Henry David Thoreau Fishing

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Recommended: Thoreau's view on how life should be lived

Henry David Thoreau wrote, “Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are really after.” If one reads the sentence simply as presented, it seems to mean something like the following: “Many people spend most of their lives pursuing conventional goals without realizing that those goals are not their true or proper goals or individual goals.” Certainly this idea seems applicable to the lives that many people live. For instance, a person may spend years studying to be a doctor without completely realizing that being a doctor is not the most meaningful profession for him or her.

Watching a commercial of a fisherman, In my perspective, I see that it is a living he is after. It is the money to have at home that needs to feed his family. People often think “they are going fishing to fish” , but in reality I realize they are seeking something that fulfills their life and their dreams. Their real goal is not the stated goal of catching fish but it is the process – being out in nature alone, having time to think, and leaving pressures behind. To expand the situation in this paragraph, this means that the things we think we are striving for in this life are not what we really want. …show more content…

Thoreau uses the example of fishing to make his statement of most people who go out fishing believe that they are going out to fish , when in fact they are most usually going out to have the fishing experience. People are going out fishing to earn patience, and to see the beauty of water where the fish are swimming

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