Human beings as a whole put up many sorts of borders: borders in the sense of physical structures, uncrossed imaginary lines, or even pre-judgments that are labeled onto others.
Within the writing of Jane Jacobs’ The Death and Life of Great American Cities, she avidly analyzes the presence of the uncrossed imaginary lines in cities. These borders are neither physical structures nor are they areas where citizens aren’t allowed, but rather they are areas where people don’t go; areas that are in between neighborhoods, on the outskirts of industrial buildings, or just outside a park. These borders are roads that people don’t walk on after dusk, are found within a few blocks of a bad neighborhood, or even areas near the train tracks. After assessing the many boundaries, it’s clear that they spring from fear. People don’t feel safe in certain neighborhoods or in a park at night. The borders are put up to create a sense of security.
Most of the borders built are done so to separate people. In Judith Ortiz Cofer’s The Game, she makes reference to the way society shuns a little girl because she is different. The girl is humpbacked and, therefore, seen as an outsider to society; she isn’t accepted. The author even portrays the young girl’s mere existence as a burden to her family by making reference to the spine that’s “twisted into the symbol of the family’s shame.” The girl lives a melancholy life where her only joy comes from playing “family” with her neighbor. The neighbor, being just a child as well, happily plays pretend in the yard. Unfortunately, the author foreshadows the role of society at the end by stating, “…lost in the game, until it started getting too late to play pretend.” The writer ends with a hint that eventually the thoughts of the masses lead the neighbor to judge the girl, and, therefore, put up a boundary.
Yusef Komunyakaa interprets borders differently within Slam, Dunk, and Hook. Instead of the conventional stance that we build boundaries to keep out others, Komunyakaa makes reference to the boundary that is naturally instilled during competitive sports. Through a very lyrical and mystic description of basketball, the author depicts the way an athlete goes into his own world; a world that is just he and the game. It’s a place that’s filled with a sense of magic and beauty. It’s not a bad boundary or one that separates, but rather one that allows the athlete to concentrate.
Once again, Robert Frost makes mention of literal walls in human nature in Mending Wall. He depicts the living situation between him and his neighbor, and the wall that they have built between them. The purpose of the boundary is not necessarily of a bad nature, but rather one of privacy. It’s a wall that separates property and difference. The boundaries that Frost speaks of are simply physical separations that lead to “good neighbors.”
Society puts up many borders inside of itself. These borders separate everything from private properties, to unsafe areas, to those who are different. Many authors have interpreted these boundaries and included them within prose. Borders have been analyzed and seen as everything from literal to figurative. All in all, the main purpose of borders is to separate, and that’s exactly what they do.