Anastasia Danilevsky
Mr. Deidrich
Band B
October 27
A.P. English
"Where I Lived, and What I lived For" Henry David Thoreau
Questions on Rhetoric and style
1. In the first paragraph, what does Thoreau declare as his higher purpose?
I believe that Thoreau sees his higher purpose in life as to live life naturally, to get every breathe out of it, to live truly and happily and understand how it really is that life works. One would say Thoreau focuses on "Spartan-like" lifestyle, mentioned by the author in paragraph 1, however, later on the author, Thoreau mentions God and how one should "glorify and enjoy him forever". I believe that the author is contradicting himself starting from paragraph 1. The main purpose in authors life is to
…show more content…
The author is viewed as if he is unsure of his own ideas. The attitude of the text, whenever the author asks rhetorical questions is interrogative. Another example of a repetition in the specific writing can be seen in paragraph 6. When the author constantly repeats "let" or "let us". By using these repetitions the author is appealing to pathos by involving the audience into the text and making the reader be part of the argument.
7. What paradox does Thoreau develop concerning the railroad in paragraph 2?
In paragraph 2, the author initially states that railroads are supposed to be built by us, men, however, later on Thoreau states "We do not ride on the railroads, it rides upon us." This statement seemed contradictory to me, which shows the use of paradox in this segment of the writing.
8. Paragraph 3 begins with a rhetorical question. How effectively does the rest of the paragraph answer it?
If I understood the reading correctly, the author does not quite answer his rhetorical question throughout the rest of the paragraph. As a matter of fact, he shifts into talking about people view life, and their actions in specific cases. However, a rhetorical question is the one that does not expect an answer. This paragraph, as the rest of the writing, seemed contradictory and paradoxical. Sentences are compound - complex with a use of colons.
9.
Thoreau implies that if one is to live happily they must let go of all their obligations and responsibilities in favor of a simple life. For the most part, his suggestions are for one’s own happiness instead of others’ happiness. He does not take into account if the “accounts” that people have are for others instead of themselves. Thoreau assumes that everyone is living a life where they have no dependents and all the obligations they have taken upon themselves are for their own
Thoreau argues that many are incapable of achieving that goal because they live in a world full of details that takes focus away from living life. Moreover, we have so much on our plates, that it takes time away from reflecting on the personal self. Throughout the excerpt, Thoreau uses metaphors to approach the obstacles faced when living life in a world where everything must be done. Thoreau states that the competition for resources create a world where we are often cruel and compete with one another. In order to achieve the goal of living life fully, Thoreau proposes solutions that allow us to find our true purpose, take inconsideration nature and
Richard Wright, both the author and main character of “Library Card”, experiences prejudice first hand throughout his piece. Acting as an obstacle, this prejudice often prevents him from being able to visit the library. Along with this, his lack of books leaves him ignorant. Questioning the world around him, Wright struggles to see the world as anything but black and white. This impairs his reading and writing skills. He demonstrates this with the use of rhetorical questions. What is a rhetorical question? It is a rhetorical device that is often used to persuade or subtly influence the reader in a form of a question. Used correctly, these stylistic devices can have an enormous impact on the reader. In “The Library Card”, Wright uses rhetorical questions to emphasize and accentuate his points.
However, if they were to be complacent and stay home, there would be no need to build railroads or expand industry. These different views reflect the contradiction in society and in an individual’s mind. People think that they always have to be moving and building and instituting some new technology that will somehow make us great and earn a spot in heaven. However, people end up hurting themselves with this mindset because they are selling themselves short of the full potential of life, which, according to Thoreau, is to live fully and deliberately. Thoreau is exposing that humans strive for superficial success through their complicated and expeditive routines of their everyday lives, but true success comes by improving one’s own life. Later in the metaphor, Thoreau uses the train to point out oppression and manipulation done by society. He states, “We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us. Did you ever think what those sleepers are that underlie the
1. Describe the tone Thoreau establishes in paragraph 2. How does it contribute to the rhetorical effect of the paragraph?
This passage can be divided into three distinct sections. The first section is where he uses rhetorical strategies to get his point across. The second section is where he uses a literary device to appeal to his audience's emotions. The final section is where he uses multiple questions to strengthen the
Also in from Where I Lived and What I Lived For one can find how Thoreau shows his appreciation for the wisdom of the past and a dislike for progress. In his last couple phrases he describes the railroads, which can be seen as a symbol for technology or advancement, these he talks about with great antipathy as he implies that no outward improvement will bring the inner peace and contentment that men seek. He suggests that the freedom that railroads are thought to represent truly bring about a type of servitude in the respect that one must conform to the train’s schedules and routes. In conclusion he states, “We do not ride the railroad, it rides upon us.”
Accordingly, Through seeing society’s torpid and repeating state and wanting to find the purpose of life, Thoreau’s motivation was fueled by the urge to finding the purpose of life and living with simplicity.
The point of the essay is to encourage the reader to act upon their opinions. Thoreau believes that simply having an opinion or casting a vote doesn’t cause change in the world, so it is important that people take the necessary steps to fix the problems they face as a society.
The Spanish conquistadors’ motives greatly affected the people living in the new world. These motives influenced the Native Americans in all different ways some ways better or bigger than others. Three of the biggest motives that effected the Native Americans were gold, Christianity, and glory.
review of the rhetorical situation for my assignment three. The purpose of this assignment is to
a. Is there some section that clearly lets the reader know what subject the composition is about and what the writer’s purpose is? If so, where does this section begin and end? In this section, can you find an answer to the central question that the text has been written in response to, or can you find an indication of the text’s central argument?
He has deeper thoughts. Like Emerson, Thoreau also wanted to live a simple life, in order to find deeper meaning in life.
To begin, the main points of Thoreau’s essay must be analysed. Thoreau began by advocating a life that is simple and slow. This is summarized by the phrase from his book, “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand.” A philosophy such as this may be appealing, especially when one is overwhelmed by the problems presented by society. However, maintaining this simplicity in a community context requires ignorance of the needs and wants of other people. Many of society’s complicated demands, such as tax payment and jury duty, are necessary for the betterment of other citizen’s lives. In his essay, Thoreau dismissed the importance of community problems by claiming that they were a complete illusion, adding, “Men say that a stitch in time saves nine, and so they take a thousands stitches today to save nine tomorrow. As for work, we haven’t any of any
Thoreau discusses the issue of how we spend our time and energies. It is obvious that his townspeople are not as economical as they spend many hours working very hard to accomplish very little, showing a false sense of economy. Thoreau believed that all attempts to redeem mankind form its problems were