Walden Ch.4 Sounds

Walden Ch.4 Sounds

1. Sensual Experience

   • First hand experience with nature said to be of greater significance in the road towards spiritual perfection
     • Books cannot be overly relied on
   • Thoreau is in a state of awe & ecstasy when in nature
     • Experiencing nature is an essential part of spiritual life
   • The richness of life

2. The Railroad

   • Thoreau's state of awe & ecstasy is disturbed by a passing train
     • Railroad is marked as an enemy
   • An interference of spiritual life
   • A stimulation for Thoreau's imagination
     • The train is a mythical creature

3. Sounds

   • "The bullfrogs circling the pond sound like drunken aldermen passing a punch bowl."
   • "A screech owl hoots "Oh-o-o-o-o that I had never been bor-r-r-r-n!"
   • "When I hear the iron horse make the hills echo with his snort like thunder, shaking the earth with his feet, and breathing fire and smoke from his nostrils"