Stone Walls

       The literary works of Mending Walls by Robert Frost, Accident, Mass. Ave. by Jill McDonough, Learning to Read by Frances E.W. Harper, The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice in American Jesuit Higher Education by Peter-Hans Kolvenbach and Stephen Graham Jones explicitly present and question the idea of relationships.  Each speaker unites, but separates his/her audience.  As we start to consider the key elements in these works, we begin to subconsciously reflect on the relationships in our lives.  These complex ideas lead us to a larger realm concerning the purpose and value of boundaries.      

      Mending Walls, one of Robert Frost’s most popular poems, tells the tale of stone wall which sits between two properties.  Something continuously strikes this rock wall.  A captivating aspect of Mending Walls is its mystery.  What begins as a mission to find the wall-destroyer ends in a reflection on boundaries. 

      

      Accident, Mass. Ave., a narrative poem written by Jill McDonough, explores human nature and its tendency to lead us towards or away from rationality.  Although practical, Accident, Mass. Ave. uses colloquial language to illustrate various emotions, a direct reflection of Boston natives.  The poem is simple, yet concise.  

     Learning to Read, written by Francis E. W. Harper, an African American poet, emphasizes the community benefits of former slaves.  Chloe, Harper’s character, stresses that even during their darker days, slaves “would try and steal / a little from the book, / and learn by hook or crook.”  The climax of the poem celebrates life after the Civil War.  This narrative illuminates the Caucasian teachers who traveled south to establish schools for the women, children and men.               

      In Peter-Hans Kolvenbach’s, The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice in American Jesuit Higher Education, he narrows in on the Jesuit System of Learning.  Concerns that govern faith and justice eventually lead to the topic of relationships.  Kolvenbach guides his presentation along the slopes of building a community of united constituents. 

      Stephen Graham Jones, talented in his writings, anoints literature with a fictional twist.  His works are substantially efficient and encompass universal values. 

      The mentioned literary works are undoubtedly pertinent to one another.  Through language, Robert Frost, Jill McDonough, Frances E. W. Harper, Peter-Han Kolvenbach and Stephen Graham Jones propose the importance of questioning our truths, enabling humanity to question you.