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. The term continent, is not in reference to the earths 7 continents or dry land, but is is reference to what is continent and as being able to hold water. Insular, is his use, is used to describe something that relates