Topic > Analysis of the passage "Where I Lived" from Walden by Henry David Thoreau

In this excerpt from Walden, Henry David Thoreau addresses the millions of people who "are awake enough for physical labor" and tries to explain to them to open properly eyes and appreciate nature more. He justifies the importance of nature through rhetorical questions, then through symbolism, first-person plural pronouns, and finally through loose sentences. Thoreau focuses on the developments that are taking place in the period he is in and the price they are paying to the surrounding society “which does not abandon us in our deepest sleep”. It sets an irritated tone for the inept and foolish workers in the company. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay In Walden by Henry David Thoreau, Thoreau touches on areas of gullibility of common people in terms of not enjoying the true essence of life through the use of rhetorical questions, symbolism, and finally through first person plural pronouns. Regarding the figurative aspect, Thoreau explains his passage by asking rhetorical questions about the “sleep” that almost every person undertakes. By telling the men to wake up from the deep sleep of blindness, he asks these questions to make them process the idea of ​​what life would be like if they lived in the woods, in isolation. Rhetorical questions focus on the real sleep people get in their hard working lives and the effect it brings to their knowledge. If most people didn't put in the necessary hours, they would "perform something." Use an aphorism to persuade people to focus on what is not only in front of them but also around them by telling them "to be awake is to be alive" as understanding this message will give them an idea of ​​what true freedom is. On the literal aspect, Thoreau delves further into his "effort" of intelligence by explaining that involving oneself in nature is the best way to live one's life. In the passage, Thoreau refers to the details about painting a picture to make it look "beautiful." He continues his use of symbolism by explaining that the more details we add, the more glorious will result from all the effort we put into it. This is what we “morally can do” with our lives which are our paintings and our paintbrush which is our experience. During this period, Thoreau would have been considered mad for wanting this "experience", but for Thoreau he went into the woods in seclusion "to live deliberately, to face only the essential facts of life" – this expressed his transcendentalist side. This transcendentalist side of him led him to rebel against the principles followed by society and to seek his own sanctuary of peace. In terms of the structure of the passage, Thoreau begins with an ellipsis indicating that the passage has been taken from another set of thoughts and continued. It also includes the use of first-person plural pronouns such as "we" when talking about giving up. “If we rejected, or rather consumed, such paltry information as we obtain, the oracles would distinctly inform us how to do so.” In summary, he explains that if we fail to understand the importance of our lives and nature, then together we have failed as a society to “be woke”. He also uses the first-person plural pronoun “I” to talk about his reasons for isolation, wanting “to live deeply and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so robustly and spartanly as to rout all that was not.” life". This is to attract "sleeping" readers who are not convinced of Thoreau's beliefs of isolation and for those who were blind, after reading the passage they would be able to visualize..