Shane Foster
Per.3
Short Answer
In the chapter “Winter Animals” in Walden by Henry David Thoreau, What is the main purpose for this passage and how does Thoreau get this point across?
Henry David Thoreau’s main idea, that he is trying to present to the audience, is that humans are huge contributors to the adaptation of animals in their environment due to the fact that we cut down forest, hunt, and other things that unbalance the environment which ultimately lead to an unequal distribution of species. He also presents the idea that the winter brings new views to the world and that we as humans don’t take the time to appreciate those changes in the environment. Throughout the chapter Thoreau is describing the different noises of the winter animals and gives the audience something to grasp as he makes his point of the environmental influences of different animals and their place in the social status of the woods. He also includes commentary from hunters and even a visual of animals going extinct because of mans greediness of an animal’s fur as a luxury. His commentary with the hunters and his depictions of the hounds chasing the fox is vital for his purpose that since the fox are being hunted by both man and their hounds it throws off the ecological balance. As he explains in the last paragraph when the bigger predators are killed the smaller prey are then allowed to reproduce and become more and more abundant until their unable to die out. He also gets his point across with the visuals he puts in your thoughts as you read about the different types of feedings and him skating on the ponds as if their were super highways for his convenience.