Ashlynn Deitz Student # 200333250 English 100 Dorothy Lane March 1, 2013

Where Are They Now?

A man just trying to get some sleep late at night, all he can hear behind the wall is screaming. How terrifying this must be. To scared to go next door, for the fear of getting involved in someone else’s personal business. Knowing the police are around should make you feel safe, but most of the time if they come at all it’s too late. Tracy Chapman’s Behind the Wall, was a very intense poem on how you can hear your neighbors fighting through the walls. What do you do in this kind of circumstance? Do you call the police or do you just try to ignore what is going on behind the wall? Most people call the police, as that this is the most effective and appropriate way to end this screaming noise. One can only hope that if you call the police, they will help you and or the situation you are in. “It won’t do no good to call the police always come late if they come at all” (LL 5-7). A policeman is supposed to be there for your safety and your concerns. If you cannot sleep at night and the police cannot help you, there is not much you can do, but lie there and listen to the loud screaming coming through the walls. Sleepless nights affect you personally and can ruin your whole day. Since there is so much noise, there must have been an effective way for the police to get involved. “They say they can’t interfere with domestic affairs between a man and his wife” (LL 9-11). The police cannot interfere. Caught behind the wall you feel like it will be your fault if something harmful happens. This is a continuous situation, there should be a law to keep the peace within a marriage. Domestic affairs often end with someone hospitalized or in jail. The police need to take action with these affairs before dramatic outcomes occur. You would think that it would be enough when a neighbor calls to end it all, but is not. Domestic abuse outcomes can get extremely terrifying. “I prayed I was dreaming when I saw the ambulance in the road”(LL 16-17). The police didn’t listen, yet they knew what was happening. This all could have been avoided if only there was a law that would let the police get involved in such a domestic, hostile event. The man behind the wall must fell like there could have been