Read the excerpt from Walden.
Standing on the snow-covered plain, as if in a pasture amid the hills, I cut my way first through a foot of snow, and then a foot of ice, and open a window under my feet, where, kneeling to drink, I look down into the quiet parlor of the fishes, pervaded by a softened light as through a window of ground glass, with its bright sanded floor the same as in summer; there a perennial waveless serenity reigns as in the amber twilight sky, corresponding to the cool and even temperament of the inhabitants. Heaven is under our feet is well as over our heads.
Which best describes the purpose of the imagery in this excerpt?
to illustrate the author's calm, contemplative mood
How does the progress of the last paragraph of "Where I Lived and What I Lived For" communicate the main idea of Walden?
Thoreau moves from gazing at the water to burrowing into the earth, just as the excerpt shows a progress from observation to contemplation.
Read the excerpt from Walden.
Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life? We are determined to be starved before we are hungry. Men say that a stitch in time saves nine, and so they take a thousand stitches today to save nine tomorrow.
How does the excerpt relate to today's culture?
It supports the idea that people move too quickly and forget to experience the present moment.
Which best states the overall structure of Walden?
The work describes Thoreau's thoughts over the course of a year spent immersed in the natural world.
In the first paragraph of "Conclusion" in Walden, how does Thoreau explain his departure from the woods?
He explains his departure as the movement from one part of his life to another.
