Chapter 13: House-Warming

Chapter 13: House-Warming

1. Cold Weather

   • When the weather gets colder, Thoreau (finally) decides to build a chimney and to also insulate his walls (like all houses). He goes to the forest where he gathers some fruits and nuts not even to eat, but because he thinks they look pretty. He admits that as "perfect" as he is, he sometimes wants a bigger house. (Would't it have been less work to be LIKE AND ACTUAL HUMAN BEING AND JUST BUY A HOUSE INSTEAD of all the work he's doing) He talks about house-warming/hospitality referring to it as a custom where people invite guests to their house and stay as far away from them (inside the house) as possible.

2. Ice

   • He describes the ice on the pond as firm and sturdy. He takes this chance to study the pond and the bubbles that have formed in between the ice. He then says how much he likes and enjoys collecting firewood, something that he and the rest of society share and cannot live without. And on the topic of firewood, he says how he usually keeps his fireplace going even if he's out of the house, that is, until one day the fire caught onto the sheets of his bed. Thankfully, he put out the fire before his whole cabin burned to the ground. He says one last things that seems kind of odd (even for him), he says that he likes to stare into the fire (expected) and that he always sees a face in it.