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Henry David Thoreau's Argument Essay

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American philosopher Henry David Thoreau stated, that “The Price of anything is the amount of time you exchange for it.” People throughout the world have begun to question whether his statement is accurate or not. Upon looking farther at his statement, it is concluded that he is, in fact correct. If you look around you can see proof and instances that support his claim. You just have to look through a wide view. We live in a materialistic world. We price things by an amount of currency, which is our case, is the American dollar. However, if you pan out the view, you can clearly see that people have to work to earn each dollar. For example, a child working at his homemade lemonade stand has to work to make a dollar. The child must …show more content…

The price of being fit and muscular is the amount of hours at the gym, the numerous times reading the health labels, and the time getting rested. These atheletes spend numerous hours in the gym, because they know that that is the price they have to pay. Eventually, all of this time will add up, and they will earn that ideal body that they paid for. Thoreau’s statement is also translatable to life itself. People today want to live a happy life, so that one day, they can look back and be pleased with what they see. This too, comes at a price. The people have to spend their whole lives working up to that moment. That person may spend numerous hours volunteering at a homeless shelter, spending time with their family, or even traveling the globe. The fact of the matter is, that the price of a good, meaningful life is the time you spent making it that way. The world is not clearly black and white. Everyday you are forced to look with a new perspective. If you pan out and look at the broader picture, you will see that everything boils down to the time you spend achieving a goal, whether that be spending long days at the office to each enough money to buy that new car, spending countless hours at the gym to get better as a whole, or even starting your own lemonade stand to earn more independence. No matter which way you look at it, the point is always the same: The price of achieving what you want, is the time you

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.In “Why I Went to the Woods”, Henry David Thoreau uses rhetorical questions to reveal that Americans are senseless and unaware with how they spend their time. Thoreau mentioned, “Who will build railroads?” and “How shall we get to heaven in season?” if the railroads were not built.

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314 Words | 2 Pages

However, I also agree with Thoreau’s statement in the

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77 Words | 1 Pages

This quote is representative of Thoreau’s beliefs on how money and luxury can ruin a simplistic life or in a more current definition if there is more money and luxury, there will be more problems with living an easy and simplistic life. In this day and age, this quote is slightly controversial in the matters of more luxury being worse on the easiness of life since in this age luxury people have been made to simplify life.

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157 Words | 1 Pages

Thoreau’s use of compare and contrast in his text has an extraordinary impact. Thoreau compares and contrast children “who play life, discern its true law and relations more clearly” to men “who fail to live it worthily, but who think that they are wiser by experience, that is, by failure”. Children understand the meaning of actually living, thus allowing them to be content with life. Adults on the other hand don’t actually live life but seem to have the delusion of living life and being ultimately happy. Thoreau uses compare and contrast to demonstrate and put emphasis on the concept of children understanding what the outcome of life should be unlike the adults, who are expected to know, that fabricated the idea of life being about success

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294 Words | 2 Pages

After being refusing to pay his poll taxes for 6 years, Thoreau was thrown into jail for a night. It was here he decided to take the time to write Civil Disobedience. While in jail, given the fact that he, being behind an iron and wooden door and surrounded by 3 feet thick stone walls, did not feel restricted in any form or manner (29). He believed that his punishment was only affected him physically and, that it would never change a man’s thinking. He turned a dire situation into something more favorable.

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959 Words | 4 Pages

Thoreau asserts slavery is a ¨gross¨ and immoral practice. His fear of not being divine and immortal allows him to dislike slavery. Therefore, Thoreau would support abolition as he believed owning slaves would compromise a man 's divinity, a great fear of his. Slavery also limits the spiritual growth of the enslaved individuals, thus opposing Thoreau 's belief all people should be exposed to spiritual advancements. It was also deemed frivolous by Thoreau.

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578 Words | 3 Pages

Henry David Thoreau was a philosopher, poet, and a very outspoken person about society. He discusses his opinions on how people should live in his essay “Where I Lived and What I Lived For.” Thoreau's philosophy of simplicity and individualism and self-sufficiency poses many dangers for communities as a whole. Although there are many setbacks, his philosophy is, however, still viable today. Thoreau strongly advocates self-sufficiency and individualism in this essay.

