“Where I Lived and What I Lived For” (232)
Live life only dealing with the essentials. It is about a man who lives in the woods. He wants to live life simply, and he finds that that is the best way to live. He finds that it is best to live on the essentials. He grew and hunted for food and lived near a pond to get water. He is a nonconformist and thinks about how he has all the time for himself. His life is not wasted on distractions.
Quote: “To drive into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms…”
“Sounds” (234)
He wants to just hear everything and he finds it very amusing. He entertains himself by listening and watching nature. Most people need other people to entertain them. He is able to live a very simple lifestyle.
Quote: “I had this advantage, at least, in my mode of life, over those who were obliged to look abroad for amusement, to society and the theatre, that my life itself was become my amusement and never ceased to be novel.”
“Brute Neighbors” (235)
The ants are just like people. They fight and celebrate like people. He exaggerated the greatness of ants to understate the greatness of people. Everything is equal. It is transcendental art. People are equal to nature. There is very little difference. All creatures are very similar. The ants act differently from one another, just like humans, but they are all very alike. Neighbors are normally thought of as good, while these ants are fighting.
Quote: “I was surprised to find that the chips were covered with such combatants, that it was not a duellum, but a bellum, a war between two races of ants, the red always pitted against the black, and frequently two red ones to one black.”
“The Pond in Winter” (237)
The first paragraph shows that the speaker of the poem wakes up to an answered dream that we can sit there and ask ourselves what life is all about or we can go out and experience it for ourselves and find a non-verbal answer. The next few paragraphs talk about how the speaker is inspired by the fishermens way of life. They do not care about the authorities and that they do not live by “the book” (Bible). They do not care about following the rules and learn through their own experiences because they are not artificial people but rather they are natural
Quote: “But there was a dawning Nature, in whom all creatures live, looking in at my broad windows with serene and satisfied face, and no question on her lips.”
“Spring” (238)
Everything changes so quickly. Flowers and creatures grow again. The pond thaws out. He goes fishing and cannot think of death. Spring is about “re-birth” and “re-creation.” Everything comes alive again. It is a very special time, because the world is recreated. All of a sudden everything is blooming. Life has to move on, and people have to move on.
Quote: “As every season seems best to us in its turn, so the coming in of spring is like the creation of Cosmos out of Chaos and the realization of the Golden Age.”
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