What Is Thoreau Saying?

Henry David Thoreau is big supporter of the following three things; nature, education, and the individual. And throughout the paragraph he zeros in on the individual by pointing out our need for clothes and materialistic items that hold no true unchanging meaning for us through his pointed diction and harsh tone.

            Thoreau expresses that the hunger for materialistic items, specifically clothes, is disgusting due to men’s “childish and savage taste.” It makes me think that we’re the animals trapped in a zoo running after a piece of meat; reminding us that we are a part of the animal kingdom. It causes a person to be taken out of reality and to take a good look at themselves. One may re-access what they did every time they went shopping or think about the amount of clothes or shoes they have in their closet. And as that person thinks of this, it reminds them of the true beast within the civilized body we call man. But this is how new trends begin, because the manufacturers see our “childish and savage taste” as “merely whimsical.” It’s sad because we are supposed to be man; true thinkers and not shallow, hungry beasts. It’s like the manufacturers are the zookeepers who throw us the meat and watch us fight for it, laughing at our “savage” like actions.

            It makes the reader feel chastised for acting in such a manner. But, it has the power to make one realize what truly is important and admirable, especially when he does a dramatic tone shift at the end of the paragraph when he says, “It is not barbarous merely because the printing is skin-deep and unalterable.” As one reads this aphorism, it all comes together. It makes one realize why they felt chastised throughout the paragraph. And it’s because we think shopping and being materialistic isn’t barbarous due to the fact that these materials hide our nakedness and keeps us warm. However, he sets the tone with his use of phrases showing us that we shop unnecessarily; making us see that it holds no meaning. But when something does hold a true  unchanging meaning it is not barbarous. It is proof that man has the power to feel and think with the act of attaching a feeling to an action or an object.