Writing a Literary Analysis Essay

 How To Structure & Craft a Compelling & Insightful Literary Analysis Essay

Literary Analysis Essay Rubric

A Step By Step Guide to Writing
A Five Paragraph Literary Analysis Essay

Use these rows for each part of your essay.

When you are finished, paste them into another word document.

Mike Demsher
Fitz English
Literary Analysis Essay
12/18/2012

Living Deliberately

Who Are We Meant to Be

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.

(Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2)

Throughout human history, we have advanced. Whether it is electronically, medically or socially, we have moved forward to a better society; however, could we be moving in the wrong direction? We have advanced our lives to a point where we are constantly hurrying with everything we do. We have been moving into a world where there is no real thought. We are in a philosophical dark age. The only way to snap ourselves out of it is to slow down and think. We must live deliberately each day and remember who we are meant to be.

Throughout human history, we have advanced. Whether it is electronically, medically or socially, we have moved forward to a better society; however, could we be moving in the wrong direction? We have advanced our lives to a point where we are constantly hurrying with everything we do. We have been moving into a world where there is no real thought. We are in a philosophical dark age. The only way to snap ourselves out of it is to slow down and think. We must live deliberately each day and remember who we are meant to be.

Every life needs a purpose; however, sometimes we cannot find what our purpose is. Time and time again lives are thrown away simply because those lives cannot find their purposes. Every person has the opportunity to be who they want and sometimes they forget that basic freedom. In Thoreau’s memoir Walden, Thoreau went to Walden Pond to find his purpose and to live his life to its full potential. Thoreau built a house in the woods and gave himself a place to get away from the distractions that come with living.

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.
(Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2)

Thoreau tells us that he went to the woods to live his life deliberately and do what he was meant to do. He wanted to get away from all the confusion of life and focus on thinking. He went to the woods to live his life with a purpose and leave his mark on the world. He didn’t want to die knowing that he could’ve done more with what he had. Thoreau believed that we shouldn’t waste what we have, both in physical abilities and mental capabilities. “I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.” (Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2) Thoreau had a gift for thinking and that is why he went to the woods. He knew that his purpose was to think and share what he learned with the world. He wanted a place where he could nurture his thoughts and therefore become a better philosopher. Thoreau went to the woods to simplify his life and do what he was meant to do.

“Simplify, simplify.” (Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2) Simplicity is a goal. We aspire to simplify our lives and live them deliberately. In chapter two of Walden, Thoreau tells us to simplify our lives. Thoreau lived his life with next to nothing and wrote his story with nothing to comfort him but the birds around him. “Such was not my abode, for I found myself suddenly neighbor to the birds; not by having imprisoned one, but having caged myself near them.”  (Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2) Thoreau wanted to live his life simply and write. He wanted his life to be slow and simple.

An honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail.
(Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2)

Thoreau wanted life to be as simple as possible. He wanted us to live deliberately and know what we want from life. How can we know what we want if we are constantly being pulled away by a hundred different commitments? Thoreau wants us to have only a few things to do and to keep our lives simple. He wants us to live our lives knowing what we are doing and why we are doing them. We are sometimes lost in our own heads, and we sometimes miss the beauty right in front of our faces. It is even truer today. How many times do we sit and think about our world and what it is. When we walk by the woods we see bark and that’s all. We look straight ahead onto our next commitment. We don’t look around and appreciate what’s in front of our eyes. We miss the amazing things around us because we are too busy to notice them. Thoreau wants us to slow down and simplify our lives. Thoreau wants us open our eyes and see the world as it was meant to be seen.

Closed eyes often remain closed; however, once they are opened, a whole new world appears. In Thoreau’s Walden, Thoreau wants us to live our lives the way they are meant to be lived. He wants us to live deliberately and to open our eyes to the world as a whole. Thoreau wants us to live our lives with our eyes open and he “urges us to wade through the muck that constitutes our everyday lives.” (Sparknotes.com) Thoreau uses his own life and his own story of simplicity to bring the message of living deliberately to the forefront of our minds.

Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito’s wing that falls on the rails. Let us rise early and fast, or break fast, gently and without perturbation; let company come and let company go, let the bells ring and the children cry — determined to make a day of it.
(Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2)

Thoreau gives us a wakeup call. He tells us to live a day of our lives the way nature does; we should rise with the sun, live our lives without worry of what others think, and make each day count. That is the true meaning of life. We need to live our lives like we only get one. Many of us go through life in a blur, moving from one task to the next, until we die of exhaustion with nothing to show for our lives but the tattered remains of our achievements. How can we truly appreciate our achievements when we toss them to the side as soon as we get them and then move onto the next chore? We must live our lives aware of who we are and what we can be. We mustn’t worry about things that don’t matter. Sometimes and education is sought for the wrong reasons. School is about learning the material; however, all that matters is an inked letter on piece of paper. Life has taken a wrong turn, and we must work to put ourselves back on the right track. We must live our lives deliberately without losing sight of who we are meant to be.

