Henry David Thoreau: Why Do So Many Men Go Fishing?

Henry David Thoreau wrote, “Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it

is not fish they are really after.” Man today look for things to fill a void that was placed in their

lives. Many people search for hope, happiness and fulfillment when they should not be searching

for it all. Our society should let it come to them because what the find to fill their void may not

be what they need. After find this thing that they feels complete them they will use it and deal

with it all their lives without knowledge of it being wrong for them.

The citizens of today’s society do things over and over in their lives and this reflects what

Henry David Thoreau means by men go fishing all their lives. Men fish for the wrong things

during their

short time on earth. One finds something that they feel completes them and fill them
with glee but it may wear off over time and stop making them feel this way. This person may not
want to change his routine of what he fishes for because he still feels as though it makes him
happy.
Another way to interpret this quote is man chose a job to work all his life because he
thought it was he was happy doing. He never quits, even when he does not like doing the job
anymore because he feels like it is what he must do because it is all that he knows how to do. He
should not have to do this task all of his life because the job is not meant for him something else
is. The job he chose to be his long term career was the wrong one because he did not do it
because he loved it he did it because he had to. He will never quit and find the thing that he
should be doing because he will never know that the job he has now is not the one for him.