ShmoopTube
Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.
Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos
SAT Videos 653 videos
How does Thoreau feel about commerce? He writes, "We don't ride upon the railroad; it rides upon us." He wants and end to the war fighting for the...
How was the Beanie Baby era parallel to the Tulip Bubble? Similar events, only the TulipMania almost bankrupted Holland. Bean Babies only bankrupte...
SAT Reading: Why Does Thoreau Use the Phrase "Mechanical Aids" in this Passage? 57 Views
Share It!
Description:
Thoreau was all about simplicity; anything that took away from his vision was the enemy. Mechanical aids were one of them. Guess he had to train a squirrel to scratch his back.
Transcript
- 00:02
we're gonna read the rose passage here but guess what we're only gonna skim the
- 00:06
first paragraph I wasn't really having handled anything honest leading backing
- 00:11
with no billing endeavors on me let me picture a new employee that was the [man rapidly reading passage]
- 00:13
first paragraph so now we're cruising down here to the question and it asks
- 00:17
the rogue uses the phrase mechanical aids in prepare rapid passage by cables
Full Transcript
- 00:20
or no electric charge all right well here the correct answer is C introduce [man boxing]
- 00:25
the conflict between modern convenience in simple living so it's just the
- 00:29
introduced conflict don't get all uptight some people don't need an alarm
- 00:32
clock to wake up because well if they have 12 cats hi Todd who all expect [kittens crawling on womans bed while she sleeps]
- 00:36
breakfast at 5:00 a.m. well our pal Thoreau isn't literally
- 00:39
talking about using something mechanical like an alarm clock to wake up in the
- 00:43
morning though the most obvious clue well it's all the figurative language [Thoreau looking through magnifying glass]
- 00:46
that follows like infinite expectation of the dawn paint the very atmosphere
- 00:51
all right well this first paragraph sirs is an introduction if the Rose claimed
- 00:55
that people should live simply and deliberately he primarily talks about
- 00:59
how great it is to elevate life by a conscious endeavor but he sneaks in the
- 01:04
mention of forsaking mechanical aids in order to set up the conflict between
- 01:08
simple living and its primary enemy modern convenience over those modern
- 01:13
conveniences yeah the row obviously doesn't think people need mechanical [thoreau holding an iPhone]
- 01:16
aids but there's nothing in the first paragraph that's specifically down on
- 01:20
modern convenience Oh get rid of a he saves all his negativity for later to
- 01:24
start off with while he's really excited about elevating his life also other than [Thoreau waiting in an elevator]
- 01:29
suggesting that they might force to take up soon or sound asleep yeah maybe his
- 01:33
alarm clock broke and he missed out on the class camping trip what do you think
- 01:37
well the first paragraph isn't really about eating on modern convenience all
- 01:41
the figurative language in the first paragraphs good clue that he's not [sun rises over city skyline]
- 01:44
talking literally about methods of waking up in the morning
- 01:47
you got enough that with our snoring cats here [cats snoring in bed]
Related Videos
How does Thoreau feel about commerce? He writes, "We don't ride upon the railroad; it rides upon us." He wants and end to the war fighting for the...
How was the Beanie Baby era parallel to the Tulip Bubble? Similar events, only the TulipMania almost bankrupted Holland. Bean Babies only bankrupte...
Contemplating one's life is key to fulfilled happiness. Thoreau's theme revolves around the simple life well lived. He clearly never tried virtual...
Thoreau uses "front" to mean "face". He wants to face The Facts of Life without shying away from our natural tendencies, roots, and the simply way...