Walden Chapter 14

Walden Chapter 14

1. Vocabulary

   • Dubious- Hesitating, or doubting
   • Conviviality- Friendliness, or kindness
   • Pious- devoutly religious

2. Characters

   • Cato Ingraham- Slave of Duncan Ingraham but got permission to live in the woods. His cabin is still standing but hidden, even after his death.
   • Zilpha- An African American, has a small house close to where Thoreau lived. The war of 1812 burned her house down with her dog, cat, and her chickens.
   • Brister Freeman- A slave of Squire Cummings once. His grave is near the unmarked graves of some British grenadiers.
   • Breed and his son- Breed's house burned down as well. Thoreau also saw Breed's son, who came to see whatever is left of the house.
   • The woodchopper- Thoreau crossed the tracks of this wood chopper leading from his door.
   • The Poet- He traveled the farthest to Thoreau's house and they had sober talks and long silences together.
   • The philosopher- He is from Connecticut. Thoreau calls him an "Old Morality". Thoreau also like his talks with the philosopher about humanity and the world.

3. Plot

   • Thoreau met no one in his walks for many weeks during the winter. Many of the people he recalls are African Americans and usually former slaves, such as Cato, Zilpha, and Brister Freeman. He also mentions Breed, an alcoholic, and his son. Each person has their own tragedy. In this chapter, Thoreau also mentions his encounters with a wood chopper, a poet (with other occupations), and a philosopher, someone called the old mortality.
     • Throughout this chapter, Thoreau kept recalling his meetings from the past because he hasn't been able to meet anyone for a while. Even though Thoreau loves nature and solitude, he still desires and enjoys the company of people.
       • This chapter shows more of Thoreau's social personality. He loves having conversations with people and even just being in their company. For example, he enjoyed the conversations he had with the poet, but also liked their long silences.