It’s always nice, halfway through any endeavor, to have a little break. This brief foray to town and society lies between The Bean-Field and The Ponds. It also contains a vivid passage about walking home in the dark, just case there aren’t enough good things to say...
Consider the expressions we have about beans: He doesn’t know beans! She won’t amount to a hill of beans. They’re full of beans. Clearly, we don’t have a lot of respect for beans, and Thoreau is entirely playing with these sentiments. “But why should I...
By his own account and others, Thoreau’s little house and experiment drew a stream of curious visitors. He begins with a discussion on the size of his house and simplicity of his meals. Make no mistake, this is also a commentary on how the rest of us live. The...
This chapter is more straightforward, moving away from extended digressions into his direct experience. To support this elegant tribute for solitude, Thoreau leans on his affinity with nature, Confucius, Greek mythology, classic literature, and Eastern spirituality....
Thoreau’s family loved music~ remember he sang, danced, played the flute, and built at least one wind harp. He uses the word sound 456 times in his Journals, including an 1838 “SCRAPS FROM AN ESSAY ON ‘SOUND AND SILENCE’ ”. Still, why include a chapter on sounds as...
