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Who can help me to explain some quotes in Walden :(
"Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them" "There is no odor so bad as that which arises from goodness tainted. It is human, it is divine, carrion. If I knew for a certainly that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life, as from that dry and parching wind of the African deserts called the simoom, which fills the mouth and nose and ears and eyes with dust till you are suffocated, for fear that I should get some of his good done to me,-some of its virus mingled with my blood" "What is true for one is truer still for a thousand, as a large house is not more expensive than a small one in proportion to its size, since one roof may cover, one cellar underlie, and one wall separate several apartments"
Posted By yung109 at Fri 19 Oct 2007, 1:03 AM in Walden || 4 Replies
Recommend me a thoreau book
i have a couple of his books. i started readign the one about him living in that house by himself, but found it quite hard/boring to get through. i feel like i'm missing something here. but anyway, what would you guys recommend as the best one to read? i'll try to start again with that.
Posted By Greenbunny at Wed 5 Apr 2006, 10:20 AM in Walden || 3 Replies
Thoreau, living "deliberately"
Walden, by Henry David Thoreau Edited by Bill McKibben Published over a century and a half ago, Henry David Thoreau’s, Walden, remains a masterpiece in American literature. One of the many ways Walden succeeds as a text is due to Thoreau’s optimistic outlook concerning one’s quest for self-fulfillment and a comfortable recognition of personal place in the world. The reason Thoreau chose to live at Walden Pond, just outside of Concord, Massachusetts, was because he wanted 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…to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.” (85) Along with his own process of self-discovery, Thoreau simultaneously urges the reader to be more self-aware and live more consciously. “Be it life or death, we crave only reality”, but he questions if we are really living in reality or are only mere observers of life. Thoreau claims we’re not completely immersed in reality and to get there, to our own personal reality, we need to figure out our purpose. He writes, “In eternity there is indeed something true and sublime. But all these times and places and occasions are now and here…And we are enabled to apprehend at all what is sublime and noble only by the perpetual instilling and drenching of the reality that surrounds us…whether we travel fast or slow, the track is laid for us.” (91) Similar to the eastern philosophy of Buddhism which values the present moment as a way towards deeper understanding, Thoreau believes that truths are not only found in eternity, but in the “now and here.” It is our duty to recognize meaning in each moment, if we are to come to a better understanding of our self and the “track” that “is laid for us.”
Posted By lep250 at Thu 20 Oct 2005, 4:57 PM in Walden || 1 Reply
Walden
This book has changed my life. At the age I am at now, I have passed through the portion of my life when I have attempted to lay up my treasures. Upon my milestone birthdate, I had not accomplished as much (materially) as others my age. This book has opened my eyes that I am much richer than I had thought.
Posted By Unregistered at Wed 16 Apr 2003, 1:00 AM in Walden || 3 Replies
Thoreau
I must fitfully resist slashing my wrists everytime I try to imbibe What is suppose to be an enlightening text. As for reading it.. do not.. I've resorted to reading everything else and memorizing all the other assigned texts so that I'll instantly know his drivel when I see it
Lorena M.
Posted By kate at Wed 27 Apr 2005, 10:35 AM in Walden || 5 Replies
nature
Nothing to compare to. Unbelivable tallent. Brings balance,peace and lot of reflections about your own life. Absolute wisdom. Sory, some people have actual problem with it.
Posted By Anna at Tue 24 May 2005, 6:07 PM in Walden || 0 Replies
The journal...............
Thoreaus' writings are magical and tremendously poetic. Writing about ice cyrstals as though they were diamonds! His creative thoughtfulness has helped to enrich my life on a scale I can scarcely measure........he feeds my soul when I am burnt out on the selfishness and hurried attitudes of people around me. It's almost as if I take a refreshing cool drink from the waters of his concisive wisdom.........his was a gentle, aware and loving soul....it is a shame, truly, that we don't have more like him living presently in this world today.
Posted By Terri at Tue 24 May 2005, 6:07 PM in Walden || 0 Replies
Henry Thoreau
I enjoy learning about Henry Thoreau. He is intresting and cool. Thanks. Adumn T.
Posted By Adam at Tue 24 May 2005, 6:07 PM in Walden || 0 Replies
STUPID
I had to research and read Walden by this guy and i think he stinks! He is boring and I admit he does know how to write but i don;'t care how much he spent on a house or taxes! Walden is a worthless book.
Posted By Amanda at Tue 24 May 2005, 6:07 PM in Walden || 0 Replies
walden
you people need to understand that he's writing from a completely different view than yourselves. he's making the same points as another great man named jefferson.... who stresses independence, once you become dependent on other people you have lost power. the acquiring of these material possessions will lead to the corruption and destruction of a society.
Posted By travis at Tue 24 May 2005, 6:07 PM in Walden || 2 Replies