall is necessary for them to have a relationship. The neighbor states “Good fences make good neighbors.” Throughout the text, the narrator tries to convince his neighbor that the wall isn’t necessary. The neighbor insists that “Good fences make good neighbors.” And just end up following the tradition of the stone wall.
In Grover’s Corners, everything is always being repeated. The same daily routines repeat every day, the way the day starts, the way the mothers fix breakfast.
Each day these overlooked routines become more and more important as I learn the value of the little things in life. You can start to see the importance of these little details throughout the play. This relates to the overall theme of tradition that is conveyed in all three texts.
Saki talks about two characters fighting over land because of tradition. Because of their actions and arguments, the feud leads them to death. Since they were young, these men hated each other due to the constant beef over land. This happened once again because of tradition. Their hate towards each other was basically programmed just because their ancestors had this feud.
In conclusion, I believe Robert Frost did the best job conveying the theme. He shows how tradition can be somewhat silly. He uses a fence that has no reason of being there to prove his point. All three authors did a good job of making it clear what the theme was. Tradition can be unnecessary, it can be overlooked, and it could also lead to fatality. At the end of the day, tradition can either have a positive or negative impact. It’s up to you to decide if it’s the right thing to follow or even push it aside.