When a man is warmed by the several modes which I have described, what does he want next? Surely not more warmth of the same kind, as more and richer food, larger and more splendid houses, finer and more abundant clothing, more numerous incessant and hotter fires,
I believe Thoreau is trying to show how people are not satisfied and always want more and more.
Most of the luxuries, and many of the so called comforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind. With respect to luxuries and comforts, the wisest have ever lived a more simple and meagre life than the poor. The ancient philosophers, Chinese, Hindoo, Persian, and Greek, were a class than which none has been poorer in outward riches, none so rich in inward.
The author is showing that wealth of the world is not connected to wealth of the mind. This is necessary to realize because wealth and status can easily be removed but having the ability to do things for yourself without technology helps all of mankind.
The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to d
The author uses strong language such as "desperation" to highlight how unfilled men can be. The author is showing how society chase wealth, status and power to make themselves feel better. However, chasing these things out of desperation does not lead to fulfillment.
s; lying, flattering, voting, contracting yourselves into a nutshell of civility or dilating into an atmosphere of thin and vaporous generosity, that you may persuade your neighbor to let you make his shoes, or his hat, or his coat, or his carriage, or import his groceries for him; making yourselves sick, that you may lay up something against a sick day, something to be tucked away in an old chest, or in a stocking behind the plastering, or, more safely, in the brick bank; no matter where, no m
The author is noting that generosity and kindness can be self-serving at times. Performing favors can benefit you just as much as it benefits the receiver.
m. Their fingers, from excessive toil, are too clumsy and t
Thoreau takes time to notice his surrounding, the nature and people around him. Thoreau notices that men work so much that they don't have an opportunity to live freely.
I waswaked by the cracking of the ground by the frost, as if some one had driven a team against my door, and in the morning would find a crack in the earth a quarter of a mile long and a third of an inch wide.
The author does a great job at describing how the winter brings out different noises. Noises that are sudden and overwhelming.
s I heard the foxes as they ranged over the snow crust, in moonlight nights, in search of a partridge or other game, barking raggedly and demoniacally like forest dogs, as if laboring with some anxiety, or seeking expression, struggling for light and to be dogs outright and run freely in the
Thoreau describes foxes in great detail, their wild nature.
ce from the boat. It was surprising how quickly he made up his mind and put his resol
I enjoyed reading about the bird. Loud, difficult to catch. This sentence painted such a description about how the bird wanted to survive and that it was cunning.
some on that, for the poor bird cannot be omnipresent; if he dive here he must come up there. But now the kind October wind rises, rustling the leaves and rippling the surface of the water, so that no loon can be
This was a great description of the October weather, and how different circumstances can help you hide or protect you.
fire “as I sailed.” I was never cast away nor distressed in any weather, though I encountered some se
Knowing the author encountered severe storms, but still persisted gave me great insight into the author's personality. He is strong and determined.
e. Every day or two I strolled to the village to hear some of the gossip which is incessantly going on there, circulating either from mouth to mouth, or from newspaper to newspaper
This made me curious if being alone was always enjoyable for the author, or if he equally needed human interaction. As if keeping up with the gossip made him feel a part of the community.
ys. A long war, not with cranes, but with weeds, those Trojans who had sun and rain and dews on their side. Daily the beans saw me come to their rescue armed with a hoe, and thin the ranks of their enemies, filling up the trencheswith weedy de
The author gives a wonderful image on how time consuming weeding a garden is. The author also does a wonderful job explaining how important it is to the plants you are trying to grow.
knew not. I came to love my rows, my beans, though so many more than I wanted. They attached me to the earth, and so I got strength like Antæ
The author understands that growing food can be time consuming but he enjoys it very much.