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Thoreau Ice In The Cave Analysis

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1) The elements of nature : What is described ? What are the changes that appear in nature ? At the beginning of the chapter, the opening of the pond is described. Thoreau explains how the pond goes from being frozen to being open. He does it very scientifically, giving the precise temperatures that he measured up for days. He describes the ice in detail, from its thinckness to the sound it makes when it opens. The main change appearing in Walden is the coming in of the Spring. That is what Thoreau came to see in the first place. From l.63 “The ice in the pond” to l.75 “before it disappeared entirely”, Thoreau describes all the changes in nature that came with the beginning of spring. 2) Literary devices used by Thoreau and their meanings. …show more content…

They are everywhere. Thoreau takes the time to describe the different sounds made by the ice, at different moments of the day. To me, it looks like sounds are giving a rhythm to this chapter. They usually represent precise moments of the day, or of the year. The importance of the sounds is also shown when Thoreau uses onomatopoeia because he wants to be the as accurate as possible when describing sounds. “ olit, olit, olit,—chip, chip, chip, che char,—che wiss, wiss, wiss” l.249-50. He also details the sounds of different animals such as squirrels and species of …show more content…

First, to Metamorphoses, a long poem by Ovide l.285-286 “Eurus ad Auroram, Nabathaeaque regna recessit, Persidaque, et radiis juga subdita matutinis.” which he then translates. Another reference is made to Ovid with “the creation of Cosmos out of Chaos and the realization of the Golden Age” Quotation from Varro, De Re Rustica, 2.2.14 which is a book about farming and country life gathering texts written during the Antiquity “et primitus oritur herba imbribus primoribus evocata,” l.234-235. There are many references to the Bible “the age of Methuselah” l.90. 5) Tone of the text. The text looks like a scientific essay. Indeed, Thoreau gives precise numbers and facts that he observed. For example, from l,76 tol.79 “In 1845 Walden was first completely open on the 1st of April; in ‘46, the 25th of March; in ‘47, the 8th of April; in ‘51, the 28th of March; in ‘52, the 18th of April; in ‘53, the 23d of March; in ‘54, about the 7th of April.”,Thoreau noted for each year he was in Walden when the pond was completely open for the first time. When he makes descriptions of the nature, and especially of animals, he uses a latin vocabulary “leuciscus” l.258 (a species of fish), “Turdus migratorius” ( a species of bird). 6) According to Thoreau, what is life

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The bold and brash approach on life by transcendentalists was truly an ambitious lifestyle. Such individuals like Henry David Thoreau, Chris McCandless, and Jon Krakauer have renounced all of their mainstream agendas to lead a more fundamental life, but not without the criticism other have faced. The actions portrayed in their novels demonstrate how important it is to incorporate others’ ideas when one’s own choices. As the world was in the midst of transforming, Henry David Thoreau yearned to yield away from the evolving world, as he considered them corrupt opportunists who are deprived of their true nature.

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In Walden and Resistance to Civil Government, Henry David Thoreau the author, uses the rhetorical strategies of personification, metaphor, and allusion/symbolism in the chapter “Conclusion” to describe what he learned from his experiment of living in Walden Pond. Thoreau’s main message of what he learned is to be undefined by what’s in front. Without the limits of conformity, humans have the capacity to achieve much greater and beautiful dreams and goals. Conformity is the boundary that doesn’t let individuals reach their great potential. Thoreau uses effective personification to imply the significance of following one’s dreams confidently.

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David Thoreau uses many different rhetorical strategies in his essay to make different connections to the reader's mind and imagination to get a clear point across. In his narrative, Walden, Thoreau uses many displays of figurative language and imagery to set the scene up for what he is trying to explain. Thoreau uses many different examples of figurative language, the biggest reason why I think he does this is because he wants to make his writing a little bit more expressive, and be able to make claims that will be interesting. “The hollow and lichen-covered apple trees, nawed by rabbits, showing what kind of neighbors I should have,” here Thoreau is explaining what his surroundings are like while he is in nature.

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In the chapter “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For” in “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau it says what it 's about practically in the name “where I lived, and what I lived for”. which by saying a rhetorical device it would be deductive reasoning there would be plenty of deductive reasoning in “where I lived, and what I lived for”. When I read “Where I lived ,and What I lived for” I saw in my perspective a guy that wanted to find a meaning in life, maybe it 's because it 's what I want to do and my brain is just analyzing it as if I’m perpetuating myself in his shoes or mindset . Thoreau seemed like he knows what to do and why to do it as if he wasn 't accidentally halting a risk he even said why he went to the woods. Thoreau exclaimed “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately” he wanted to be free.

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Diction is simply word choice, which Thoreau uses for clarity and precision to convey his message in the best way possible, which coincides directly with imagery which is essentially word pictures. Thoreau’s diction is the key to opening the reader’s mind into his. An example of his excellent use of diction is his use of the word expedient to describe the government. By this description, Thoreau means that the government is simply a resource to the people, and nothing more than that. He furthers this idea through his use of imagery to construct a word picture for better clarity when he states, “It is a sort of wooden gun to the people themselves; and, if ever they should use it in earnest as a real one against each other, it will surely split.”

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Thoreau adds crucial detail to his essay and creates validity through the application of figurative language. Thoreau appeals to metaphors and allusion to inform his readers that the Government does not always do the unrivaled thing for its people; Thoreau uses metaphors in his essay to show his readers what the Government is like, and to help them make a connection to its true intentions. Thoreau lambasts the Government as, “The mass of men serve the state thus, not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies”. In other words, the Government views these men as serving them like a puppet. They can manipulate them to serve them however they wish.

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