The other side of the hedge

The other side of the Hedge Plot and settings


The other side of the hedge plot and settings
Personally, I feel I am attached to this story. In a sense, my religious value seems to correspond with this plot. The story line of this story is a little simple because it sticks to analogical order. But even so, the transition from a life on earth to a life in Heaven fascinates readers. As for the setting, there are three parts: (a) struggle to achieve earthly goal, which is expressed in a race competition. (b) harsh and painful ordeal to get to Heaven, which is illustrated as going through the hedge while all the things are scraped and clothes are torn to pieces. (c) Life in Heaven after being purified in water just like being baptized, which is explained as being pulled out after falling into water by someone.
To get further understanding of this story, it is important to grasp the hidden meanings and symbols in the context.
First, the title of the story ‘the other side of the hedge’ seems to have some symbolic metaphor. Most readers may doubt with curiosity what the other side of the hedge means. The word ‘hedge’ is used as the border between two different world. So readers might well guess that there are two different spaces and activities occurring in and out between the hedge.
If the one side is a life on earth, then the other side is a life in Heaven. Then the hedge must be the gate or border to Heaven. Everyone cannot return once she goes through the hedge. Going through the border means to abandon the life on earth, which means death. Then why the narrator wants to go through the hedge? Because he was so tired and weary of the race and he wants to give up. As he slid off the land mark and lay to sit down, he breathed a puff of fresh air blown from the other side of the hedge and a glint of light through boughs and dead leaves caught his eyes. This is so amazing because the author is depicting the gesture of death symbolically.
As for pedometer, a small gadget which measures how far you have walked, it has also defining metaphor. If the race competition is a life journey where people struggle to go without no particular purpose, the pedometer may be the span of your life.
In the first setting, people are passing by, some jeering the narrator and others urging him to go on. But the narrator is too overburdened to walk on. Many people already dropped many things on the road because they are too heavy for the journey. Here there is a very instructive allegory that says those who carry small things can go on the journey more easily than those who carry too many things.
The story of his brother who spends his time singing and entertaining others and lags behind is also giving readers some moral lesson. He must be the person who sacrificed his life to help the poor and hapless. But the narrator didn’t realize it and says that he had lived more wisely than his brother because he is still carrying on the journey. The narrator was so contaminated in the earthly world that he couldn’t grasp the value of life on earth. So, later when he went through the hedge of death, he would have to experience the pain; his face was scratched by the thorn of the boughs, his clothes torn to pieces and his thing being scraped. These things must be the punishment for what he had done during his life time. And then he falls into the water which will purify him from all kinds of dirt and evils in his life time. His life will be revived as a new person after being baptized and pulled out by someone. He must be as new as a baby with a beautiful soul.
But, still in half conscious mind, he sees around, only to find that the new place seem to be no better than a prison because there is no exit. The pond that he fell in turned out to be a moat which goes from south to west with no end. Even though all the people are very happy and enjoying their lives singing and greeting, the narrator seems not to be satisfied. Even he seems to be ungrateful to the person who saved him. Is it dangerous to guess that a person who has an evil mind is not changed after being baptized? Or human beings are destined to be born incomplete nature of personality and are hard to improve?
In describing the scenery of the Heaven, we can guess the author’s view of the Heaven. Everyone may have different image of the Heaven when he dreams of his Heaven. The author’s Heaven seems to be modest but in good harmony in which people and nature mingle with each other. They are eager to help him and look very happy. There are no luxurious jewels and delicious food, either. It seems to make sense because those who came to the Heaven are all the people who have lived their lives without greed and vanity.
When it comes to the bridge, readers can infer that those who lived their sacrificial lives like his brother may come to Heaven through the bridge without going through the pain of the thorn. But I guess the author doesn’t mean that all the people can reach the Heaven regardless of their good or bad behavior during the life on earth. This short story seems to be based on Christian morality. So we can predict that Heaven might be reached by those who admire God and try to obey His Words.