Summary: Brute Neighbors
Thoreau’s good friend William Ellery Channing sometimes
accompanied him on his fishing trips when Channing came out to Walden Pond
from Concord. Thoreau creates a simplified version of one of their
conversations, featuring a hermit (himself) and a poet (Channing).
The poet is absorbed in the clouds in the sky, while the hermit is
occupied with the more practical task of getting fish for dinner;
at the end the poet regrets his failure to catch fish.
Thoreau plays with the mice that share his house, describing
one that takes a bit of cheese from Thoreau’s fingers. He also has
regular encounters with a phoebe, a robin, and a partridge and her
brood; he calls these wild birds his hens and chickens. Less frequently
he sees otters and raccoons. Thoreau is struck by the raccoons’
ability to live hidden in the woods while nevertheless sustaining
themselves on the refuse of human neighborhoods. About a half-mile
from his habitation, Thoreau digs a makeshift well to which he often
goes after his morning’s work to eat his lunch, gather fresh water,
and read for a while. There he frequently encounters woodcocks and turtledoves.
On one occasion, Thoreau happens to notice a large black
ant battling with a smaller red ant. Examining the scene more closely,
he sees that it is actually part of a large conflict pitting an
army of black ants against an army of red ants twice its number,
but whose soldiers are half the size of the black army. Thoreau
meditates on its resemblance to human wars, and concludes that the
ants are just as fierce and spirited as human soldiers. Thoreau
removes a wood chip, along with three ant combatants, from the scene
of the battle, carrying it back to his cabin to observe it. He places
them under a turned-over glass and brings a microscope to watch
their struggle. After witnessing a pair of decapitations and some
cannibalism, he releases the survivor.
Thoreau frequently encounters cats in the woods. Although domesticated,
they prove quite comfortable in the woods, so inherently wild as
to spit at Thoreau when he comes too closely upon them. Thoreau
remembers one cat that was said to have had wings, perhaps resulting
from crossbreeding with a flying squirrel. Although he never sees
this cat, he was given a pair of her “wings” (pieces of matted fur
that she shed in the springtime), and says that as a poet, he fancies
owning a winged cat. Out on the pond in his boat, Thoreau at times
pursues the loon, hoping to get close enough for a long look. In
general, the loon allows him to advance to only a modest distance
before diving deep into the water, surfacing again with a loud laugh.
Thoreau sees no rhyme or reason in this ritual, or in the movements
of the ducks, or in any of the motions that his other “brute neighbors”
go through. He concludes that they must be as enthralled by the
water and its natural surroundings as he is.
Summary: House-Warming
Combing the meadows for wild apples and chestnuts, Thoreau
is dismayed by how nature’s bounty has been plundered for commercial
use. Still, there is enough left for him to feast on. The changing leaves
of autumn provide a brilliant spectacle, though Thoreau is well
aware that they herald the coming hardships of winter. Wasps flee
the colder weather in thousands, and Thoreau is forced to retreat
to his quarters. He goes to another side of the pond for a while
to soak in the remaining rays of the fall sun, which he prefers to
“artificial” fire. Toward the end of summer, Thoreau studies masonry
to build a chimney for his cabin with the help of his friend Channing.
By November, Thoreau’s summer labors have proven a good investment,
as the fires keep him warm at night.
Walden Pond has begun to freeze over in places, allowing
Thoreau to walk on the thin surface and glimpse the deep waters beneath.
Fascinating as the underwater activity is, the ice itself equally
captivates Thoreau, especially the air bubbles that rise to the surface
and wriggle themselves into the ice. Breaking off portions of the
ice to examine them and observing the same spots day after day, Thoreau
learns how ice forms around the bubbles. He understands how the
bubbles make the ice “crack and whoop.” With winter fully upon him,
Thoreau settles into a winter routine, gathering wood for his fires,
and listening to the geese as they migrate south. The gathering
of firewood becomes an essential occupation. Thoreau uses various
types of wood and brush to kindle his fires, preferring pine but
often settling for dry leaves. Warming himself and cooking his food,
snugly ensconced with the moles that nest in his cellar, Thoreau
reflects that fire warms the poor and the privileged alike, and that
every man would die if another ice age occurred.
