[Emma Williams]

In the last paragraph on page 36 of <i>Into the Wild</i>, it says, “He was back at the United States border on January 18. Caught by immigration authorities without an ID, he spent a night in custody before concocting a story that sprang him from the slammer…” Thoreau would appreciate this since he was also imprisoned for breaking government rules as mentioned in Walden. “…I was seized and put into jail, because, as I have elsewhere related, I did not pay a tax to, or recognize the authority of the State…” Deliberately defying government rules is a big part of transcendentalism, and both Thoreau and McCandless have done so. Perhaps Thoreau would even be proud of McCandless for his actions against “the authority of the State.”

[Emma Williams]

Tone is vital in Walden. Without it, the story wouldn’t be much. Tone is the feelings of the author towards a subject, and Thoreau blatantly states his feelings. He views nature in a very positive light and often praises its beauty and peacefulness. Society does not receive as such high praise from him. He dislikes the materialistic ways of people and is very critical of the effectiveness of the government. Thoreau’s message to his audience puts tone in a prominent place. He would be unable to convey his message without tone.

[Emma Williams]

Thoreau would most definitely not approve of the societal practices of today. At the bottom of page 66 he says, “…for a man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone.” This basically means the less material objects a person has, the richer they are spiritually, emotionally, etc. The popular belief of today is that if a person has a great many material objects such as money, cars, or jewels, they are rich. This is true, but such people may not be rich spiritually, emotionally, etc. Simply, Thoreau believes the fewer material objects one has, the richer one is, and modern belief is the more material objects one has, the richer one is. These views could hardly be more different.

[Emma Williams]

My Walden is my mind. No one is able to intrude because it’s my brain. I often tend to get lost in my own thoughts, and it allows me to focus on anything I can possibly think of.

[Emma Williams]

I don’t think it’ll  be horrible, but I like reading out of actual books, so this might be a little unpleasant for me.

[Author]

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