Friday, February 3, 2012
Walden Journey #6
In Essay 13 "House-Warming", Thoreau writes "You can always see a face in the fire." Read the passage on page 164, prior to the poem, to get a contextual understanding of the statement. Interpret what Thoreau is saying and whether you agree or disagree. (Minimal response should be 16 sentences.)
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I think Thoreau is saying that a natural fire instead of a stove/oven lets your inner self come out and relax. The stove deprives you of any thoughts that need to be let out since the pot covers the fire light from your view. You don't get to look into the fire and see your reflection on a stove like you do on an open fire. That is why i agree with Thoreau. Sitting right there with the open blue fire with sparks of red and orange flying relaxes you. All your thoughts, issues, and worries get to run free as you sit there and enjoy the warmth in front of you. You're not bothered or blocked of anything unlike a stove. The stove isn't close to being relaxing. All you can think about is how you want the macaroni to finish boiling faster so you can add the cheese, milk and butter to mix it and then later eat. You're constantly worrying about the fire alarm in your house going off once it gets to hot or how your food might burn if you lose track of time. The stove adds more stress while the open fire relaxes you. Thoreau was just expressing how open natural resources releases the stress out of you instead of confine it. the technology we use just adds to our stress rather than help us. We're taunted by them on a daily basis whether its getting the lastet technology or having to fix it cause it broke down on you. Cooking in the woods can be a little scary and dangerous but its relaxing and worth your while.
ReplyDeleteWhen Thoreau says "You can always see a face in a fire", he is saying that while he was cooking naturally, he could just stare at the fire and his thoughts will be flowing. He is not a fan of the stove because it conceals the fire to the point where you do not really see it anymore. Thoreau meantions that using a stove reminds him of losing a companion. I think he feels this way because he will not be able to think freely while looking at the stove. It is not a beautiful site nor does it relax you. Overall, Thoreau is saying that this new technology changes the way that we think and react. The more technology, the less we have to think. Because he is a naturalist, technology does him no good. It may help some people, but in his case it hurts him. He treats fire like his best friend. He can clear his mind, talk about his day, come up with new ideas, etc. just by staring at the relaxing fire. Once he starts using a stove, it is like he is stuck with a new friend that has nothing in common with him. "A watched pot never cooks", so it is prefered that he does not stare at the stove. This means that he has to occupy his time with something else to do while making sure his food is not about to burn. It is simpler to just cook with natural fire if you want to relax and feel like you have a companion around.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Thoreau because to me fire is like a dancing light that shows you the truth. The orange and red colors seemed to twist and twirl above the bluish/green hue below. The colors seem to melt into each other and form liquid. Dancing and swinging-the figure reaches to the sky as if to grasp the moon. Thoreau uses fire as on a hearth or in a furnace heat used for cooking, especially. The lighted burner of a stove when Thoreau puts the kettle on the fire to cook. Fire enables cooking, which improves the taste of many foods and helps eliminate harmful bacteria. Others uses it a kind of destructive burning of a building, town, forest. Others see themselves or a face in the fire as meaning of burning passion; excitement or enthusiasm, also to inspire oneself. Others might think that fire symbolizes chaos, war, and destruction, but fire banishes the darkness, it cleanses and purifies. Fire was a complex symbol meaning far more than warmth and comfort. It was in fact, the very "means of life." It is also a symbol of cleansing and purification; if you can your face in the fire, it means that you're perfection.Fire provides warmth and heat, protecting us from the ravages of the elements.Fire gives us light to see in the dark and to signal other people who may be looking for us. Its light also tends to keep predatory animals away. In extreme situations, fire can be used as a weapon, brandished against wild animals or others who intend us harm. The very act of starting a fire conveys a sense of control over the environment, increasing one's confidence in handling a situation.
ReplyDeleteThoreau determines that "you can see a face in the fire" because the fire is big, bright, convivial, and lovely. The personification "the fire is dancing" is commonly used and connects back to Thoreau because seeing a face in a fire is personification. The fire also serves as a mirror for him to speak to himself. When looking into the fire, Thoreau has the ability to talk to the fire about thing that have been holding him down and when he feels like that chapter in his life is finished, he can easily douse the flame. If you use a stove, you do not feel the warmth of the fire, allowing you to make the radiant connection. Besides, Thoreau is all about simplistic living and a stove interferes with his morals and values. Furthermore, Thoreau refers to the flames as his companion mainly because he shares his days with himself and needs to find a resort before going completely insane. Although people do walk through Walden occasionally, it is primarily just him and fire gives him a person he could speak with, it can warm him, and almost have the same effect as a human. Essentially, I agree with Thoreau because when I was in Nigeria, fire was in your face and not covered up by a stove. I feel that you can get more personal with things, not only fire, if the obstructions that block us from these various things were removed.
ReplyDeleteIn Essay 13 "House-Warming", Thoreau writes "You can always see a face in the fire." Read the passage on page 164, prior to the poem, to get a contextual understanding of the statement. Interpret what Thoreau is saying and whether you agree or disagree.
ReplyDelete` In a certain extent, Thoreau was reflecting upon how a human soul would be like a fire. The reason why a fire is so comforting and soothing is that you can reflect upon it. In a quiet room, you start a fire. You watch the flames arise with mixture of different colors. The colors represent the mood or personality of oneself. As the fire grows you are more confident and more warmer about the thoughts around your mind. You are able to expand in your way of thinking than you were before. Besides the fire making you warm, what makes the warmth enjoyable is looking deep in the fire and if you stare close enough, you'll be able to see yourself, like water. But looking deep within the fire which is the tricky part because the flames constantly move. So you have to concentrate harder as though you are meditating. Unlike water, fire makes you put effort into thinking critically about things. All of it has to do with your own soul and understand yourself better, like a group of men understand a wild environment. When you understand things better, everything comes easier to you. But first you need to struggle to find the meaning, so you get the flow of everything. So reflecting upon this the fire itself was just a mere reflection of one soul. Like a meditation ground in which you study your own self, so you can have peace and tranquility in your life. When you master it, you can understand things around you. And I believe that's what Thoreau mastered when he lived in Walden.
` Melissa . <3