To see my comment from paragraph 10 from Economy, click here.
The line I chose, and its following sentences left an imprint in my mind for the duration of my reading of ‘Walden.’ My comment was of how Thoreau believes that technology will inevitably be created to be better, faster, more efficient, etc. With each generation, there is an unspoken force that compels people to invent, modify, and improve technology. This ‘force’ began years ago with the invention of the pen. The pen was invented to write down the oral traditions and stories passed on from each generation. The older generation was worried that because the pen could write everything down, people would lose the capacity to memorize anything. The invention of the computer similarly created anxiety for the older generation because of the fear that people would solely socialize through the computer instead of face-to-face conversations. Thoreau pushes the reader to question his or her present day life and its technologies and the possibilities they each hold. He reinforces the fact that the anxiety and worry about new technology is not necessary because it has happened to thousands of people before, and has proved to be a positive outcome. In this paragraph, Thoreau wants the reader to realize that it is human nature to create things that change who are are as human beings, and as a society.
