from Walden, or Life in the Woods

from Resistance to Civil Government

11.2.1 - Analyze both the features and the rhetorical (persuasive) devices of different types
of public documents, such as policy statements, speeches, or debates, and the way in
which authors use those features and devices.
11.2.2 - Analyze the way in which clarity of meaning is affected by the patterns of
organization, repetition of the main ideas, organization of language, and word choice in
the text.
11.2.4 - Make reasonable assertions about an authors arguments by using elements of the
text to defend and clarify interpretations.
11.2.5 - Analyze an authors implicit and explicit assumptions and beliefs about a subject.
11.2.6 - Critique the power, validity, and truthfulness of arguments set forth in public
documents, speeches, or essays; their appeal to both friendly and hostile audiences; and
the extent to which the arguments anticipate and address reader concerns and
counterclaims.
11.3.4 - Analyze ways in which poetry or prose uses imagery, personification, figures of
speech, and sounds to evoke readers emotions.
11.3.7 - Analyze the clarity and consistency of political assumptions beliefs, or intentions
in a selection of literary works or essays on a topic.
11.3.8 - Analyze the philosophical arguments presented in literary works to determine
whether the authors positions have contributed to the quality of each work and the
credibility of the characters.




1817-1862
Concord, Massachusetts
Middle class, but very well
read Harvard graduate
Considered a failure by age
28
Lasted 2 weeks as a teacher
Gave boring public
lectures
Proposed to woman but
turned down
No interest in family
business
Emerson said he lacked
ambition

July 4, 1845
Walden Pond (2 years, 2 months)
2 miles from town
Goal: to rediscover the grandeur of nature and the
simple life
Arrested for refusing to pay poll tax (landed him a
night in jail)
Refused on principle. He didnt support the Mexican
War. He was anti-slavery

Metaphor a figure of speech that makes an
imaginative comparison between 2 unlike things
Paradox 2 opposing ideas that can be both
contradictory and true at the same time.
Logical Appeal consists of facts, examples, and
well-reasoned arguments
Ethical Appeal are arguments based on widely
accepted values or moral standards
Emotional Appeal consists of language or
anecdotes that arouse strong feelings