ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos

SAT Reading: Why Does Thoreau Use the Phrase "Mechanical Aids" in this Passage? 52 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

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]

Up Next

SAT Reading 1.1 Long Passages
375 Views

SAT Reading: Long Passages Drill 1, Problem 1

Related Videos

How Does Thoreau Feel about Commerce?
40 Views

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...

SAT Reading: Classifying the Relationship Between Two Passages
179 Views

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: Citing Evidence to Identify a Theme in Walden
35 Views

Contemplating one's life is key to fulfilled happiness. Thoreau's theme revolves around the simple life well lived. He clearly never tried virtual...

What Does the Author Mean by "Front" in this Context?
24 Views

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...