Quote Response 9/19

Henry David Thoreau: "Where I Lived and What I Lived For" p. 25

1. "...but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts."

Thoreau is showing the reader that your own good actions can improve your day and change its outcome for the better. He feels that making better of your own day is much greater than beautifying a canvas with a paint brush. If I do not procrastinate in school and I do well on my quizzes and tests because I study, I am relieving myself of extra stress, which would have been hanging over me if I am always allowing the procrastination. This totally changes the outcome of one's day and you are able to "... carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look..."

Henry David Thoreau: Where I Lived and What I Lived For" p. 24

2. "The morning, which is the most memorable season of the day, is the awakening hour. Then there is least somnolence in us; and for an hour, at least, some part of us awakes which slumbers all the rest of the day and night."

In this quote, Thoreau expresses how he feels about the importance of the morning. In a man, there is less sleepiness in the morning. Every part of one's body is awake and functioning. This part grows less active as the sun rises in the sky, then it "slumbers all the rest of the day and night." The morning is the most important part of the day in my opinion. It is the start of a new day and at this time you can alter and sculpt the outcome of your day. You can change its shape, whereas towards the evening, your day has already formed a trend, which should continue to be followed.