Wednesday

 Today we will discuss "Brute Neighbors" and finish reading "Civil Disobedience". You should have some time to work on dialectical journals.

 

Chapter 12: Brute Neighbors 

Poet and Hermit (both might be Thoreau): Shall I go to Heaven or a-fishing?
Battle between the spiritual naturals of man and animal.  The poet wants to go fishing (to survive) but gets lost in the beauty of nature.  The Hermit wants to meditate but is more practical about how to go about fishing (where to find worms etc).

Then, there is a transition to "ANIMALS".  Who are the brutes in this chapter?
There is a famous "War of the Ants" scene in this chapter.  Thoreau discusses how this war has been recorded by many writers (hyperbole) and how this war has been going on since the beginning of time.  Thoreau is unsure of what they are fighting about, but the war is compared to classical literature (bringing in the human aspect), and it is a war between Ant Races.  This is a way for Thoreau to discuss WAR in general, but it is also a subtle allusion to the Mexican-American War.