English: Thoreau’s Journals – Flashcards
37 test answers
Unlock all answers in this set
Unlock answers 37question
Living in the woods allowed Thoreau to truly experience live and learn the facts of life. Living in nature and with nature, without any other human influences, results in a peaceful interaction just between nature and the human being. It creates a situation of mutual existence, of survival and hope. He wanted to really live life with no worries, so he could focus on living in the moment and learning from it rather than regretting that he did not do this later on in his life. He wanted to experience life no matter what the cost might be for him. He was able to think more about his personal philosophies when he was alone in nature, and he was also always honest with both nature and himself because there was no one there to conform with or imitate.
answer
The theme of the next paragraph is the effort to "live deliberately" in order to "live deep." in what way did living in the woods enable Thoreau to improve the quality of his life?
Unlock the answer
question
Even though humans are believed to be more powerful than any other species, we still have our flaws and issues. These are mostly caused by our lives not being simple enough. He stresses simplicity in order to show that everyday life is being overcomplicated and causing more problems than it is worth.
answer
The final paragraph asserts that "we live meanly like ants". What does Thoreau give for this way of life?
Unlock the answer
question
He believed that simplicity is important because many times, people allow their lives to be "frittered away by detail". Simplicity also results in the truth, which can result in self-reliance and nonconformity. Simplicity aids people in pursuing goals and completing tasks. Overall, Transcendentalists believed in a simple life and connecting with the world around; truly experiencing the world and using self-reliance to do it.
answer
Why does he place so much emphasis on simplicity?
Unlock the answer
question
The paradox is that Thoreau's passage centralizes on the main idea of simplicity and the idea of living a simple life. In the passage he also expresses the ways that his contemporaries believe technology can simplify life. He talks about how people feel that railroads, and other similar technology, are supposed to make life simpler. However, these conveniences also create a certain amount of difficulty. Rather than simplifying all aspects of life, they often complicate them. The user now has to adapt to the effort the technology requires of the user. Technologies intended to "simplify" life often do just the opposite.
answer
What paradox is expressed in the final sentence of this passage?
Unlock the answer
question
Thoreau often spent mornings reflecting on life and its meaning. He concludes that such time is not wasted but well spent, and people should listen to and learn from the sounds of nature. He reflects on the passage of time and its unimportance, Puri Indian lack of words for days, and how others consider this idleness. He feels he has an advantage in life.
answer
Sound: Summary
Unlock the answer
question
The tone is generally blissful, looking back at the experience with fondness of memory.
answer
Tone
Unlock the answer
question
Thoreau feels that these hours allow him to learn from and enjoy the world around him, and improve his life.
answer
This passage celebrates idleness but not merely as laziness or shirking of work. Why does he feel that these hours "were not time subtracted from my life, but so much over and above my usual allowance"?
Unlock the answer
question
The silent smile and occasional chuckle from Thoreau are a result of his taking time from his day to enjoy of nature.
answer
Thoreau's own inner state on those days was expressed by a silent smile or an occasional chuckle. How are these expressions of himself related to the sounds he hears from nature?
Unlock the answer
question
During the Industrial Revolution most people were concerned with getting things done quickly leaving no time for Thoreau's "useless" idleness. The townspeople are slaves to the clock.
answer
The single word for time in the language of the Puri Indians is contrasted to the hours that are "fretted by the ticking of the clock." Why should this discussion of time lead immediately to Thoreau's fellow townsmen in Concord and their criticism of his "idleness"?
Unlock the answer
question
Observes two large ants fighting War between black and red ants Looking more closely reveals the whole battlefield Compares the ant war to an actual human war Before this, Thoreau has never been in or seen an actual war Each side had a musical "band" Saw a single red ant observing the war and compared him to Achilles The red ant plunged into battle and joined forces with another red ant to attack a black ant Picked up the leaf that the three ants were fighting on and took it inside to examine them with a microscope Struggled for half an hour more until the black ant beheaded the other two red ants After another half hour, the black ant was, although wounded, victorious Discovered the frivolousness of war
answer
Brute Neighbors: Summary
Unlock the answer
question
compares them to people and talking about losses and casualties
answer
In this famous instance of Thoreau's close observation of nature, how does he make the war between armies of ants seem significant?
