meant to bring to mind omages of hell in the afterlife

http://www.shmoop.com/the-raven/night-plutonian-shore-symbol.html

aka Athena

http://www.poedecoder.com/essays/raven/

definition: 1. to cease from some action; desist. 2. to come to an end.

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/surcease

Definition: hard, unyielding, unmerciful.

This word choice provides a star image of a cold-hearted employer, further proving the author's point.

Definition: what we would now call a necktie.

This is just another article of clothing that, if missing or in poor condition, would be noticed, proving the author's point.

Definition: indeed (often used ironically or to express surprise or indignation).

This is merely a tool used to emphasize her point.

Hugh Blair was a Presbyterian priest and author. He had published over eight major works, often in volumes. HE often published anonymously. Some of his better known anonymous works were his edited versions of Shakespeare's masterpieces. He capitalized on the notion of one rising above their station, and believed one could gain power from the beauty of nature and art.

The Anti-Slavery Bugle was a weekly newsletter published from June 20, 1845 to May 4, 1861. The paper's motto was "No Union With Slaveholders." Not only did it print great works like "Ar'nt I A Woman," but many meeting times and places were openly published in this paper, along with editorials about relevent matters, and letters. For the Bugle to publish her work, it can very safely be assumed that Truth became a common topic in any household in the Bugle's circuit.![]http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83035487/1845-06-20/ed-1/seq-1/

A ring-bolt is defined by Wikipedia as "commonly used to attach cables or ropes to objects, for example securing a boat to a dock, or as a tie down point for cargo." This definition supports Douglass's claim of importance for the Fourth of July, but I believe this defintion adds an even greater depth of meaning to the importance of the Fourth of July to its budding country: this holiday represents all that keeps this country's integrity. Without the Fourth of July and all that it stands for, the United States would be like a boat left in a dock without being tied down: lost at sea with the next tide.

Thoreau makes a good point here; when someone uses terminoology and phrases common people are unfamiliar with, the people are inclined to believe that those individuals are experts in their area with a superior intellect, knowing rules and procedures far beyond the meager intellectual capacity of the common folk, when it may very well be that their intelligence is much lower than that of the common man. They've just received enough training to know how the system works.

In this time period, the Bible is well-known by most members of the community, and Thoreau's harsh desripction of this tax-collector calls to mind biblical passages, such as readings from the books of Luke and Matthew, where the terms "tax collector" and "sinners" rarely occur without the other, creating a distinct repulsion for tax-collectors. No doubt Thoreau would not have realized this biblical connection, honing in on a pre-existing distaste for tax-collectors.