Henry David Thoreau: Why I Went to the Woods

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This activity contains 3 questions.

Analyze the recommendations that Thoreau is making here. What are his general recommendations? What are his specific recommendations? How might these recommendations be applied to life as it is lived in the twenty-first century?

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type at the beginning of the paragraph, and at the end.

Thoreau’s writing is characterized by extensive use of metaphor. Choose several of these to analyze in detail. How well does metaphor contribute to clarifying Thoreau’s ideas?

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type at the beginning of the paragraph, and at the end.

Throughout the essay, Thoreau includes what are for him statements of observed truth—for example, “Our life is frittered away by detail” and “I perceive that we . . . live this mean life that we do because our vision does not penetrate the surface of things.” Choose one of these ideas that you find interesting as the basis for an essay of your own.

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type at the beginning of the paragraph, and at the end.

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