Unlock the answer
question
to make it more dramatic, help us understand the importance of this ant war, remember the battle as we remember the American Revolution
answer
Concord, site of one of the first battles of the American Revolution, was justly proud of its place in history. What is Thoreau's purpose in comparing the war of the ants to the "Concord Fight" of the past?
Unlock the answer
question
dramatic, heroic
answer
What is the tone of his references to the Spartans and the heroes of the Trojan war and to Napoleon's campaigns
Unlock the answer
question
by describing musical bands, comparing it to human battles
answer
Present for the first time at a "war" or a "battle" of any kind, Thoreau declares that "I was myself excited somewhat even as if they had been men." How does he convey this excitement to his reader?
Unlock the answer
question
kind of like a fable, more of a personal touch, to describe the battle in more detail
answer
Why is it important that the description shifts from the general field of battle to the three ants he separates from the others and watches through a magnifying glass?
Unlock the answer
question
when he looks at the ant war, he sees it as a trivial thing, which means that human war is trivial, he doesn't really know why they are fighting and who really was victorious because it's trivial
answer
At the end Thoreau observes that he "never learned which party was victorious, nor the cause of the war..." How is this statement also a comment on human warfare?
Unlock the answer
question
dramatic, insightful, satirical, observant, curious, ironic
answer
How would you describe the overall tone in this passage?
Unlock the answer
question
references to Greek mythology, bottom of page 235 ("And certainly... bear a moment's comparison with this"), bottom of second column of page 236 ("I never learned... of the war"), brought three ants into his house, he also mocks the warriors by saying that they are fighting for no reason.
answer
What particular words or incidents seem most clearly to indicate that tone?
Unlock the answer
question
Thoreau wakes up with questions on his mind, but then the power of Nature answers them. Nature leads him out of his confusion and says "Forward!" He then admires nature from his home on the hill. Then, he starts his morning labors. He describes the pond as snowy and cold, covered with layers of hard ice. He states that the pond's ground is like heaven. Men come and go to the pond to fish and gather other resources. He describes the pond as a meeting point for the towns, which keeps them unified. Thoreau also talks about an expert fisherman who can catch fish even in the midst of the winter. He has learned the necessary tools to fish by needing to survive and through experience.
answer
Pond in Winter: Summary
Unlock the answer
question
optimism, admiration
answer
Tone
Unlock the answer
question
While sleeping, he feels that many questions have been clouding his mind "what — how — when — where?". He awoke to nature shining through his window as if to explain that he must not worry about these small things and to just keep moving forward with life because Nature will guide him to where he needs to be.
answer
Thoreau says he "awoke to an answered question, to Nature and daylight." What makes him see that nature transcends all questions and doubts about existence?
Unlock the answer
question
He says that what the average citizen learned in books and second-hand experiences, the fisherman learned on their own through personal experience, which is a lot more impressive and natural. The fisherman are experienced on how to cooperate with Nature. They have learned the tricks on how to fish in the winter and use what they need to their advantage, just as the citizen knows about how to make their own, man-made city work and be efficient.
answer
The final paragraph focuses upon the fishermen who came to Walden Pond from the town. In what way are the fishermen "as wise in natural lore as the citizen is in artificial"?
Unlock the answer
question
While the citizen of the town probes nature, the naturalist dives in head first, immersing himself in its endeavors. Through experience, the fisherman knows how to work with Nature, and Nature works with the fisherman, while the trained naturalist does not know the wonders of nature, only what they have learned in books, and they try to put those lessons to the test. What they fail to see though is that Nature changes everyday, and it does not follow the rules of a mere book.
answer
What evidence proves that these "wild men" have penetrated more deeply into nature than the trained naturalist?
