Universidad de Oriente

School of Arts and Sciences 

Foreign Language Department  

Subject:

NorthAmerican Literature

Section “A”

Assignment:

Henry David Thoreau: From Life Without Principle

Professor:

Lic. Mayra Alejandra Lopez Bonilla

Students:

Ayala Rivera, Kenia Sarai 

Majano Polio, Alexandra Maria

Date:

September 20th, 2021

San Miguel, El Salvador, Central America

 Henry David Thoreau: From Life Without Principle

1. Like Emerson, Thoreau was a Transcendentalist. What similarities do you see

in their attitudes?
The similarities are that both Emerson and Thoreau believed that people should search
for the truths in nature and enjoy the simple life. Thoreau believed that if life is lived in a
hurry, it is a waste. For both these men they simplified life by separating themselves
from civilization.

2. According to Thoreau, in what way does business control the life and thought
of people?
Business controls the life and thought of people by taking up all their time consumed by
the hustle to make dollars and cents. Human beings are occupied by work which
doesn’t leave time to themselves to live life and to have their own thoughts. People
have life basically passed by while they are only thinking about work.
3. Why did Thoreau turn down a job he was offered? Where does he prefer to get
his education?
Thoreau turned down the job he was offered because this job would have made him
look like an industrious and hardworking man. He chooses to have jobs that make him
look like an idler which yield more real profit. He preferred to get his education at a
different school, because he doesn’t see anything praiseworthy about staying.