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Henry David Thoreau Rhetorical Analysis

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Thoroughly Reading Thoreau (An Analysis on the works of Henry David Thoreau) There are many classic writers that have come out of America. Many have made large impacts on the world and have truly changed the way literature is read. Inside there works, there are hidden meanings and messages written between the lines that readers are able to pull apart and study daily.Henry David Thoreau is an American writer whose works are studied daily in English classes and in other settings. He taught people that it’s okay to look at the world with a different perspective than other people. Thoreau once stated, “This world is but a canvas to our imagination” (Thoreau). Throughout his life he made a positive impact on people, and still continues to do so, even though he has been gone for over 100 years. In the works of Thoreau, there are three messages presented, which are imagination is important to have, every person is rich in their own way, it is okay to question authority to a certain extent. To begin, Thoreau’s works present a clear message that show that having an imagination is not an attribute to be ashamed of, but …show more content…

In his mind, Thoreau was able to buy dozens of properties with riches that he did not own. “I had but ten cents in the world…” (380). The writer clearly did not have an abundance of wealth in any way, shape or form, but the money he had is not what made him rich. His humility in any situation is what made him rich. His attitude in any aspect is what made him wealthy. While Thoreau’s riches may not have been tangible, the riches were still there in his mind. A designer put it best when she said, “There are people who have money and people who are rich” (Chanel). That statement shows that it doesn’t matter what kind of riches you may have in this lifetime, because in the end, the intangible riches are the ones that will matter the

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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.

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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.

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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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These ideals of freedom Thoreau possesses carry on and inspire the people of

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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

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422 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout history there have been many political changes that are either supported, or not, by citizens. In the given passage from, "Civil Disobedience," by Thoreau, a perspective of disagreeing with the government ways, is provided. Thoreau explains how a government should be in comparison to how it really is by utilizing his words to set the tone and mode, imagery to achieve his audience's understanding, and diction to make his writing scholarly. Although tone and mode are not directly stated, you can infer that Thoreau meant for his writing to be taken as serious and powerful. His implementation of words such as, "inexpedient," "execute," " integrity," and "command," makes one think about their lawful rights and reflect on what rights are supported or

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Perhaps the purpose of Thoreau’s excerpt is to prevent us from overlooking the possibility of living a simple lifestyle without extra accommodations. Most of the things people pay for are more or less likely to not be necessarily needed, and it's highly probable that people end up miserable as they are left to pay off their education’s expenses, which could be the reason why McCandless felt influenced to abandon his privileged lifestyle. Although McCandless had the wealth to cover these costs, it wasn’t enough to make him feel as if he was actually living a meaningful life, let alone a simple one. In addition, the author Jon Krakauer of the book ‘Into The Wild’ states how McCandless had previously spent four years preparing to leave behind "the stifling world of his parents and peers, a world of abstraction and security and material excess, a world in which he felt grievously cut off from the raw throb of existence" (Ch. 3). Krakauer describes the surroundings of McCandless’ life as something asphyxiating with very little value, and it happened to be overwhelmingly bothersome to him.

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“While I enjoy the friendship of the seasons I trust that nothing can make life a burden to me. The gentle rain which waters my beans and keeps me in the house today is not drear and melancholy, but good for me too. ”He compares Mother Nature with humans throughout the chapter, saying that mother nature provides thousand wonderful, beautiful, and interesting things, and fellow human beings seem to be interested in only what they can get out of you and who offer little in exchange. Thoreau feels that, rather than being near the greatest number of people, people must live and work in the place most important to their various

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He argues “most men have learned to read to serve a paltry convenience”, in which he describes “convenience” as being materialistic such as money and trade. I believe Thoreau’s idea on reading is correct.

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Henry David Thoreau was an American author and philosopher during the Transcendental Era of the nineteenth century. Although his most influential writing, Civil Disobedience, did not obtain the credit it should have deserved when it was first published in 1849, Thoreau’s work has impacted many renowned leaders in America who made a difference in today’s society. Civil Disobedience was written after Thoreau was placed in jail for one night because he refused to pay poll tax which was in protest of slavery and the U.S. involvement of the Mexican-American War.

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578 Words | 3 Pages

Henry David Thoreau was a philosopher, poet, and a very outspoken person about society. He discusses his opinions on how people should live in his essay “Where I Lived and What I Lived For.” Thoreau's philosophy of simplicity and individualism and self-sufficiency poses many dangers for communities as a whole. Although there are many setbacks, his philosophy is, however, still viable today. Thoreau strongly advocates self-sufficiency and individualism in this essay.

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Henry David Thoreau especially supported the interaction between man and nature. With his experiment at Walden, he addresses a modern concept known as minimalism, focusing on the way one must supply for himself with his basic necessities. His intentions were not to isolate himself, but moreso to separate himself from a life dependent upon others. Through his actions, he is able to criticise society and many of their needs.

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1159 Words | 5 Pages

Consequently, what Thoreau proposed was simplicity rejecting modern civilization to return to nature and let the individual to develop his/her highest possibilities. Thoreau not only made a critique of the modern society as Emerson did, but also he practiced his ideology: he experienced that life is better without crowd, luxuries and complexity. The transcendentalist poet spent two year close to nature. He lived at Walden Pond where he wrote entire journals recounting his experience. Thoreau is well known for his book “Walden” (1854).

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As evident by this quotation by Thoreau, his motives purely consist of living in the idealistic states of nature rather than that of “civilization”. Thoreau also stated, “I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life…”- (taken from Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden”). Thoreau, in this statement shows that he is completely self reliant in the sense that he alone went out to nature to reap what he could and survive by his merits alone, sustaining himself only on what nature had to offer. While conversely McCandless could only survive with a

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575 Words | 3 Pages

In Walden, written by Henry David Thoreau, the author expresses the immense longing that we, as human beings, need to give up our connection to our ever-growing materialism in order to revert back to self-sufficient happiness. In Walden, the reader is able to infer that Thoreau feels as if we are becoming enslaved by our material possessions, as well as believes that the study of nature should replace and oppose our enslavement, and that we are to “open new channels of thought” by turning our eyes inward and studying ourselves. Thoreau feels that we are becoming enslaved by our material possessions. As stated in the chapter “In the Where I Lived, and What I Lived For”, Thoreau states that “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.” (972).

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