1. Solo Work: Writing activity.
Thoreau’s amazing sensitivity to the details of physical world and to the whole world as a living organism has taught many how to observe nature and how to value it. No one could observe the natural world more perceptively than Thoreau. He did not perceive nature as a dead and passive object of conquest and exploitation, as it was for many of the early pioneers for whom land meant survival. Rather, he saw in it a lively and vibrant world unto itself, a spectacle of change, growth, and constancy that could infuse us all with spiritual meaning if we pursued it.
Please write briefly about a special place where you find peace and refuge, and express your own perceptions of nature.
2. Pair Work: Appreciate the unique language style of Henry David Thoreau.
Thoreau is a very funny writer, although you have to be alert to his humor to get it. He loves word play, such as using the same word in different contexts, which change the meaning. (For example, “It makes but little difference whether you are committed to a farm or to the county jail”. ) He also loves humorous comparisons, of animals to people, for example, or of his life to the lives of others. What examples of word play, satire, humorous description, or other forms of humor, do you find?
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3. Group Work: Discuss the following quotes with your partner.
For the Transcendentalists like Emerson and Thoreau, the secret of successful living was to hold oneself above material concerns as much as possible and focus on the spiritual. Read the following quotes and discuss with your partners whether you agree or disagree with them.
1) Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little.
— Epicurus
2) I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind.
— Albert Einstein
3) The greatest wealth is to live content with little.
— Plato
4) What is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?
— Albert Camus
5) If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy,
if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you,
if the simple things in nature have a message you understand,
Rejoice, for your soul is alive.
— Eleanora Duse
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