Part one of term paper
For about the first half of the book Thoreau questions the lifestyles that people choose. He makes his readers wonder if they have chosen the kind of life that will really offer them happiness. Are they merely living a career or some other narrowly focused routine or is a worthwhile life being lived. Thoreau wonders if the truly valuable e ...

Part two of term paper
... are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that is finer fruits cannot be plucked by them." This to me means that people care more about the fine things in life and easier work instead of nature's gifts and hard work. Thoreau draws a parallel between others preoccupation with money and his own enjoyment of non-monetary wealth. Thoreau's statement " A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to leave alone" means that rich refers to havi ...