Quiz 16: Thoreau Directions: Answer the following questions in paragraph format. Be thorough in your response‚ use examples from the text‚ and be sure to address all parts of each question. 1. In the final paragraphs of “Solitude‚” Thoreau asks the following rhetorical questions: “Shall I not have intelligence with the earth? Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself?” What does he mean when he writes “intelligence with the earth” (a very different thing from saying intelligence of the
Premium Poetry Human Scientific method
Comparing Henry David Thoreau and Herman Melville’s Writings Henry David Thoreau and Herman Melville focused their writings on how man was affected by nature. They translated their philosophies though both the portrayal of their protagonist and their own self exploration. In Moby Dick‚ Melville writes about Ahab’s physical and metaphysical struggle over the great white whale‚ Moby Dick‚ symbolic of man’s struggle against the overwhelming forces of nature. Ahab’s quest is reported and experienced
Premium Moby-Dick Henry David Thoreau Walden
Henry David Thoreau In “Civil Disobedience‚” Henry David Thoreau focuses his ideas around the central theme‚ “It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law‚ so much as for the right. The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right.” He defines man as a person who listens and acts to his conscience and states that if man obeys laws opposing his conscience‚ such as laws created by legislators‚ then he is no better than an animal. Thoreau begins
Premium
In "Self-Reliance‚" Emerson states‚ "A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within‚ more than luster of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his thought‚ just because it is his." In this quote Emerson is elaborating on the idea that we must all exude intellectual independence and nonconformity. Why do we rely on others to determine the way we think‚ act‚ dress and speak? Thoreau and Emerson both tried to incorporate
Premium Ralph Waldo Emerson Happiness Thought
The essays by Martin Luther King Jr.‚ “Letters From Birmingham Jail” and Henry David Thoreau‚ “Civil Disobedience” show how one can be a civil person and protest against unfair‚ unjust laws forced upon them. Both authors are very persuasive in their letter writings. Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. write about the injustice of government laws‚ of right and wrong‚ and one’s moral and upstanding conscience of a human being. Martin Luther King Jr. is a religious‚ peaceful man who uses
Premium Civil disobedience Martin Luther King, Jr. Law
Edgar Allan Poe and Henry David Thoreau were two very different authors‚ one was a mastermind of Gothic literature‚ while the other was a transcendentalist. One can understand Poe’s knack for stories like The Fall of the House of Usher because of his unprivileged childhood. His father deserted his family‚ and his mother died while Poe was very young (Wiggins 288). He also lived through constant poverty and suffered from depression‚ his only refuge being his wife‚ Virginia‚ who died when she was
Premium Edgar Allan Poe Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe Short story
atmosphere and medium through which we look‚ which morally we can do.” Thoreau was saying that the individual controls the meaning of the art of living. The control the way that they see the world and it is easy for
Premium Impressionism Expressionism Claude Monet
October 19‚ 2010 English 3773 – American Literature to 1800 Dr. Prus DOUGLASS AND EMERSON What is Self-Reliance? How does Ralph Waldo Emerson use self-reliance? How does it relate to Frederick Douglass’ Narrative? These are some interesting questions and they will be carefully reviewed. Emerson’s use of self-reliance may have many different interpretations for others that read it‚ but his possible intentions of its use will be the primary focus. Douglass’ Narrative might be seen as a fulfillment
Premium Writing Ralph Waldo Emerson Fiction
Hester Prynne and Henry David Thoreau: Rebels in Society Hester Prynne is an anarchic force that destabilizes the status quo‚ allowing change to occur. She is a strong character‚ a rebel ostracized from society. The isolation she lives in brings her sorrow‚ yet grants her freedom of thought. Hester rejects the imprisoning commands of an accusatory society and has the will to fight against their influence over her nature. Henry David Thoreau also rebelled against the established orders of
Premium Henry David Thoreau Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter
1700 Monday 7:00 PM Walden (1854) By: Henry David Thoreau I have always been a fan of Henry Thoreau; my house is littered of quotes of his that I like to think I live my life by. One of my favorites is very apparent in this entry from Walden‚ a book that I have read many times‚ “That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest”. Thoreau’s two years that he spent at Walden Pond are rooted in this sentiment‚ and I couldn’t agree more. Thoreau starts off by explaining his two-year project
Premium Henry David Thoreau Concord, Massachusetts Ralph Waldo Emerson