from Walden TDQs - Putting it All Together

Use your excerpt of Walden to respond to the questions below.

Remember that I expect your work to be your own; not work submitted by another, or pasted from the internet, or generated through AI. If I suspect that your work is not your own a 50% will be recorded in the gradebook and you will have to come and verbally defend your work to me during 5th period or after school to earn the higher grade. 

1

In “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For,” what is Thoreau’s claim?

2

How do the writer’s rhetorical choices in the introduction connect to the beliefs, values, or
emotions of the audience?

3

In “Conclusion,” the last two paragraphs offer many perspectives. Choose one and discuss the
implications of this perspective on Thoreau’s message. 

4

How does Thoreau’s text reflect a process analysis method of development?

5

What images and allusions does Thoreau use in his text? How do these elements contribute to
his message?

6

Does Thoreau’s evidence – that is his personal observations and experiences – strengthen his
argument? 

7

Describe the evidence Thoreau uses to support his line of reasoning.

8

What is the function of his evidence (e.g. to illustrate, to provide an example, to associate, or to
amplify a point)? Give an example and discuss how the evidence functions. 

9

Thoreau uses transitional phrases. Identify a transitional phrase. Choose an example and explain
the relationship it creates; a comparison, a cause-and-effect relationship, or an explanation.

10

Thoreau uses rhetorical questions throughout the text. Choose one and explain the effect
created by the rhetorical question. 

11

Transcendentalism was a philosophical movement that believed in the inherent goodness of
both humans and the natural world. Transcendentalists emphasized individualism, intuition, and
imagination. Discuss how these ideas are central to Thoreau’s Walden. Why would this text be
considered a representation of Transcendentalism?