Letter To Henry David Thoreau's Walden
Thoreau believes that government should be lenient with their people and work with them for their common good, Gale actions as an individual shows that he agrees. In “Civil Disobedience” Thoreau explains his belief that the government should be tolerant. He explains, “[He] heartily accepts the motto, ‘That government is best which governs least’
These ideals of freedom Thoreau possesses carry on and inspire the people of
Thoreau Would Bring the Internet If Henry David Thoreau was alive today, he would bring the internet. As Danny Heitman wrote of in his article, “If Thoreau Were to Move to Walden Today, Would he Bring the Internet? Maybe,” Thoreau was a bit of a hypocrite. Demanding he could borrow books from libraries that had regulations that no one unless that one is within a certain category can not check out books.
Thoreau went to Walden for the purpose of strengthening his own mind and following his own beliefs. Why should you do what everyone tells you? Well you should not because you are yourself and not society which
For Thoreau, the individual should take action against societal problems instead of relying on the government to change them. Although it is not people’s responsibility to completely change the way society runs, they need to make their opinions known in order for change to happen. If they do not agree with an idea, they cannot just vote by “a strip of paper merely, but [their] whole influence” (Thoreau 7). People must actively work to enact change. Voting through a strip of paper will not do anything since the government will continue doing what they choose unless they are met with resistance.
In his essay, “Civil Disobedience,” Henry David Thoreau uses rhetorical questions and many dehumanizing analogies to elicit an emotional reaction from his readers and urge them to carefully consider their relationship with the law. Firstly, he considers the correlation between man and law, and supplies the audience with many thought-provoking questions such as: “Why has every man a conscience, then?” The use of these questions inspires self-reflection within the reader and causes them to rethink their present beliefs. Because the questions primarily focus on the morals associated with lawmaking, Thoreau also adds an emotional appeal to his essay—everyone wants to do the right thing and will therefore be more connected to his argument.
Henry David Thoreau was an American author and philosopher during the Transcendental Era of the nineteenth century. Although his most influential writing, Civil Disobedience, did not obtain the credit it should have deserved when it was first published in 1849, Thoreau’s work has impacted many renowned leaders in America who made a difference in today’s society. Civil Disobedience was written after Thoreau was placed in jail for one night because he refused to pay poll tax which was in protest of slavery and the U.S. involvement of the Mexican-American War.
Thoreau also suggests that
In “Walden Pond” by Henry David Thoreau, Thoreau advises his fellows about ownership of land by telling them to avoid commitment. There are better uses of money than committing to buying property. 2(b). In “Walden Pond” by Thoreau, Thoreau believe all commitments create restrictions and demands. Committing to something really is not worth the hassle in Thoreau’s eyes.
One of Thoreau’s basic ideas Socrates would agree with is that a man should always take actions which his conscience deems righteous regardless of the magnitude of their consequences. In Apology, Socrates showed no remorse that his deeds have put him on a trial because he believed that a wise man who knows that he has done nothing wrong should not fear death itself. He would certainly agree with Henry Thoreau who wrote in his essay, “Civil Disobedience”, that it is way more important to seek justice in this world than respect the laws which a man earnestly condemns. Thoreau discussed the unpopularity people possess for the men who act according to their own values and Socrates claimed to be one of these men as he refused to defy his morals
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see” (“It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.”). Thoreau lived his whole life trying to figure out what really matters to humanity. His personality was quite different than others. He was into individualism and he separated himself from society to live on his own and focus on becoming self-reliant. Thoreau’s seperation from society resulted in him being seperated from society and not needing anyone's help.
He wished every man would be like a philosopher and use his life, not for trivial work, but to seek understanding and intelligence. Thoreau employs the use of epistrophe to make his argument, “While England endeavors to cure potato-rot, will not any endeavor to cure brain-rot, which prevails so much more widely and fatally.” I agree with Thoreau that it is good to avoid over-consumption of material things and to seek to learn and grow your mind because material things do not last and wisdom is valuable; however, Thoreau seems to take it to an extreme that is not necessary. For example, he refuses to buy yeast for his bread because he finds it “not to be an essential ingredient.” Thoreau explored life in the woods; more than one hundred fifty years later, Bryson went on a hike in the
While describing Walden Ponds, Thoreau states, “I am thankful that this pond was made pure and deep for a symbol” (Walden ). In the following quote, he describes Walden Pond as not only a place, but a process. “It is well to have some water in your neighborhood, to give buoyancy to and float the earth. One value even of the smallest well is, that when you look into it you see that earth is not continent but insular (Walden 11). His observation of looking across the pond produces the image of water giving buoyancy to the earth.
Henry David Thoreau is the author of Walden. Thoreau speaks of how he imagined anything his eyes see as a part of a house and imagined buying all the farms in his area, Thoreau knew so much his friends would consider him to be a real-estate agent. Thoreau’s imagination took him so far he could place and remove whatever he wanted. Thoreau almost bought the Hollowell place but the owner’s wife convinced him to not sell it. Thoreau was offered ten dollars and denied it; he felt he was better off with ten cent and no farm.
You can’t walk in the woods and see a leaf that doesn’t quite know if it wants to fall to the ground or stay on the tree. Thoreau noticed this, and thought that if people could be decisive in the same way that nature was, then they could “live deep and suck out all the marrow of life… live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put as to put to rout all that was not life… cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner…” (Walden 771) This is something that Thoreau highly valued. He wanted to live as his own person, which was, in his mind, best accomplished by living in nature and not being involved with the government.
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