Fitz English
Callan Fries
Clothes and Shelter
11/19/2015
In these two topics in Walden, Thoreau talks about how clothes and shelter have been made a necessity of life. They have been turned into some of the most important things in life. If a person is seen in ratty and ripped clothes they are seen as poor, or a person to avoid. If a person has a small house that is in bad shape they are seen as poor, and inconsiderate.
Thoreau wrote that a person is only judged by their personality, and if they want to live that way, let them. Clothing in Thoreau's eyes, is only something to cover the body, and at times keep warm. Otherwise people do not need clothes to be all fancy, and nice looking. It is just plain unnecessary. In one paragraph, Thoreau wrote that, “A man who has at length found something to do will not need to get a new suit to do it in; for him the old will do." This means that clothes do not change how a man works, they only let a man look nice. But a man can wear whatever he wants, and clothes will never change how he does his job.
The other topic Thoreau talked about was shelter. A house is a place to live with security from the forces of nature. People took houses and started to want to add more to them. A house is necessary in some ways, but only at its least. They do not need to have a living room, dining room, and bedroom. The only thing necessary in a house is the walls around it, and the roof that covers it. A man can sleep on the floor, and a man can cook dinner with a simple fire. This is what Thoreau writes about, and he states that even though birds have their nests, and foxes their holes, mankind has taken it too far.
These are some of the examples of Thoreau's writing that really inspires me into looking at life in a different way. From reading about these two topics, I have already began to understand the problems with human culture around the world.
Callan Fries
Clothes and Shelter
11/19/2015
In these two topics in Walden, Thoreau talks about how clothes and shelter have been made a necessity of life. They have been turned into some of the most important things in life. If a person is seen in ratty and ripped clothes they are seen as poor, or a person to avoid. If a person has a small house that is in bad shape they are seen as poor, and inconsiderate.
Thoreau wrote that a person is only judged by their personality, and if they want to live that way, let them. Clothing in Thoreau's eyes, is only something to cover the body, and at times keep warm. Otherwise people do not need clothes to be all fancy, and nice looking. It is just plain unnecessary. In one paragraph, Thoreau wrote that, “A man who has at length found something to do will not need to get a new suit to do it in; for him the old will do." This means that clothes do not change how a man works, they only let a man look nice. But a man can wear whatever he wants, and clothes will never change how he does his job.
The other topic Thoreau talked about was shelter. A house is a place to live with security from the forces of nature. People took houses and started to want to add more to them. A house is necessary in some ways, but only at its least. They do not need to have a living room, dining room, and bedroom. The only thing necessary in a house is the walls around it, and the roof that covers it. A man can sleep on the floor, and a man can cook dinner with a simple fire. This is what Thoreau writes about, and he states that even though birds have their nests, and foxes their holes, mankind has taken it too far.
These are some of the examples of Thoreau's writing that really inspires me into looking at life in a different way. From reading about these two topics, I have already began to understand the problems with human culture around the world.
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