We are going to discuss chapter 13 today and give you time to work on dialectical journals.
10/24 page 261
10/27 page 288
10/28 page308
10/29 work on dialectical journals
10/30 Finish book
Chapter 14: Former Inhabitants and Winter Neighbors
Remember chapters contrast with the previous chapter.
"For human society, I was obliged to conjure up the former occupants of these woods" (246).
"...pranks of a demon not distinctly named in old mythology, who has acted a prominent and astounding part in our New England lief and deserves...to have his story told."
Like "Brute Neighbors" Thoreau alludes to problems in humans. He receives few visitors in winter, but the woods are filled with ghosts of former inhabitants and he tells some of their stories. Micah related this to Chief Seattle and how the past is always with use.
Note, the demon he speaks of is Rum. Think about "Civil Disobedience". Rum was made in New England from molasses shipped from the West Indies. This rum was then sent to West Africa to purchase slaves for the West Indies. So even abolitionists in New England profited off the slave trade.
Many of the former inhabitants that Thoreau mentions are either former or run-away slaves, or alcoholics of some sort. What's the connection?
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