Unlock the answer
question
Overall theme of awakening The sheet of ice covering the pond is melting More sunlight, less sluggish darkness Geese and ducks are migrating back to Walden "serene and mild weather" As spring arrives, he is anticipating summer Observed everything, from the blanket of mist covering the pond to the plants that bloom The arrival of spring is a time of renewal
answer
Spring: Summary
Unlock the answer
question
hopeful
answer
Tone
Unlock the answer
question
The passage says the bare face of the pond is "full of glee and youth, as if it spoke the joy of this fishes within it". It then describes the sands on the shore as a "silvery sheen as from the scales of a leuciscus" (a small freshwater fish."
answer
This selection gives a sense of awakening and rebirth that accompanies spring. Beginning with the ribbon of water along the shore, the first paragraph develops an impression of movement until the "living surface" of the pond seems itself "all one active fish". What images create this impression.
Unlock the answer
question
Emerson starts with speaking about how the ice is melting and seeing fish in the pond. Then later in the passage he speaks at length about the birds coming back from the south. He calls the tortoise and the frog "the heralds of the season", so when they return it means spring is on its way. Plants spring and bloom and he hears the robin singing.
answer
Introduced in the second paragraph is the idea that spring is a "memorable crisis", in part because it is at once gradual and sudden. What changes in nature mark that mysterious point at which winter turns into spring?
Unlock the answer
question
The narrator announces that he is going to leave the woods because he has become trapped by routine He encourages readers to follow their dreams, love life, and live simply We should understand ourselves He believes that the poor are the most independent and live the best lives; they do not need money In order to enjoy life and find true calling, live a basic life live the simplest way you can
answer
Conclusion: Summary
Unlock the answer
question
reminiscent, calm and patient, enlightened, knowing, philosphical
answer
Tone
Unlock the answer
question
Even though Thoreau went to Walden to escape the expectations society set, he soon realized that he was just creating new paths and conforming to those instead. These paths were not just physical ones that others could follow, but also mental ones that he kept travelling down. Thoreau realized this and left Walden to experience other paths as well. We all rely on the comfort of routine and follow paths that others have already taken, and it's hard to break free of this.
answer
In his conclusion Thoreau again applies the lessons of his experiment to broader experiences. In the first paragraph, what general lesson about conformity is to be drawn from the path he wore between his house and the pond?
Unlock the answer
question
He wanted people to just stay who they were even if they sensed different things than those around them. Thoreau was always concerned with individuality, maintaining a sense of who you are even if you hear a different "music" than those around you. He's saying that you have to be yourself. You shouldn't try to be someone you're not.
answer
The example in the third paragraph of the man who "hears a different drummer" is one of the most quoted passages from Walden. How does this passage support the earlier criticism of conformity?
Unlock the answer
question
Within each of us is the real being which can rise to the surface albeit from within a society that stifles individuality and liberty. Also, time is irrelevant. We should live in the present knowing that in the future, by some sort of chance, we will be able to fully expose our beautiful uniqueness. Be patient and good things will come.
answer
The powerful fifth paragraph centers upon the rebirth that is possible once we have opened ourselves to nature and to our true inner being. Within this context, what is the "moral" of the story of the beautiful bug that hatched after being buried many years in an old wooden table?
Unlock the answer
question
We can prepare for our perfect summer life by being ourselves and enjoying the present and the place we are now. March to your own beat and enjoy what you have instead of preoccupying yourself with where you think you should be.
answer
In some respects the final sentences of "Conclusion" sum up all of Walden. Thoreau reminds us that finding our "perfect summer life", as did the beautiful bug, is not merely a matter of waiting. According to Thoreau, in what way may any of us prepare to experience spiritual awakening?
Unlock the answer