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Walden, or Life in the Woods
Henry David Thoreau
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from Economy Introductory section Made a living by my own hands
“I trust that none will stretch the seams in putting on the coat, for it may do good service to him whom it fits…” Do not stretch the philosophy, if it works for you so be it
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from Economy Thoreau bought James Collins’ house for $4.25
Seeley steels his nails and spikes Compares the human to animal, in that they both act out of survival He soon knocked it down and built his own He makes an allusion to the city of Troy
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from Economy Root cellars Pits in the ground
Used for storage of root vegetables (i.e. carrots) They kept the vegetables cool and the animals away during the winter Human is one with nature
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from Economy “There is some of the same fitness in a man’s building his own house that there is in a bird’s building its own nest… But alas! We do like the cowbirds and cuckoos, which lay their eggs in nests which other birds have built, and cheer no traveler with their chattering and unmusical notes.”
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from Economy His profit was in the time he could focus on his soul and pondering Thoreau’s crops = $14.72 ½ Farmers’ crops = $23.44 /2 $8.71 1/2
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from Where I Lived
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from Where I Lived “I wanted to live deep and suck out the marrow of life…” “Our life is frittered away by detail. An honest man has hardly need to count more then his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!”
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from Where I Lived “If we do not get out sleepers, and forge rails, and devote days and nights to work, but go to tinkering our lives to improve them, who will build railroads?”
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from Where I Lived Railroad workers give their lives to the building of railroad, which, actually ride over them. Workers are not in control of what they create but instead are being controlled by it.
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from Solitude Thoreau enjoyed watching and listening to the rain from his doorway “I have found that no exertion of the legs can bring two minds much nearer to one another”
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from Solitude Thoreau argues that solitude is not created by physical distance between people but distance between their points of view Solitude in nature brings us to the source of all life *This is the advantage solitude in nature gives us
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from The Bean Field “I came to love my rows, my beans, though so many more I wanted. They attached me to the earth, and so I got strength like Antaeus.” Thoreau is studying beans and wanting to know all about them What is he trying to say here?
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from The Bean Field Weeding a bean field = fighting a war
He, himself, is a warrior He is trying to add self-mocking humor Many people do battle weeds; he is also pointing out the heroic qualities of daily labor
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from Brute Neighbors A war between red ants and black ants
Red republicans and the black imperialists Personification – human characteristics to inanimate objects Page 200 red ant is a warrior who has not yet been in battle, or has been victorious like Achilles
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from Brute Neighbors Thoreau suggests the ants are fighting for a principle He wants to add humor Also suggesting that humans should fight for a worthy principle, not because of petty things Point of view – First and objective mixed; sounds like a war reporter or correspondent
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from Brute Neighbors Loon 10 men to one loon
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from Brute Neighbors Loon = a person’s meaning of their existence
Always going beneath the surface Man has to guess where it will pop up again Also a reflection of the relationship of humans to nature
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from Conclusion Thoreau left the woods because he had many more lives to live
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from Conclusion “The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity!”
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from Conclusion Do you think people will meet success by following their dreams? Anyone can discover their unique path in life, but this discovery comes at different times for different people
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from Conclusion Bug = idea of human life
Dead wood = oppression of people by society Page 204
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Homework Read pages , Take notes
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