Literary Analysis from Walden • from Civil Disobedience An author’s purpose, or reason for writing, influences his or her style, the unique manner in which he or she puts thoughts into words. Elements of style include diction, or word choice, and tone, or attitude. Thoreau’s style has a conversational quality, as though he is talking to a friend. This helps advance his purpose of enlightening the reader without seeming to lecture or scold. Thoreau also “thinks” in images, often using a series of figurative expressions to develop ideas. In Walden, Thoreau illustrates the point that modern life is too complex with a series of concrete examples:

Literary Analysis cont. First, he uses a metaphor, a figure of speech that shows a similarity between two or more unlike things without using the words “like” or “as”: In the midst of this chopping sea of civilized life . . .” Next, he uses an analogy, an extended comparison of relationships: “Our life is like a German Confederacy, made up of petty states . . .” analyze how Thoreau’s style—including his tone, diction, and uses of figurative language—advance his purpose for writing.

Literary Analysis from Walden • from Civil Disobedience 1. Explain how the paragraph on simplicity in Walden demonstrates the following elements of Thoreau’s style: (a) a conversational tone; (b) informal diction; (c) a tendency to use a series of figurative expressions, including metaphor and analogy, to develop a key idea. (a) In your own words, describe Thoreau’s purpose for writing. (b) Judging from the evidence you gathered in question 1, analyze how Thoreau’s style, tone, and diction advance that purpose. 3. Thoreau often starts a paragraph with specific examples. He then applies them to a larger truth. (a) Identify one such paragraph. (b) Do you think this approach is effective? Explain.

Literary Analysis cont. 4. Choose two metaphors and one analogy from these essays. Use a chart like the one shown to examine the meanings of each one. Metaphor/Analogy Things compared Meaning I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life 5. Challenge (a) In which essay does Thoreau spend more time translating abstract ideas into concrete metaphors and analogies? (b) How does this choice reflect the purpose of the essay?

Literary Analysis cont. Analyze Visual Information Explain the humor in this cartoon. [Text in cartoon “bubble”: Dear Ralph, Talk about boring! Nothing to do but take stupid walks in the dreary woods! You’d hate it!! Best regards, Henry]