Excerpt from Henry David Thoreau's Reflections at Walden
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion."
Henry David Thoreau's challenge of living an isolated, wholesome life in nature epitomizes all that I stand for as an individual. I discovered Thoreau during the summer going into my freshman year; his flowery language and deep appreciation for raw forms of beauty inspire me. Thoreau writes movingly and fluidly, and never fails to chill me with this passage. Associating my own thoughts with the views of many other transcendentalist writers, Thoreau's clarity with which he sees the world pierces me as striking and powerful. If i could give you one line that best describes who I am--and why I'm here--I'd say: "I [do] not wish to live what [is] not life, living is so dear..."
Maddie that is incredibly deep. After reading this passage, I got goosebumps and that shows how effective of a writer Thoreau is. However, I hope you don't actually believe all the things Thoreau believes and end up in jail for refusing to pay your taxes. But aside from his blemishes, I think that Thoreau's never-ending quest for knowledge is quiet admirable. I liked his use of figurative language in this passage, particularly, "I want to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life" because it expresses his goal of living life to the fullest.
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