Literature

from Walden
Introduction
Why might a person live alone
and away from the world?
What are the advantages or disadvantages of this
choice?
Objectives:
• Go through the first read questions
•
• Go to page 215
When you do the first read
Notice: The theme of the passage
Annotate: mark any passages that explain
why Thoreau went to the woods and what he
found there.
Connect: think about a place you would go to
find peace.

Respond: Answer the Comprehension

Questions and write a short summary of the
passage. On page 224
Comprehension Check; from Walden
1. Thoreau advises his “fellows” to avoid the
commitments of ownership.
2. He hoped to discover the essential facts of
life.
• 3. He advises impoverished people to live
life and find the best in it.
 Summary
4. Thoreau reflects on his inspection of potential
properties for his home and concludes that it is
wise to avoid the commitments of ownership. He
confides that he took up an abode in the woods
in order to discover the essential features of life.
People would do well, he says, to simplify their
lives and to live at a slower pace. They should not
allow themselves to be caught up in a desperate
race for success. Indeed, being true to oneself
may mean living in a way that is like marching
to a different drummer. Living in poverty, in fact,
may be a key to independence.