Thoreau wants us to live our lives with a purpose. Thoreau wishes us to live our lives without falling into the dull void that our society is moving towards. He wants us to think, to learn and to appreciate life. He wants us to learn from the world, and to slow down enough to fully see it. Thoreau wants us to live deliberately.

Mike Demsher
Fitz English
Literary Analysis Essay
12/18/2012

Living Deliberately

A Journey of Discovery through Reading 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.
~Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2

    Throughout human history, we have advanced. Whether it is electronically, medically or socially, we have moved forward to a better society; however, could we be moving in the wrong direction? We have advanced our lives to a point where we are constantly hurrying with everything we do. We have been moving into a world where there is no real thought. We are in a philosophical dark age. The only way to snap ourselves out of it is to slow down and think. We must live deliberately each day and remember who we are meant to be. In Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, Thoreau urges us to live our lives purposefully and to not give up who we are. He wants us to live with our eyes open and not to fall into the blur that society is moving towards. Henry David Thoreau wants us to live deliberately.

Every life needs a purpose; however, sometimes we cannot find what our purpose is. Time and time again lives are thrown away simply because those lives cannot find their purposes. Every person has the opportunity to be who they want and sometimes they forget that basic freedom. In Thoreau’s memoir Walden, Thoreau went to Walden Pond to find his purpose and to live his life to its full potential. Thoreau built a house in the woods and gave himself a place to get away from the distractions that come with living:

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.
(Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2)

Thoreau tells us that he went to the woods to live his life deliberately and do what he was meant to do. He wanted to get away from all the confusion of life and focus on thinking. He went to the woods to live his life with a purpose and leave his mark on the world. He didn’t want to die knowing that he could’ve done more with what he had. Thoreau believed that we shouldn’t waste what we have, both in physical abilities and mental capabilities. “I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.” (Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2) Thoreau had a gift for thinking and that is why he went to the woods. He knew that his purpose was to think and share what he learned with the world. He wanted a place where he could nurture his thoughts and therefore become a better philosopher. Thoreau went to the woods to simplify his life and do what he was meant to do.

Simplicity is a goal. We aspire to simplify our lives and live them deliberately. In chapter two of Walden, Thoreau tells us to simplify our lives: “Simplify, simplify.” (Chapter 2) Thoreau lived his life with next to nothing and wrote his story with nothing to comfort him but the birds around him. “Such was not my abode, for I found myself suddenly neighbor to the birds; not by having imprisoned one, but having caged myself near them.”  (Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2) Thoreau wanted to live his life simply and write. He wanted his life to be slow and simple.

An honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail.
(Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2)

Thoreau wanted life to be as simple as possible. He wanted us to live deliberately and know what we want from life. How can we know what we want if we are constantly being pulled away by a hundred different commitments? Thoreau wants us to have only a few things to do and to keep our lives simple. He wants us to live our lives knowing what we are doing and why we are doing them. We are sometimes lost in our own heads, and we sometimes miss the beauty right in front of our faces. It is even truer today. How many times do we sit and think about our world and what it is. When we walk by the woods we see bark and that’s all. We look straight ahead onto our next commitment. We don’t look around and appreciate what’s in front of our eyes. We miss the amazing things around us because we are too busy to notice them. Thoreau wants us to slow down and simplify our lives. Thoreau wants us open our eyes and see the world as it was meant to be seen

Closed eyes often remain closed; however, once they are opened, a whole new world appears. In Thoreau’s Walden, Thoreau wants us to live our lives the way they are meant to be lived. He wants us to live deliberately and to open our eyes to the world as a whole. Thoreau wants us to live our lives with our eyes open and he “urges us to wade through the muck that constitutes our everyday lives.” (Sparknotes.com) Thoreau uses his own life and his own story of simplicity to bring the message of living deliberately to the forefront of our minds.

Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito’s wing that falls on the rails. Let us rise early and fast, or break fast, gently and without perturbation; let company come and let company go, let the bells ring and the children cry — determined to make a day of it.
(Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2)

Thoreau gives us a wakeup call. He tells us to live a day of our lives the way nature does; we should rise with the sun, live our lives without worry of what others think, and make each day count. That is the true meaning of life. We need to live our lives like we only get one. Many of us go through life in a blur, moving from one task to the next, until we die of exhaustion with nothing to show for our lives but the tattered remains of our achievements. How can we truly appreciate our achievements when we toss them to the side as soon as we get them and then move onto the next chore? We must live our lives aware of who we are and what we can be. We mustn’t worry about things that don’t matter. Sometimes and education is sought for the wrong reasons. School is about learning the material; however, all that matters is an inked letter on piece of paper. Life has taken a wrong turn, and we must work to put ourselves back on the right track. We must live our lives deliberately without losing sight of who we are meant to be.

Thoreau wants us to live our lives with a purpose. He wishes us to live our lives without falling into the dull void that our society is moving towards. He wants us to think, to learn and to appreciate life. He wants us to learn from the world, and to slow down enough to fully see it. Thoreau wants us to live deliberately.