David Thoreau: economy.

Essay by grgrace November 2003

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Philosophy of Life

In "On Economy" Henry David Thoreau is a naturalist, one who is able to be one with nature. Thoreau is very descriptive in what he does. He describes every detail as he is building, as he rests, and as he goes on in life. It is almost as if this story is strictly a descriptive essay. Thoreau goes into great detail trying to describe everything he does. Through him being so specific and descriptive you get a better look at his values and morals. Through the "On Economy" you can tell the Thoreau compares men's actions to things of nature to show his values. Also, he talks about building from the cornice down to the foundation and not the foundation up. Finally,


228, paragraph 1). Here, Thoreau is describing a snake but is relating it to men. He believes that like the snake, people in the world today could live a more slow paced life. People need to enjoy life and stop and take a look around them. They need to appreciate life and have certain understanding for it. Like Thoreau stated, "I made no haste in my work, but rather made the most of it."(Page 229, paragraph 3). While working in the forest, he took his time and enjoyed doing things slowly. He wanted to make sure that he got what he needed out of everything.

Thoreau talks about life and how things happen without you really having that much control over it. When he talks about man and...