Henry David Thoreau Research Paper

“How vain is it to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.” These are the words of Henry David Thoreau, an American writer during the mid-1800’s whose writings has now become a part of American literature. Most of the well-known works of Thoreau were based on true events in his life. In this time of age, some writers try to write extraordinary work, but sometimes it misses the mark, whether they did not quite give enough detail or lacks emotions, because they do not live life to their full potential. Looking back on Thoreau’s life can give some background behind this memorable quote, serving as a reminder that living out one’s life is more productive as a writer than sitting down imagining it.
Taking a glimpse in Thoreau’s life gives insight of how he lived his life to the fullest. After

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word “sit” as “to be or remain in that posture in which the weight of the body rests upon the posteriors” (OED Online). When a writer sits, their body is at rest and cannot move from where they are. By sitting, they limit themselves from experiencing the world around, only able to apply their senses to what is around them and preventing to see it in different perspectives. They can imagine what the flower several feet may smell and look like, but because they are sitting, they cannot describe the minor details of it.
In a metaphorical sense, Thoreau uses sitting to symbolize how some writers do not live their life to its full potential, sitting prevents writers from living the life they were given. If writers sit and waits until something in life their life to happen worth writing about, nothing will come to them, wasting the talents and abilities they were blessed with. Thoreau sees sitting as “vain” because if they are always sitting, they will have nothing worth writing about that will make a