Reading Assignment Topics

Henry David Thoreau

Instructions: Write a page (minimum) in response to each of the following topics. Be as
detailed and as thoughtful as you can. This is not a research exercise. The aim is to encourage
close reading and specific thinking about the texts as part of your preparation before coming to
class. You must be clear and coherent, but thought, attention to detail, and willingness to play
with reasonable possibilities of meaning will all count more than either “expression” or
“correctness.” Handwritten responses are acceptable. Late responses will not be counted.

1. Who does Thoreau imagine as his audience and in what ways and with what tone does he
address himself to their particular concerns in the opening chapter of Walden? In other words,
how does “Economy” work rhetorically, and, as an auxiliary question, do the facts of Thoreau’s
actual life matter?

2. What does Thoreau mean by necessity and how does he use this to critique various elements
of American life?

BONUS: (Not required)

3. How do you account for the difference in Thoreau’s reactions to the two workingmen, John
Field and Alek Therien (the French-Canadian woodchopper)?

4. What are the terms of the relation with nature that Thoreau describes in the “Bean-Field”
chapter?

Due: Monday, October 19