Thoreau's Key Ring

344 Words2 Pages
Tatiana. H Thoreau’s Key ring goes against Thoreau’s fundamental philosophies because it not only promotes materialism, but also sets it up as a sort of standard of living, which is expected to be upheld. Thoreau promotes a simple, possessions free, style of life as made clear when he says: “…for a man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone” (p.53). Here Thoreau is explaining that the greatest treasure in life is having as little as possible. The key ring does not necessarily state that one should have lots of things, but it clearly advertised towards people who do, and does not encourage these people to simplify their lives by having as few of these possessions as possible. This advertisement, if anything,