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Transcript of Before You Read Reading the Selection Responding to Literature Selection 1 Contents Click a...
Before You Read
Reading the Selection
Responding to Literature
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Reading the Selection
from Walden
from Civil Disobedience
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• To read and analyze essays about the insights gleaned from life-altering experiences
• To identify the characteristics of argumentative writing
• To write an expository essay
Henry David Thoreau was born in 1817 and died in 1862.
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Thoreau in JailWhen he was twenty-nine years old, Thoreau refused to pay a small tax that supported the Mexican-American War and the continuation of slavery. His action was an example of his philosophy of “passive resistance,” a means of nonviolent protest. He spent one night in jail. To explain his actions, Thoreau wrote the essay “Resistance to Civil Government,” now known as “Civil Disobedience.”
BACKGROUND
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Did You Know?Thoreau lived at Walden Pond for two years, two months, and two days in a cabin that measured ten feet by fifteen feet. He built the cabin himself. It was simple and sturdy. At Walden, Thoreau devoted himself to observing the seasons, the animals, and the plants, and to writing his journals; but he was not a hermit.
VOCABULARY PREVIEW
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deliberately: (adv) in a careful, thoughtful way; p. 253
resignation: (n) unresisting acceptance; submission; p. 253
sublime: (adj) of great spiritual or intellectual value; noble; p. 253
rudiment: (n) an imperfect or undeveloped part; p. 254
myriad: (adj) countless; innumerable; p. 255
VOCABULARY PREVIEW (cont.)
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expedient: (n) something employed to bring about a desired result; a means to an end; p. 258
din: (n) loud, continuous noise; p. 258 alacrity: (n) speed; swiftness; p. 258 inherent: (adj) existing as a basic quality;
belonging to by nature; p. 258 sanction: (n) approval or support; p. 261
FOCUS ACTIVITY
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Chart It!Thoreau believed “Our life is frittered away by detail.” What are the unimportant details in your life? What is really important? Record your responses in a chart like the one shown.
What do you think are the most essential things that people do in everyday life?
Setting a PurposeRead to learn one writer’s thoughts about what is really important in life.
Unimportant Details What’s Really Important
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A B C D E F G
A Active Reading
RespondClick the Speaker button to listen to an excerpt from the story.
What may Thoreau mean when he says, “I did not wish to live what was not life”?
He does not want to get caught up in life’s unimportant details. He wants to live a meaningful life that is stripped of unessentials.
The repeated rushes and pauses mimic Thoreau’s message of living “deep” and sucking “out all the marrow.”
Author’s CraftB
Parallel StructureNote the series of infinitive phrases that Thoreau uses in lines 5–10.
What is the effect of his using this structure?
By using the series of infinitive phrases,Thoreau forces the reader to move along quickly, to pause, and then to move along quickly and pause again.
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Why is it appropriate to Thoreau’s topic?
Literary ElementsC
Tone Read page 253.
Compare and contrast Thoreau’s tone with that of Emerson in the previous lesson.
Both are exuberant and forceful, but Thoreau is more arrogant, critical, and later in the essay ironic.
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Literary ElementsD
Figures of Speech: MetaphorExplain the implied comparison in Thoreau’s cave metaphor.
Thoreau compares the sightless victim to those whose excessive interest in the ephemera of life blind them to what is truly important.
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Literary ElementsE
MotifWhich motif has Thoreau’s essay been developing: life’s complexity, simplicity, or materialism?
The essay develops the theme of simplicity, arguing that people need to simplify their lives instead of attending to dramatic events, news, and mail.
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Literary ElementsF
Figures of Speech: AnalogyUnlike a metaphor with its single comparison, an analogy is an extended metaphor that notes several points of similarity.
Which metaphors on page 255, if any, are extended into analogies?
• “Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in.”• “The intellect is a cleaver.”• “My head is hands and feet.”
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Critical ThinkingG
InferringThoreau states: “I did not wish to take a cabin passage … I do not wish to go below now.”
Is Thoreau planning a sea voyage?
