This is something I’ve been thinking a lot about recently stuck in the same place for so long. I’ve been trying to think more about how my perspective is formed. As I look into the motivations of Thoreau himself […]

Thoreau thinking about the way people take offense to discussion of fundamental bodily functions is a very modern and current topic within present day social discussion. It makes sense for Thoreau to think this […]

I find it interesting though not all that surprising that Thoreau holds some unorthodox views for his time on matters of ethical consumption. His focus on isolation, self dependence, and non-harm seems at odds […]

In the fluid text edition, we can see the way in which Thoreau amends this passage by incorporating significance within the human experience. It is interesting to me that he makes this revision because of the way […]

This passage, about how a young man first experiences the forest and nature struck a chord with me as I have been walking the grounds of my childhood home. Returning to a place I had not planned to as an older man […]

It is interesting how despite the importance Thoreau places in his own ability to live by his own terms and without interference from society, he can still find harmony with the company of others. He seems to […]

J.B. MacKinnon,  suggests that we might think about the diversity of Nature as “an extension of our own brains,” a “pool of imagination and creativity from which we, as humans, are able to draw.”

Right now I’m […]

This is wonderful, Paul, thank you so much for the imaginative perspective. It reminds me of a passage in Thoreau’s “A Winter Walk” essay of 1843, where he narrates coming to a woodcutter’s clearing on his ramble, […]

Thoreau was very lucky to have this disconnected experience by Walden pond. In paragraph five of “Sounds,” Thoreau talks about the birds that fly past his window. He writes, “As I sit at my window this summe […]

Within the first two pages of her essay, Ms. Hayles discusses how “the NEA chairman, Dana Gioia, suggests that the correlation between decreased literacy reading and poorer reading ability is indeed a causal c […]

I have been speaking about Thoreau with American scholars for almost 15 years. You put it very beautifully: “Communication is not a physical item, but it is something that can be shared between two people.” For 15 […]

This passage truly shows how incredibly focused people are on possessions and tangible items. Today, people are absolutely obsessed with getting the latest technology. Throeau writes how much he has gained from […]

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I found this paragraph extremely interesting and relevant to the world today. Thoreau talks about how man only needs the necessities, but craves and yearns for the luxuries. Today, people in our society are always […]