Name: erin munchel
Journal 10 - Selections from Walden
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)
in the short story, “Where I Live and What I Lived For” by Henry David Throeau., the narrator, Thoreau, reiterates the idea of him being free from commitment and living unbounded by answering the questions, where I live and what I lived for. The indication of what Thoreau lives for is portrayed an allusion to Independence Day as a representation of the day he relished himself from a worldly lifestyle by moving to the open outdoors. Later Thoreau states his core reason to moving to the outdoors as a mean to discover the ‘essential facts of life.’ This phrase displays Thoreau’s double interest in both acknowledging the basic necessities in life as well as discovering the essence of life: “why do we live?” in a spiritual manner, rather than like other men to resolve to its man’s job to glorify God and enjoy the world’s matter. Things always change, but its important to stick with the things you like most.
Quote: "Both place and time were changed, and I dwelt nearer to those parts of the universe and to those eras in history which had most attracted me"
“Sounds” (234)
Thoreau sees every day as an adventure. One day, he tries taking out all his furniture in order to sweep the floor. He hasn't heard a rooster crow yet (hopefully that means he sleeps in) nor any other domestic sounds, cats, dogs, or children – just the outdoors of the wild, wild East.
Quote: “It was pleasant to see my whole household effects out on the grass, making a little pile like a gypsy's pack, and my three-legged table, from which I did not remove the books and pen and ink, standing amid the pines and hickories. They seemed glad to get out themselves, and as if unwilling to be brought in. I was sometimes tempted to stretch an awning over them and take my seat there. It was worth the while to see the sun shine on these things, and hear the free wind blow on them; so much more interesting most familiar objects look out of doors than in the house.”
“Brute Neighbors” (235)
Thoreau begins this chapter by saying that a companion had come by and invited him fishing. Thoreau goes on to think about his animal neighbors, including mice and various species of birds. He also catches some ants battling it out ferociouslyOn the lake, Thoreau plays a game of chase with a loon, who cunningly swims away just far enough so that Thoreau can't catch him. He notes that ducks often do the same to the hunters. Bottom line: animals are crafty.
Quote: “See those clouds; how they hang! That's the greatest thing I have seen today. There's nothing like it in old paintings, nothing like it in foreign lands- unless when we were off the coast of Spain. That's a true Mediterranean sky. I thought, as I have my living to get, and have not eaten today, that I might go a-fishing. That's the true industry for poets. It is the only trade I have learned.”
“The Pond in Winter” (237)
Thoreau goes out to the frozen ice, and chops open a small square. Through the hole, he can see fish, mostly pickerel, swimming around below. Next up is the task of determining how deep the pond is in various spots. He discovers that it's the deepest where the line of greatest length and the line of greatest breadth intersect. Thoreau also observes how the ice changes its structure as the environment around it changes, too. In a shocking turn of events, Thoreau observes more. This time, it's the ice cutters, who cut blocks of ice from Walden Pond to ship around the world, even as far as India.
Quote:
“This is a remarkable depth for so small an area; yet not an inch of it can be spared by the imagination. What if all ponds were shallow? Would it not react on the minds of men? I am thankful that this pond was made deep and pure for a symbol. While men believe in the infinite some ponds will be thought to be bottomless.”
“Spring” (238)
Speaking of ice and temperature, Thoreau has a story about that. There was an old local who decided to go duck hunting at Walden Pond. This guy decided to hide and wait for ducks, and he thought he heard the sound of an enormous flock landing on the pond. When he looked, it was just the melting ice plates rubbing up against the shore.Thoreau enjoys the sight of melting sand and clay, which turn into funny shapes like branches when they melt. It's almost as if the earth is expressing itself with its own poetry.Fast-forward to May, when more kinds of birds make their appearance, and the pine trees cover the earth with their pollen.
Quote: “The phenomena of the year take place every day in a pond on a small scale. Every morning, generally speaking, the shallow water is being warmed more rapidly than the deep, though it may not be made so warm after all, and every evening it is being cooled more rapidly until the morning, The day is an epitome of the year. The night is the winter, the morning and evening are the spring and fall, and the noon is the summer.”
