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Rhetorical Analysis: Why I Went To The Woods

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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. This shows how American people are so focused on making improvements to their work faster, instead of working for themselves, their lives, their future. If no one were working on the railroads, then they would be a failure because that is more important to them. Unawareness causes them to become ignorant about their life because of work. In addition, in this quote “Why should we live in such hurry and waste of life?” Thoreau is saying that people are just passing
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Why I Went to the Woods by Henry David Thoreau is a piece of literature taken from the book Walden that discusses Thoreau’s desire to experience life and it's meaning by living by the most simple terms possible. Thoreau lived off the land, built his own home, hunted and fished his own food. Through these things, Thoreau experienced how life is lived without luxury and only with the raw basics. Although his passion for the natural world shows through his writing his goal is not to persuade others to follow in his footsteps by going out and living in nature. Thoreau wanted others to follow him by living their best life which would be achieved by following their passions and the things they enjoy.

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