Monday, August 25, 2008

“Where I lived, and What I Lived For” 11

Paragraph 4 delivers a strong statement both now, and in Thoreau’s’ time. Compare its probable rhetorical effect then and now.

4 comments:

Min Jae said...

The effect that Thoreau has with his 4th paragraph makes us realize the way society strives for something worthless in his terms. His idea is that people became more egocentric and distant from others. This is shown by his two metaphors which describe how each works today to save for tomorrow and how one watches something happen without helping as they have not started it. As his metaphors were based on what was present back then, it gave a clear purpose to what he had said. While it might be different now in terms of the symbols, the examples given are still present today. We all work alone and for ourselves.

Norberto said...

Thoreaus intention in paragraph 4 demonstrates how the grand majority of the people have been living in an illusion. People don't see beyond what is in front of them, thus limiting their mental capacity, and forcing the individual to think only on himself. In the end, this converts us into selfish beings. Through history, this has been happening repeatedly, and it will probably happen until we fully understand the limits of life.

Da-Re Kim said...

The effect of then and now in Thoreau's 4th paragraph makes a point on how people are selfish and at times careless. He talks about old women gossiping all the time about meaningless subjects that have no benefits to it. People get caught up and busy worrying about useless ideas that they forget about reality and their own lives. As Norberto said, limits of ife, no one will ever really know the limit of life because people are busy caring about themselves.

Young Eui Hong said...

Thoreau's point, in paragraph 4, is how the society is emphasized on unimportant matters, such as the daily news about murders or other criminal acts; we don't need to know everything in the newspaper. People are focused on the least valuable and worthless details. There is no need to gossip or spend time on knowing every event happening around the world. This displacing of focal point has been present in history as well. News would always be filled with events, yet unnecessary ones for one's life. The gossips and all these negative factors have made mankind selfish and self-centered. The one who gossips the most is the smartest. The truth is that all the gossips are useless ultimately back-tracking the steps of human intelligence.