How Does Thoreau Use Metaphors In Where I Lived And What I Live For

Aside from writing, transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau spent a good amount of his life observing the environment around him. In the text, “Where I Lived and What I Lived For,” Thoreau describes the luxury of living isolated from obligations and responsibilities. He discusses his enjoyment of being able to live in peace without the disturbances of society and materialistic things. Thoreau’s use of pathos most effectively influences the audience through his extensive use of similes, imagery, and metaphors. Similes were a regular occurrence in “Where I Lived and What I Lived For.” While discussing the reasons behind his wanting to live in the woods, he says, “I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan- like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms...” His use of simile

In the last paragraph, he says, “Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in. I drink at it; but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. Its thin current slides away, but eternity remains.” This strong metaphor is comparing time with a stream in order to establish that time is endless, yet shallow. He wants to convey to the reader that time continues on forever, while life is just a small depth in time. He tackles the idea of human knowledge by saying that, “The intellect is a cleaver; it discerns and rifts its way into the secret of things. I do not wish to be any more busy with my hands than is necessary. My head is hands and feet. I feel all my best faculties concentrated in it.” Thoreau believes strongly that knowledge isn’t necessarily learned through hands-on activities, and physical work isn’t necessary to become more intellectual. He uses his creativity and ideas to become a more intelligent