Honors story of the week: directions & sample entry
Directions:
Each week, you will have 1 extra reading as an extension of the World Literature/Humanities
curriculum. A 200-350 word multimedia analytical post is due each Sunday.
Q: Do you believe that Thoreau’s writing is still relevant today? Explain your answer.
Each week, you will have 1 extra reading as an extension of the World Literature/Humanities
curriculum. A 200-350 word multimedia analytical post is due each Sunday.
Posts must include:
1) specific text evidence, including 2+ quotes
2) your own experience/opinion,
3) an image that illustrates the point you’re trying to make, and
4) at least one link to an online source that relates to this topic.
Here is a sample response:
Q: Do you believe that Thoreau’s writing is still relevant today? Explain your answer.
I am not bored enough.
When an activity is boring, some say that it is ‘like watching the grass grow.’
It seems that watching the grass grow is what Thoreau wanted to do. Admittedly, I cope with the stress
of graduate studies, student teaching, and maintaining some semblance of work/life balance
by approaching my work at a frenetic pace. While I try to take time to appreciate the present,
to go outside, and to slow down, if I’m being honest, I also frequently fill shreds of extra time with a
quick check of my Instagram feed or a scan of the latest news headlines. In the excerpt from his
memoir, Walden, he writes: “Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature” (para.7). The word,
“deliberate” is used to denote slowness or steadiness...like grass growing. He encourages the reader to
slow down, and by removing distractions, gossip, and all unnecessary information from his life, to find a
greater sense of satisfaction in the present. People often fail to pause and reflect before jumping to
conclusions and panicking over that which will pass.
It seems that watching the grass grow is what Thoreau wanted to do. Admittedly, I cope with the stress
of graduate studies, student teaching, and maintaining some semblance of work/life balance
by approaching my work at a frenetic pace. While I try to take time to appreciate the present,
to go outside, and to slow down, if I’m being honest, I also frequently fill shreds of extra time with a
quick check of my Instagram feed or a scan of the latest news headlines. In the excerpt from his
memoir, Walden, he writes: “Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature” (para.7). The word,
“deliberate” is used to denote slowness or steadiness...like grass growing. He encourages the reader to
slow down, and by removing distractions, gossip, and all unnecessary information from his life, to find a
greater sense of satisfaction in the present. People often fail to pause and reflect before jumping to
conclusions and panicking over that which will pass.
Thoreau compares humans to ants, alluding to mythology. He writes: “It is error upon error, and clout upon clout, and our best virtue has for its occasion a superfluous and evitable wretchedness. Our life is frittered away by detail” (Thoreau para. 2). In the author’s opinion, we pile worries upon worries and consequently lose life’s beauty and meaning. Clearly, distractions have only multiplied in the 150+ years since the publication of Walden. By seeking distraction, people aim to divert their attention from painful emotions, worry thoughts, and fears, but also end up missing out on the present. Fear of boredom may result in loss of creative, original thought. Thoreau removed distraction by moving into a cabin in the woods. Today, I could start by simply turning off my phone.
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