Do good fences really make good neighbors?

The ambiguity of race in the story was very telling, and Jones, by slowly introducing the theme, captured the reader to figure out such complexities. Language, word choice, and tone reflect one’s education level, economic status, and life style, and this story utilizes the power of language in a very interesting way. It is not only used to confuse and intrigue the reader, but also to present how such a minute thing such as how one talks can distinguish the “good neighbors” from the “bad”. 

After finishing the story, one moment especially stuck in my head, one of disappointment and disdain, “Neil and [Sharon's] brother forever had the look of true believers who had to start every sad morning by learning all over again that the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus did not exist (Jones, 73).” Sharon equates the new neighbors with her family member on the first page, and I did not realize how significant and prophetic that was until the end of the story. It set the reader up to expect disappointment from things that appear one way with what may actually be something else entirely. Furthermore, the non-linear structure of the story mirrors a sort of memory, leaping forward and hypothesizing about how events could have taken place “in another universe” while telling the long drawn out story about a neighborhood block. When Sharon spoke to Derek it was the first time the audience got colloquial cues as to what race the Benningtons may be, especially through Derek’s outright use of Ebonics. It wasn’t until after the fight between Terance and Derek that I realized it was internal racism, blacks versus blacks, and from there the line was drawn between the good and bad neighbors. But Sharon never made such a distinction, she was different, more accepting, from the quote about Neil and her brother, to being the only neighbor to answer the door. Most importantly, the quote introduces a tone of remorse and sadness, a type of coming of age story where innocence is shattered and people are never fully understood. I wonder if it was Jones' intention to portray Sharon as a soft spoken hero type caught in society's misconceptions who never was able to find her voice, or whether Sharon was meant to portray weakness and corruption.