from Walden, or Life in the Woods
by Henry David Thoreau
Feature Menu
Introducing the Selection
Literary Focus: Metaphor
Literary Focus: Literary
Perspectives
Reading Focus: Making
Generalizations About a
Writer’s Beliefs
Writing Focus: Think as a
Reader/Writer
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
by Henry David Thoreau
Where does an individual find inspiration?
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Introducing the Selection
Click on the title to start the video.
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Introducing the Selection
In 1845, Thoreau went to live in a small cabin on
Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts.
Walden is his famous account of
his two-year experiment in simple
living. These excerpts relate
• his day-to-day experiences of
life in the woods
• his ideas about what
constitutes a life worth living
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Introducing the Selection
What would it be like to live alone in a cabin in the
woods, with no company but the birds and other
animals? Would you be lonely, bored?
Or would you, like
Thoreau, feel more
alive than before?
[End of Section]
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Literary Focus: Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that makes an
implicit, or implied, comparison between two
unlike things.
• A metaphor does not use a specific word of
comparison such as like, as, than, or
resembles.
• Instead, a metaphor says that something is
something else.
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Literary Focus: Metaphor
Thoreau’s metaphors are
• highly visual
• drawn from nature and from
everyday, familiar things
I did not wish to take a cabin passage, but
rather to go before the mast and on the deck
of the world, for there I could best see the
moonlight amid the mountains.
—Henry David Thoreau
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Literary Focus: Metaphor
I did not wish to take a cabin passage, but rather
to go before the mast and on the deck of the
world, for there I could best see the moonlight amid
the mountains.
— Henry David Thoreau
Work on a ship to pay
for one’s passage. Enjoy
the exhilaration of
working on the deck—
salt spray, crack of sails,
sense of danger.
Buy a ticket for a cabin
on a ship. Travel in
safety and comfort.
Meals in the dining
room, comfortable bed
in your cabin.
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Literary Focus: Metaphor
In the metaphor, different ways of living are
compared to different ways of traveling on a ship.
I did not wish to take a cabin passage, but rather to
go before the mast and on the deck of the world, for
there I could best see the moonlight amid the
mountains.
—Henry David Thoreau
The comparison is Thoreau’s imaginative, fresh
way of saying he doesn’t want to be safe and
comfortable. He wants adventure.
[End of Section]
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Literary Focus: Analyzing Philosophical Context
Philosophical Criticism
Some students and literary critics examine how
philosophies—or belief systems—influence a writer.
This approach is called philosophical criticism.
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Literary Focus: Analyzing Philosophical Context
Philosophical Criticism
Philosophical criticism is important any time you
are reading an essay that directly states the
writer’s beliefs about right ways to live.
Thoreau wrote such essays. As you read Walden,
think about the philosophical context.
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Literary Focus: Analyzing Philosophical Context
Thoreau and Transcendentalism
Thoreau belonged to a group of thinkers and
writers called the Transcendentalists.
Transcendentalism is the idea
that a person must go beyond
everyday human experience in
the physical world in order to
determine the ultimate reality of
God, the universe, and the self.
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Literary Focus: Analyzing Philosophical Context
Thoreau and Transcendentalism
The verb transcend comes from Latin roots
meaning “to climb beyond.”
Notice how often Thoreau
suggests that individuals
can climb beyond the
confinement of everyday
life and reach a higher
spiritual place.
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Literary Focus: Analyzing Philosophical Context
Thoreau and Transcendentalism
Also think about how Thoreau’s beliefs compare
with those of other writers of the time.
• To what extent does Thoreau share the
optimistic views of his friend and fellow
Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson?
• Some critics consider Nathaniel Hawthorne and
Edgar Allan Poe anti-Transcendentalists. How
does Thoreau’s view of human nature compare
with theirs?
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Reading Focus: Making Generalizations About a Writer’s Beliefs
A generalization is a type of inference in which a
conclusion is drawn from examples in the text.
Examples in Text
Some of my pleasantest hours were
during the long rainstorms . . . which
confined me to the house. . . .
What do we want most to dwell near
to? Not to many men surely . . . but to
the perennial source of our life. . . .
—Henry David Thoreau
Generalization
Solitude is a
valuable state
that helps us
understand the
true meaning
of life.
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Reading Focus: Making Generalizations About a Writer’s Beliefs
You can make generalizations about a writer’s
beliefs based on what you read.
Why should we be in such desperate
haste to succeed. . . . If a man does not
keep pace with his companions, perhaps
it is because he hears a different
drummer. Let him step to the music
which he hears, however measured or
far away. It is not important that he
should mature as soon as an apple tree
or an oak.
