Question

mending wall
robert frost

1something there is that doesnt love a wall,
that sends the frozen - ground - swell under it,
and spills the upper boulders in the sun;
and makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
5the work of hunters is another thing:
i have come after them and made repair
where they have left not one stone on a stone,
but they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
to please the yelping dogs. the gaps i mean,
10no one has seen them made or heard them made,
but at spring mending - time we find them there.
i let my neighbor know beyond the hill;
and on a day we meet to walk the line
and set the wall between us once again.
15we keep the wall between us as we go.
to each the boulders that have fallen to each.
and some are loaves and some so nearly balls
we have to use a spell to make them balance:
\stay where you are until our backs are turned!\
20we wear our fingers rough with handling them.

what can the reader infer about the speaker and his neighbor?
a the speaker and his neighbor are both against building walls.
b the speaker and his neighbor are both in favor of building walls.
c the speaker is in favor of building walls, while the neighbor is more skeptical.
d the neighbor is in favor of building walls, while the speaker is more skeptical.

choose two quotes from the poem which portray the neighbor as misguided and misinformed.
a he only says, \good fences make good neighbors.\
b spring is the mischief in me, and i wonder
if i could put a notion in his head

Explanation:

First Question (What can the reader infer...):

In "Mending Wall", the speaker questions the need for the wall ("Something there is that doesn't love a wall") while the neighbor adheres to the old adage "Good fences make good neighbors" and is in favor of building walls. So the neighbor is for walls, the speaker is skeptical. Option D matches this: "The neighbor is in favor of building walls, while the speaker is more skeptical."

The quote "He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbors'" shows the neighbor relies on a traditional, perhaps unexamined, view about walls, portraying him as misguided in his unthinking adherence.

Quote B:

"Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder / If I could put a notion in his head" shows the speaker's skepticism and the neighbor's lack of questioning (since the speaker has to wonder about putting a notion in his head), implying the neighbor is misinformed/misguided.

Answer:

D. The neighbor is in favor of building walls, while the speaker is more skeptical.

Second Question (Choose two quotes...):

Quote A: