Chapter 8: The Village

The tone of the chapter “The Village” is constantly changing. In the beginning, Thoreau’s tone is one of interest. This tone can be seen through the diction that he chooses to use. “I went there frequently to observe their habits” (Thoreau 1). The word “observe” shows that Thoreau is viewing something to understand. He explains that he went to the village several times to observe the people and their habits. This shows that he found interest within his observations. He uses words like “curious” and “appeared” also. These words also reveal his interested tone. In the next paragraph, Thoreau’s tone changes to one of confusion and awe. You can see his confusion and awe through his explanations of his walks back to his cabin and his encounters with those who lost their way. He writes, “I have not been able to recall a single step of my walk, and I have thought that perhaps my body would not find its way home if its master should forsake it…”(Thoreau 2). His awe of his experiences as shown also as he explains how he views the act of getting lost in the woods. He says, “It is a surprising and memorable, as well as valuable experience, to be lost in the woods any time” (Thoreau 2). In the last paragraph of this chapter, his tone changes to one of annoyance and frustration as he explains his experiences with the state. His diction within this paragraph also reflects his tone. He explains, “One afternoon, near the end of the first summer, when I went to the village to get a shoe from the cobbler’s, I was seized and put into jail…” (Thoreau 3). His use of the “one afternoon” and “shoe from the cobbler’s” makes the readers view him as an innocent person doing an innocent act on just a normal day. This build up of the setting allows Thoreau to be viewed as an innocent, normal man. When he uses the word “seized,” because of his build up, the word seems much more harsh and wrong. You can see that he views himself as an innocent man being jailed for a stupid reason also when he explains the State. “But, wherever a man goes, men will pursue and paw him with their dirty institutions, and if they can, constrain him to belong to their desperate odd-fellow society” (Thoreau 3). His use of the word “pursue” and “paw” shows his annoyance at the acts of the people of the State. His frustration is seen through the diction in that he uses “dirty” and “desperate.” Both words seem very poor and annoying.
His purpose seems to be to place his ideas and thoughts onto the reader but not in a forcible way. His audience therefore can be seen as directed towards people who follow and accept his transcendental thoughts. In his other writings, when directing people who did not follow his ideals, he uses much more harsh and very strong and convicting words. However, when he wrote this chapter, he seemed to have written in a more friendly way. This can be seen as throughout the piece, he seems to mock those who don’t follow him and write of his experience with such people. His mocking tone can be seen in the first paragraph when he compares the people to animals. When he compares them to animals, they seem as objects of amusement and interest. He explains the people in the Village as people who are not of his same group. When comparing the people to animals, the people seem to be some abnormal, alien-group. He also does not place his thoughts and values that much and this shows that he obviously does not need to make a clear and repetitive transcendental point and that the readers will just understand.
The title of this chapter, "The Village," forces the audience to think that this chapter will solely be about the village near Thoreau's home. Although, he does do this in the first paragraph, the second paragraph is about visitors, and the third about the state. What this allows the readers to think is that Thoreau views all those three things as one group. He places the visitors, the actual village, and the state as one group of people whom he does not follow and agree with. Through his title not seemingly pertaining to what he talks about, he makes a suggestion that he views all those three subjects and people who are an object of interest and like a difference species in his point of view.