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  • Comment on House-Warming 10-19 by skelly
    Posted in: Choate RH 2025 [I had the previous winter made a small quantity of lime by burning the shells of the Unio fluviatilis, which our river affords, for the sake of the experiment; so that I knew where my materials came from. ] I wasnt aware that thoreau would experiment with making his own […]
  • Comment on Solitude by Stephen Siperstein
    Posted in: Choate RH 2025 In reply to Annie Cady. I love that you're finding a resonance between Thoreau's reflections and your own experience, especially on a rainy or overcast day. Something I notice in your reflection is your use of passive voice verbs: "we are forced", "be held." I'm thus curious: Who is doing […]
  • Comment on Higher Laws by Stephen Siperstein
    Posted in: Choate RH 2025 In reply to Bryan. What do you make of Thoreau distinguishing between the "fishermen, hunters, woodchoppers, and others" who are themselves a part of nature and the "philosophers or poets even, who approach her with expectation"?  I also wonder whether there might be a difference -- in degree if not […]
  • Comment on Solitude by Annie Cady
    Posted in: Choate RH 2025 As it is raining outside, it makes me wonder our human instinct to want to be cozy and inside. In our time full of technology, we are forced to go along with our pre-determined schedules even if the weather isn't cooperating. As Thoreau writes about indulging in his want to […]
  • Comment on Higher Laws by Bryan
    Posted in: Choate RH 2025 This is the paragraph that you (Dr. Siperstein) talked about in class, where Thoreau gets a sudden animalistic desire to devour a woodchuck raw on the spot. He does this not due to hunger but because of the wilderness the animal represents. I don’t believe that the woodchuck is particularly […]

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