Journal #11

“Where I Lived and What I Lived For” (232)

There are too many unimportant things in life. He thinks that technological advances take over our live and it takes over our true selves. He believes that technology is a burden on our lives.

Quote:

“Simplicity, Simplicity, Simplicity.”
“We do not ride on the railroad it rides upon us.”
“I went to the woods to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of
life…and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”


“Sounds” (234)

Thoreau says that it is important to live in the present. He would spend his time sitting outside his cabin listening to the sounds. He found that it wasn’t a waste of time doing this because nature could change at any moment.

Quote:
“… my life itself was become my amusement and never ceased to be novel”


“Brute Neighbors” (235)

Brute Neighbors satirizes modern day war. It shows how petty the thing people fight over actually are. The ants symbolize enemies, whether they are countries or people. The chips are the unimportant conflicts that spark wars. Even the smallest most insignificant creature shares that same traits as humans who are the highest creature.

Quote:
“And the results of this battle will be as important and memorable as those whom it concerns as those of the battle of Bunker Hill”

“The Pond in Winter” (237)

Nature only gives the answer of true beauty. A pond in winter has the ability to be different but underneath it is the same and alive as it is during the other seasons. Nature can look at rest and at peace during the winter but it is thriving beneath the surface.

Quote:
“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our head”


“Spring” (238)

Each spring is the creation of the world. Life come to live again and flourishes. He describes the sounds of the ice cracking, the smells of the flowers blooming, and the new explosion of colors.

Quote:
“The coming in of spring is like the creation of Cosmos out of Chaos and the realization of the Golden Age.”