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Both Thoreau and King rely heavily on ethos to get their points across. The intended audience of both is similar; a group of people with similar morals as the writers, but who have neglected action for various reasons. King also appeals to pathos, describing the plight of the colored man vividly. King’s audience is largely aware of this situation already, but he uses it to drive them to action rather than simple awareness. On the other hand, Thoreau appeals little to pathos, focusing instead on logic and ethics.
In paragraph four, Thoreau discusses how most people are living an illusion. People don’t look past what is in front of them. This is pertinent to Thoreau’s time because people were only focused on the Transcontinental Railroad. They were being selfish in knowing that it will benefit them but they will be rushing everyone’s lives. This relates to today’s society except instead of the transcontinental railroad, we have smart phones, computers, cars, etc.
At this point in the narrative he tells readers about an experience he had while observing a woodchuck in the woods while on a walk. He then tells in detail how he wanted to eat this woodchuck in a brutal way. This thought process he was having while observing this animal brought him a better understanding that human beings still have a wild instinct inside of themselves. Which he respected the idea and acknowledged that these instincts still occurred within himself. This experience supported Thoreau belief that hunting/obtaining knowledge on nature was important at an early age.
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.
Furthermore, his use of tone to exemplify his argument is also effective as he condemns people for living rushed, unfulfilled lives for the sake of prosperity and materialistic possessions. When Thoreau says that ”when we are unhurried and wise, we perceive that only great and worthy things have any permanent and absolute existence, that petty fears and petty pleasures are but the shadow of the reality,”(279) he employs a critical tone by stating that people are blinded by these petty things that misconstrue
Henry David Thoreau said, at one time, “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” I would say that while this is correct by way of defining success as the result of action, life isn’t always at the control of the individual, and that a person who single mindedly follows a goal will find themselves exhausted, when a better direction can be taken. Thoreau’s assertion has truth: Nothing happens in a state of inaction. The life of a human being is like the plotline of a story, and unless the character does something, the plot cannot and will not move forward.
Individuals lay the foundation of America. The Founding Fathers of this unique nation broke their allegiance with Great Britain to create an improved governing body. They desired an individual-centered authority as opposed to Britain’s monarchy, which ruled with tyranny. These Founding Fathers experienced a neglectful democratic monarchy that cared little about the ethical treatment of its people. The domineering actions of Britain challenged these historic individuals to form a new cultural identity.
By being in contact with the nature there is an ethereal feeling of knowing everything. The air you breathe is the purest of all; the sights you see are the goodness and freshness of the universe. In that moment the whole universe transpires to make that moment yours and you seem to move into a transcended stage of utter joy and serenity. Thoreau held deeply felt political views, opposing slavery and the Mexican-American War.
“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.
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.
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”).
Thoreau describes different meanings to the word waking up. His first description portrays the literate definition of the phrase which is getting up and doing some type of “religious” or reoccurring action, such as bathing. For his symbolical definition of the phrase, he seems believe that it represents some sort of rebirth, because waking up allows one to “renew thyself completely each day; and do it again, and again”. As for the spiritual form of the phrase, he describes it as a time of awakening for the human spirit, especially in our intelligences in arts and poetry. I Agree with Thoreau’s definition of waking up.
In one of his Transcendentalist essays, Life Without Principle, Henry David Thoreau addresses his personal issues within the society of the time and explains the solutions that he believes would solve those issues. Throughout the essay, Thoreau argues that society as a whole is on a decline. In order to prove this deterioration of society Thoreau assumes that it would be best if people worked for pleasure instead of money, if nature was preserved instead of destroyed, if people only received what they worked for, and if the daily times were not an entity. While the first assumption would be ideal, it is rather naive. If the society is not participating in these practices, the society is therefore in a state of deterioration, or already has
In Henry David Thoreau’s essay, “Walking”, he exemplifies a walk in the woods. Thoreau describes his feelings and the surroundings when he walks. He walks further and further into different landscapes. Thoreau argues in his essay that the things that humans have created in this world are all minimal and irrelevant to the world and nature itself. Thoreau argues that all these things that occupy our lives are minimalistic in the eyes of nature.
When the mind is united to the core of consciousness, every observable phenomenon and even the void appear as a form of consciousness. Pg 58 The individual mind intently entering into the universal light of foundational consciousness sees the entire universe as saturated with that consciousness. Pg 59 One should consider the entire body or the entire world simultaneously without thought-construct as a form of consciousness, then he will experience the emergence of the highest consciousness.