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04, 2005
and in conclusion...
let me just say that i thoroughly enjoyed reading this text. not to say that i didn't enjoy the others, but this one really hit home for me on many different levels.
first of all, let me start by saying WOW. how can someone have the attention span to write 12 printed pages about a fire place? when i first read this, i thought it was so bizarre that Thoreau chose to write an entire chapter on building a chimney and keeping a fire. but then i looked at it from the vantage point of Throeau himself. a fire was a VITAL thing to him. without it, he would not have eaten, would have froze, and wouldhave had little or no light in the cold winter months. so....if you read this and thought it was crazy, reconsider it; i did.
now, onto my agenda item:
"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them."
Chapter 18, paragraph 5
it's nice to hear someone say that it's okay to dream big. if you don't have your dreams and aspirations, then what do you have? people always want to discourage others for being dreamers, but Thoreau says that it's perfectly fine to dream. but in order to be able to accomplish a dream, you have to work at it constantly, thus building the foundations. well put, Thoreau.
this is exactly the kind of quote i needed from this passage. i don't know why, but i consdier all of chapter 18 to be a sort of an inspirational speech. i know it seems kind of drastic to consider Thoreau a motivational speaker, but for me, he is. if Thoreau were still alive today, i would hope that he would go out for a cup of coffee with me and we could talk about life. for real.
i understand his writings, and this agenda item was actually really hard for me to post, because i drew so many inspirational quotes from this text.
some others are:
"While England endeavors to cure the potato-rot, will not any endeavor to cure the brain-rot, which prevails so much more widely and fatally?"
and...
"Any truth is better than make-believe."
and...
"Things do not change; we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts."
really, though, i could go on forever. i don't know about the rest of you, but this semester has been one of the most stressful times in my life, but in a good and productive way. these little inspirational quotes mean alot to me and encourage me to not lose myself amidst all the school work. i'm probably overanalyzing this, but these are my thoughts.
now tell me yours.
PS-i gave blood today and i didn't pass out. i'm proud of myself.
Posted by LaurenEtling at 4, 2005 10:19
Comments
I'm glad you got such inspiration from the quotes. These two chapters have so many that are so perfect. You can take so much out of them. I don't know if his little stay in the woods made Thoreau so enlightened but if so- I'm going.
"Things do not change; we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts." I noticed this quote as well while reading. Again, he goes back to his main idea of living simply and, by doing that, happily. Society is too materialistic and people lose sight of what is important- our thoughts and ideas. Doesn't matter what you wear as long as you are intelligent and fulfilled in your life.
Posted by: Vanessa at 5, 2005 12:05
hey you might what to check out what I wrote about the fireplace.
http://blogs.setonhill.edu/MichelleKoss/
And thank you for the thought of how much usage he got out of the fireplace!
Posted by: michelle koss at 5, 2005 02:41
Lauren,
I am so glad that there is someone who is enjoying Thoreau as much as me. It's really nice to know that I could relate to someone knowing that Thoreau has made an impression. I, too, agree that dreaming big and putting foundations underneath of those dreams is really important to the individualism concept of Thoreau. I think we all need inspiration in our lives, because inspiration causes motivation, then action.
I would personally enjoy having a conversation with Thoreau about his views face-to-face over a nice cup of java. :P
I talked about the difference between stories, rather than a specific quote. I wanted to express my feelings about doing an autobiography (actually more of a collection of thoughts), rather than a particular story. I hope you get a chance to check it out.
Posted by: Jason Pugh at 5, 2005 03:09
I agree with what you wrote about chapter 13. At first I thought that it was really odd that he talked about a fireplace and fire for a whole chapter, but I thought that it tied into the fact that the people in society are not as different from him as they may think. Like in the earlier chapters we read, even though there were industrial changes, everyone still had to rely on wood for fuel.
By the way, I really liked all of the inspirational quotes you found in the text, especially, "Any truth is better than make- believe."
Posted by: Stacy at 5, 2005 03:22
first of all, thanks for all your wonderful comments! you guys are great!
Vanessa- i do think that thoreau got his inspiration from the woods...but i don't think it's necessary for you to make a 2 year experiemnt out of it. hehe. maybe just camping?
Jay- i do love thoreau. i always have. i also really loved your quote, "I think we all need inspiration in our lives, because inspiration causes motivation, then action." that's a pretty inspiring statement if i do say so myself!
Michelle- i will check out your blog, i promise!
Stacy- i'm glad that you too saw the importance of a fireplace. when i was reading it, i found it to be extremely dry and lengthy, but it did serve it's purpose nonetheless.
Posted by: LaurenEtling at 5, 2005 07:31
thank you for reading my blog!! much appreciated...sometimes i feel like i am talking to nobody, so thanks!
Posted by: michelle koss at 6, 2005 04:25