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Definition of Motif
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... read full definition
Economy
Explanation and Analysis—Fruit:
Fruit—which often appears as a metaphor for the good things in life—becomes a recurring motif in Walden. It first appears in "Economy" as a metaphor for the finest, simplest, and least materialistic experiences in life:
Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them. Their fingers, from excessive toil, are too clumsy and tremble too much for that.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Railroads:
Railroads—a key motif in Walden—appear in one of its most famous passages in "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For":
Unlock with LitCharts A+If we do not get out sleepers, and forge rails, and devote days and nights to the work, but go to tinkering upon our lives to improve them, who will build railroads? And if railroads are not built, how shall we get to heaven in season? But if we stay at home and mind our business, who will want railroads? We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us. Did you ever think what those sleepers are that underlie the railroad? Each one is a man, an Irishman, or a Yankee man. The rails are laid on them, and they are covered with sand, and the cars run smoothly over them. They are sound sleepers, I assure you.
Related Themes:
Where I Lived, and What I Lived For
Explanation and Analysis—Renewal:
Renewal becomes a recurring motif in Walden that conveys the author's hope for the evolution of humanity. For instance, in "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For," Thoreau writes:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself. [...]They say that characters were engraven on the bathing tub of king Tching-thang to this effect: “Renew thyself completely each day; do it again, and again, and forever again.” I can understand that. Morning brings back the heroic ages [...] There was something cosmical about it; a standing advertisement, till forbidden, of the everlasting vigor and fertility of the world. The morning, which is the most memorable season of the day, is the awakening hour.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Railroads:
Railroads—a key motif in Walden—appear in one of its most famous passages in "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For":
Unlock with LitCharts A+If we do not get out sleepers, and forge rails, and devote days and nights to the work, but go to tinkering upon our lives to improve them, who will build railroads? And if railroads are not built, how shall we get to heaven in season? But if we stay at home and mind our business, who will want railroads? We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us. Did you ever think what those sleepers are that underlie the railroad? Each one is a man, an Irishman, or a Yankee man. The rails are laid on them, and they are covered with sand, and the cars run smoothly over them. They are sound sleepers, I assure you.
Related Themes:
Former Inhabitants; and Winter Visitors
Explanation and Analysis—Imaginary People:
The motif of imaginary people in the final chapters of Walden conveys the author's deep sense of solitude. In "Former Inhabitants; and Winter Visitors," Thoreau describes the former inhabitants of Concord, Massachusetts:
Unlock with LitCharts A+For human society I was obliged to conjure up the former occupants of these woods. Within the memory of many of my townsmen the road near which my house stands resounded with the laugh and gossip of inhabitants, and the woods which border it were notched and dotted here and there with their little gardens and dwellings, though it was then much more shut in by the forest than now. In some places, within my own remembrance, the pines would scrape both sides of a chaise at once, and women and children who were compelled to go this way to Lincoln alone and on foot did it with fear, and often ran a good part of the distance.
Related Themes:
