Henry David Thoreau Discussion
Essay by 24 • December 18, 2010 • 447 Words (2 Pages) • 1,360 Views
In Walden, Thoreau states, "if a man doesn't keep pace with his companions, ‎perhaps it is because he bears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which ‎he hears, however measured or far away." This statement should not be taken ‎literally due to the fact that it hides a meaning that takes place in our world and in ‎experience of Thoreau that was described in his excerpt.‎
The meaning of this passage can be inferred to mean that there are many ‎people who are alike and do things the same, but if a man doesn't like the same ‎ideas and views of the others, he should go his own path and do as he wishes. From ‎Thoreau I can understand probably he can be referring to that you should listen to ‎yourself. From his experiences in the book, Thoreau moved away because he wanted ‎to get the most from his life by determining what was really important. Thoreau ‎states that, "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only ‎the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, ‎when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."‎
With the knowing that Thoreau left the "real world" to pursue something to ‎find himself, I can justify from the first quote of Thoreau that I stated that, Thoreau ‎himself beared another drummer. He went his own path. From the excerpt, he did ‎something that was separate from others. He became a nonconformist in a sense ‎because he dealt with his own beliefs. From all Thoreau's experiences of living in ‎the woods he brought meaning to his quote because he went to a place abandoned ‎from others even though many would think it was insane or awkward. ‎
If I take the quote of Thoreau and break into parts of understanding
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