—Henry David Thoreau
Generalization
Thoreau believes
anyone can
discover a
unique path in
life, but this
discovery comes
at different times
for different
people.
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Reading Focus: Making Generalizations About a Writer’s Beliefs
Into Action: Use a chart like this one to record
Thoreau’s metaphors and any generalizations you
can make based on those metaphors.
Metaphors and Generalizations Chart
Metaphors
“Did you ever think what those
sleepers are that underlie the
railroad? Each one is a man, an
Irishman, or a Yankee man.”
Generalizations
Thoreau felt many
individuals in society were
being trod upon by other,
more fortunate people.
[End of Section]
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Writing Focus: Think as a Reader/Writer
Find It in Your Reading
Thoreau’s metaphors are often drawn from nature
and everyday things.
In the meanwhile there came along a single red ant on
the hillside of this valley, evidently full of excitement,
who either had dispatched his foe, or had not yet taken
part in the battle. . . .
—Henry David Thoreau
Keep
As
you
a read,
list of note
the metaphors,
how these metaphors
and write down
echo a
Thoreau’s idea
paraphrase
of each
that one
simple
to make
thingssure
can you
have a
profound meaning.
understand
its meaning.
Vocabulary
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Vocabulary
superficial adj.: on the surface; shallow.
incessantly adv.: without stopping; constantly.
derision n.: ridicule or contempt.
tumultuous adj.: very noisy, disorderly, or
violent.
ethereal adj.: not of the earth; spiritual.
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Vocabulary
The word superficial can be used to refer to
physical injury or damage:
The scratch on the
car is superficial.
The girl has a
superficial wound.
The wound and the scratch are on the surface
alone. Neither is very deep.
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Vocabulary
Superficial can also refer to people or to mental
processes.
Jake is a pretty
superficial guy.
Jean has a superficial
understanding of history.
Does he have many
deep friendships?
Would you want her as a study
partner for social studies?
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Vocabulary
Carlos gave the living room a superficial cleaning
before the party.
How clean is the living room?
a. extremely clean
b. somewhat clean
c. not clean at all
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Vocabulary
Carlos gave the living room a superficial cleaning
before the party.
How clean is the living room?
a. extremely clean
b. somewhat clean
c. not clean at all
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Vocabulary
When you think
incessantly, what
words come to
mind?
Examples:
Word:
incessantly
constantly
ceaselessly
persistently
without
interruption
never-ending
Sentence:
The dog barks
incessantly
when left in
the yard.
Definition:
adv.: without
stopping.
Image:
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Vocabulary
It has been snowing incessantly for the past six
hours. Which scene are you more likely to see
when you look out the window?
Scene A
Scene B
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Vocabulary
It has been snowing incessantly for the past six
hours. Which scene are you more likely to see
when you look out the window?
Scene A
Scene B
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Vocabulary
The word derision is based on the verb deride,
which means “to laugh at scornfully” or “to make
fun of.”
Which image best illustrates the
meaning of derision?
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Vocabulary
Since he took office a year ago, Mayor Perkins has
become the object of much derision.
Mayor Perkins is probably
a. doing a really good job
lowering the crime rate
b. gaining the respect of
most citizens
c. proposing changes that
people find silly or unwise
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Vocabulary
Since he took office a year ago, Mayor Perkins has
become the object of much derision.
Mayor Perkins is probably
a. doing a really good job
lowering the crime rate
b. gaining the respect of
most citizens
c. proposing changes that
people find silly or unwise
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Vocabulary
When you think
tumultuous, what words
and phrases come to mind?
Associations:
What places or
activities might be
tumultuous?
Examples:
noisy
a big city street
violent
a battle in a war
uproar
rowdy
stormy
disorder
tumultuous
a hurricane
a preschool
playground
a crowd in a
natural disaster
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Vocabulary
A tumultuous crowd of Hawks fans made their
way out of the stadium.
Do you think the Hawks won the game?
Was it an exciting game?
Yes. The fans are happy and excited.
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Vocabulary
Ancient thinkers believed that a very light
substance called ether made up all of outer space.
Something that is ethereal is like the upper
reaches of space. It is very light and not earthly.
Which words are synonyms
for ethereal?
airy
intellectual
heavenly
substantial
spiritual
celestial
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Vocabulary
Which of these people most likely spends a lot of
time thinking about ethereal matters?
A
B
C
from Walden, or Life in the Woods
Vocabulary
Which of these people most likely spends a lot of
time thinking about ethereal matters?
A
B
C
The End