Possible answer: Thoreau may be ready to expand his world and his experiences but not necessarily by going to sea.
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A B C D E F G
A Active Reading
EvaluateDo you find Thoreau’s criticism of majority rule and justice fair?
Author’s CraftB
AnecdoteThoreau includes two personal anecdotes in this essay. In so doing, he makes the essay livelier and makes himself seem more human. A keen observer of details, his description of his cell and cellmate makes use of many sensory details.
Critical ThinkingC
ElaboratingIn what way does Thoreau feel “freer” than his “townsmen”?
Thoreau is free in the belief that he has done what is right by his own conscience. His nonconformity and the scope of his mind separate him from his townsmen.
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Active ReadingD
ReviewSummarize in no more than three sentences Thoreau’s main points up through the first paragraph on page 260.
Possible answer: Thoreau distrusts government and wants little of it. He believes in individual and conscience, not the power of the majority. He is willing even to go to jail for the sake of principle.
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Critical ThinkingE
Making AssumptionsReview what Thoreau has said in the last paragraph on page 260.
What might Thoreau’s reaction be to such contemporary issues as welfare, mandatory “three-strikes-and-you’re-out” jail sentences, and the Internet? Possible answer: He would certainly oppose welfare; he might find the jail sentences antiindividual and illogical; he might be intrigued by the individualism possible on the Internet but appalled by its potential for complicating people’s lives with trivialities.
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Critical ThinkingF
InferringWhat might you infer about Thoreau from his statement about a “new and rare experience”?
Thoreau’s vantage point in the prison provides him with a new point of view, giving him new insights into the lives of the townspeople. These new insights make him realize that he has held himself aloof from others in the past.
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Literary ElementsG
AllusionAn allusion is an indirect reference. On page 261 when Thoreau refers to the man who “went in a youth and emerged a tottering and gray-headed man,” he is probably alluding to Rip Van Winkle in Washington Irving’s story.
What might he mean by this allusion?
Like Rip Van Winkle, Thoreau feels he has woken up to a town that has changed while he has “slept” for what seems like years.
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Personal Response
Analyzing Literature
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Personal Response
Analyzing Literature
Literary Elements
Literature and Writing
Skill Minilessons
Responding to Literature
PERSONAL RESPONSEWhich of Thoreau’s ideas do you strongly agree or disagree with? Note them in your journal.
He wanted to find out the essence of life; Walden offered the opportunity for a simple life, which helped him live intensely.
RECALL AND INTERPRET
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What did Thoreau hope to do at Walden? How may being there have helped him achieve his goal?
What are Thoreau’s views of the news and the mail? Why do you think he held these views? What does his discussion tell you about what he values?
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He disdains news and mail, thinking them unimportant. He values deeper, more essential knowledge.
RECALL AND INTERPRET
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He says he had other lives to live, suggesting he wanted to get many different experiences from life.
RECALL AND INTERPRETWhy did Thoreau leave Walden? What might this suggest about him?
What did Thoreau learn at Walden? In your opinion, did he see his time there as well spent or wasted? Give reasons for your response.
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Possible answer: He learned both the practical and the philosophical essentials of life. His time was well spent because it taught him self-reliance and expanded his awareness.
RECALL AND INTERPRET
EVALUATE AND CONNECTLook back at the list of “What’s Really Important” that you created for the Focus Activity. Which of those items do you think Thoreau might have considered unessential? Explain.
How do you think your life might change if you took Thoreau’s advice to “Simplify, simplify”? To help answer this question, use a cause-and-effect diagram like the one below.
EVALUATE AND CONNECT
Cause: Take Thoreau’s advice to “Simplify, simplify.”
Effect: Effect: Effect:
EVALUATE AND CONNECT
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Theme Connections In your opinion, what insights did Thoreau gain by his “experiment” in the woods?
He confirmed his belief that most lives are too complicated and need to be simplified. The experience helped him understand himself and the universe better.
EVALUATE AND CONNECTThoreau urges us to “live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.” How could you apply this to your own life? Explain and give examples.
