Recent Comments
- Comment on Economy 1-14 by Paul SchachtPosted in: ENGL 340 S26 Geneseo In reply to Fiona Green. These are great questions, Fiona. We've discussed them somewhat already in class, but it's worth re-iterating that Thoreau didn't really live in isolation—he describes regularly going into the village of Concord and regularly having visitors at the house he built in the woods (which, […]
- Comment on Economy 15-29 by Paul SchachtPosted in: ENGL 340 S26 Geneseo In reply to Daphne Paul-LaRonca. I like your emphasis on the importance of change, Daphne. The Romantic writers who were an influence on Thoreau and other Transcendentalists saw change and growth as informing principles of both the universe and human personality, and Romantic poets especially sought to reflect these […]
- Comment on Economy 30-44 by Paul SchachtPosted in: ENGL 340 S26 Geneseo In reply to Tori Webster. This is such an important connection, Tori. It's a perfect example of the influence on Thoreau of Romanticism, which we discussed in class earlier this week. Romantic poets famously and influentially glorified childhood as a period of innocence and even deep insight into the […]
- Comment on Economy 71-81 by Paul SchachtPosted in: ENGL 340 S26 Geneseo In reply to Anna Enright. Agreed, Anna! I do think he'd be disappointed that so much of education is still removed from everyday life experience and activities, but perhaps he'd be pleased to see that project-based learning, internships, and other kinds of hands-on experiences are a feature of education […]
- Comment on Economy 1-14 by Paul SchachtPosted in: ENGL 340 S26 Geneseo In reply to Sky. Great connection, Sky. I'm struck, in this passage, by Thoreau's assertion that the "laboring man"—by which he means someone who works under conditions set by others, typically for long hours, doing repetitive tasks—"has no time to be anything but a machine." The idea that this […]