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355 Words | 2 Pages

Thoreau thinks that “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation”, meaning they appear content yet are constantly in a state of distress which they put upon themselves; attributing this to the way in which humans obsess themselves with certain things (Thoreau, 7). I associate Thoreau’s objections to fashion, architecture, philanthropy and red meat with a line from the Economy chapter, which reads, “So much for a blind obedience to a blundering oracle…”, reminding one of the fact that we simply follow the actions of others without ever pausing to question society or think about what is truly necessary (6). This has a strong connection to the way in which Thoreau sees fashion. Simply because others start wearing something, we follow in suit

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587 Words | 3 Pages

Thoreau expresses this idea succinctly when he writes, "Every man is tasked to make his life, even in its details, worthy of the contemplation of his most elevated and critical hour" (Thoreau 484). Here, Thoreau emphasizes the importance of aligning our actions and aspirations with the highest aspects of our being, as embodied by our Genius.

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470 Words | 2 Pages

Both Thoreau and Confucius placed value on relationships. They both emphasised that each person has some responsibility. While, Confucius would view the management of natural resources be in government's control, due to a balance between the government and the people and their needs. Government serves the people as the people serve the government. Arguably, Thoreau would emphasise the implementation of minimalism into the lifestyle of the average citizen, as the duties should be managed by the people over the state, believing “That government is best which governs

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783 Words | 4 Pages

Henry David Thoreau is one of the primary promoters of the transcendentalist movement and has been inspiring people to take on the transcendentalist lifestyle ever since the mid 1800’s. Mccandless was an admirer of Henry’s philosophy but he wasn’t as fully immersed in his work and ideals as Thoreau was to his own. His intentions were not as closely aligned to the movement as Thoreau’s and the difference between these icons are clearly visible. Self reliance is one of the most significant components of the transcendentalism movement that Henry David Thoreau contributed to in his literary career. “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” - (taken from Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden”).

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575 Words | 3 Pages

In Walden, written by Henry David Thoreau, the author expresses the immense longing that we, as human beings, need to give up our connection to our ever-growing materialism in order to revert back to self-sufficient happiness. In Walden, the reader is able to infer that Thoreau feels as if we are becoming enslaved by our material possessions, as well as believes that the study of nature should replace and oppose our enslavement, and that we are to “open new channels of thought” by turning our eyes inward and studying ourselves. Thoreau feels that we are becoming enslaved by our material possessions. As stated in the chapter “In the Where I Lived, and What I Lived For”, Thoreau states that “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” (972).

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1285 Words | 6 Pages

Thoreau went to the woods to live and live deliberately. Living deliberately entails living consciously and intentionally. Thoreau’s intent was to live without regret of not living enough. In today’s society the focus is on living through others with a constant need for validation. Thoreau first published this piece of literature in 1854, 164 years

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1046 Words | 5 Pages

While life now is completely different than when Thoreau wrote, “Walden”, the concept of what he is advising is the same. We have the ability to live minimalist lives while still having food in our mouths and a bed to sleep in, it just does not have to be the absolute best of the best. He explains that having unnecessary materialistic items only give us temporary happiness and satisfaction for a while, until we want more. Then it just becomes a never ending cycle of wanting more and more, all just to prove we that we have the ability to buy nice

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637 Words | 3 Pages

He does not disdain human companionship; in fact he values it when it comes on his own terms, as when his philosopher or poet friends come to call. Thoreau calls for people to be givers rather than takers in the economic game of life by “living deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life” (410). Thoreau claims that by reducing the unnecessary excess in our life, one can then contribute to society and give more than they take. Thoreau suggests on how to embark upon how to reduce the unnecessary items in our life by “[letting our] affairs be two or three, [and] instead of three meals a day, [eat] but one” (410). Thoreau also introduces the concept that self-reliance can be spiritual as well as economic, and explores the higher dimensions of individualism.

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