The common theme of borders and isolation is threaded throughout all four of these pieces. However, each portray boundaries differently, ranging from chaotic, fearful, and uncertain to almost magical and peaceful.
The piece written by Jane Jacobs, "The Death and Life of Great American Cities," describes the borders of the city as something that almost destroys the city as a whole. Jacobs writes, "The root trouble with borders...is that they are apt to form dead ends for most users of city streets. They represent...barriers." Jacobs talks a lot about how these barriers don't allow the city to become a whole. Jacobs makes the feeling that a city with so many barriers and boundaries can almost create something like chaos, and most certainly should not be so prominent.
The "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost seems to describe these certain boundaries as something that divides two things, or neighbors, that are different. Robert Frost writes "He is all pine and I am apple orchard," inferring that "He" is different than himself. Moreover, Robert Frost seems to write with almost uncertainty about why there is this wall or border. He writes, "Before I built a wall I'd ask to know, What I was walling in or walling out." However, Robert Frost does seem to imply that these boundaries are not necessarily a bad thing, no matter how uncertain he is, when he writes that "good fences make good neighbors" repeatedly. This poem seems to portray many different ideas about borders, which keeps it interesting.
The poem "The Game" by Judith Ortiz Cofer describes a little girl that is totally isolated from society except for her one friend, the narrator. This little girl seems to be shunned from society because she is a "humpbacked girl" and her family seems to be almost ashamed as her mother is an "unsmiling woman." This isolation or boundary drawn between the little girl and society is given a very negative connotation, making the girl seem sad and lonely. For when the narrator comes over to play pretend, it is only then that this little girl is laughing and enjoying life. This poem probably has the most touching meaning of what it is like to be isolated in human society. Just because this little girl is different, she is totally cut off from society, and it is an awful experience for her.
The last poem, "Slam, Dunk, and Hook" seems to have a different perspective of boundaries. It seems as though once this character begans to play this game of basketball, he is separated from the world in that he is in his own world -- his world is focused on this game. The writer seems to create this ambiance of magic, making some parts seem almost unreal. Komunkyakaa writes, "Created, we could almost last forever, poised in midair." It seems as though once this basketball player is in the game, the only things that he is noticing is the game and its immediate surroundings. Moreover, this isolation from the world around him while he is in the game seems to be a good thing. The poet uses the words like "joy" and "beautiful" to describe what the person feels when playing this game. This boundary from reality is seen as something to almost look foward to.
All four of these pieces portray isolation within borders as something slightly different. Jane Jacobs describes a city with barriers within it that create a divided, unhappy city. Frost writes of boundaries being almost uncertain, yet maybe not such a bad thing. Cofer presents a little lonely deformed girl to show that isolation can be cruel. And Komunkyakaa shows a step away from reality and being in one's own world as something spectacular.