Write a summary of the following selections and identify a direct quote that you feel best expresses its main idea.
“Where I Lived and What I Lived For” (232)
Thoreau has too many possessions in life. He believes that humans are advancing too fast, and advancement is taking over life. Technology corrupts us. The reason Thoreau lives in the cabin is to revert back to the simplier things in life. Railroads, like technology, are supposed to improve us, yet they ride on our backs.
This excerpt talks about the necessity of simplicity in our lives and how living a life with too many possessions is.
Quote: “Simplicity, Simplicity, Simplicity”
“We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us.”
“Sounds” (234)
Walden talks about all the sounds he heard while actually listening to the world. He loved to just sit out without doing working or seeing anyone and just being peaceful. He was able to stop his life for a little bit and just take a step back from his busy life. He loves life and thinks its an adventure. He doesn’t think nature is a waste of time and its wonderful to sit their and just listen to the sounds.
Quote: “it was morning, and lo, now it is evening, and nothing memorable is accomplished.”
“Brute Neighbors” (235)
A red ant was fighting a black ant that was half an inch longer. They were wrestling with each other and it look not like a duel but a war. It was between two raises of ants (red and black). The black were so big it was frequently found that two red ants equaled one black. The red ants stood for republicans and black ants stand for imperialists. Then a red ant came to the full of excitement. He could see the unfair battle but he charged ready to fight. He ripped the body parts out of the black ant that was nearly twice his size. The man witnessing it was excited to see the minority party that the red ant was representing coming back. The man never found out which party won nor the cause of the war but he was excited to witness the battle before his door.
Quote: “I was surprised to find that the chips were covered with such combatants, that it was not a duellium, but a bellum, a war between two races of ants, the red always pitted ones to one black” ……. “It was the only battle which I have ever witnessed, the only battlefield I ever trod while the battle was raging; internecine war; the red republicans on the one, and the black imperialists on the other.”
“The Pond in Winter” (237)
Nature, in which all creatures live and flourish, offers no questions. It only gives the answer of pure beauty. Humans do not have to ask Mother Nature to provide wonder and awe, she just shows her true colors through the earth and animals. A pond in winter is beautiful because of its ability to be peaceful, yet underneath the sheet of ice, its orginial life and beauty is still preserved through all seasons of the year. Life is beautiful through any kind of weather. Just because you cannot see something on the surface, the world is still thriving.
Quote: “Heaven is under our feet as well as over our head” pg. 237
“Spring” (238)
It is talking about the beginning of Spring, and what Walden goes through in the beginning of Spring. It looks majestic and alive and beholds a great summer ahead. The geese are circling it, and different animals are coming alive. He is saying that Walden is like the beginning of new life with great chaos in it. It’s a time of new beginnings and happiness. Each Spring is like the creation of the world. Spring is a symbol of rebirth.
Quote:
“As every season seems best to us in its turn, so the coming in of spring is life the creaytion of Cosmos out of Chaos and the realization of the Golden Age.”
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