Walden Study Guide Questions With Correct
Answers
Why do you think Thoreau singles out individual groups of readers as he begins his first essay? -
answerBecause he wants to answer specific questions that they ask.
What does Thoreau mean when he says that "the mass of men lead lives of quiet de...
someone is wealthy they usually have really nice and expensive clothes because they can afford
it. But if you are poor, one tends to use their money for more important necessities such as food.
Yes when people wear uniforms they are bonded and equal.
What is Thoreau's opinion of the manner in which American people approach home ownership
versus renting? - answer✔"You could sit up as late as you pleased, and whenever you got up, go
abroad without any landlord or house lord dogging you for rent" (26).
Thoreau asks, "Would the savage be wise to exchange his wigwam for a palace on these terms?"
What do you think his answer might be? - answer✔I think Thoreau would say "If we suppose
him to pay a rent instead, this is but a doubtful choice of evils" (28).
Why does Thoreau say, to a painter, that the most interesting dwellings are the homes of the
common poor rather than the greater architectural feats? - answer✔"But a man as no more to do
with the style of architecture of his house than a tortoise with that of its shell" (43).
Explain what Thoreau means by the following statement "The student who secures his coveted
leisure and retirement by systematically shirking any labor necessary to man obtains but an
ignoble and unprofitable leisure, defrauding himself of the experience which alone can make
leisure fruitful". - answer✔"I mean that they should play life, or study it merely while the
community supports them at this expensive game, but earnestly live it from beginning to end"
(47).
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