Throughout all three poems and the chapter from Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs there is a constant idea of boundaries. In “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost there is a fence which creates a boundary between neighbors. Then, in “Slam, Dunk, & Hook” by Yusef Komunyakaa there is the concept of the boundary between the speakers team and the team he is playing against. Next, in “The Game” by Judith Ortiz Cofer the main boundary represented is between reality and fantasy. Lastly, in the designated chapter in the book by Death and Life of Great American Cities Jacobs discusses the idea of border vacuums. In this case, the boundary continually increases, creating problems for the inscribed town and even the neighboring areas. Although some of the poems do not clearly show a strong example of boundaries, they are still evident even from an abstract level.
When comparing the ideas of boundaries to Loyola College and the city of Baltimore there are a few examples that come to mind. For example, right on campus here at Loyola College there are numerous buildings and dormitories with walkways connecting them. In a way, these walkways and paths represent boundaries or borders and the buildings and dormitories represent the towns. As Jacobs said in Death and Life of Great American Cities as night time comes around, the areas that are subject to the border vacuum lack a sufficient amount of civilians. In city areas this leads to robberies and other crimes. On campus, around night time, there are few students around the walkways because for the most part they are in their dormitories. Although it rarely happens, this is the time where students are most vulnerable to those who could cause them harm. Also, a direct connection to the chapter we read in the book could be the borders of districts in the city. These areas can become some of the dangerous in the city because of the lack of presence of citizens and police. The idea of boundaries separating us is a very important one and it is important for all to understand why.
Greg Metzger
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