Lately I've been reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau. He talks a lot about getting in touch with a more spiritual type of life and living more simply, not being so wrapped up in the wants of the material world.
One thing many people credit to Mr. Thoreau is his careful use of words. My professor, Dr. Vaughn is so in love with this book that I believe he would marry it if it were a woman. He's always caroling on about how careful and thoughtful Thoreau is with what he says.
I don't believe it for one second. Thoreau throws in poetry in the oddest places and it usually seems like the lines do not belong. In the chapter entitled "Visitors," he details what it was like having visitors in his cabin. One such visitor was a Canadian who apparently read some Homer, so Thoreau read some Homer to the chap. This is all well and good, but Thoreau seems to find justification to throw in what he read, word for word. Then he starts talking about how simple and natural the Canadian was, which had nothing to do with the verses at all!
Really, becoming an English major will indeed drive me to my insanity, one way or another. I have also been broken of that phase of not writing in my books. My Critical Approaches to Literature professor, Dr. Martin, has made it painfully clear that I have no hope of surviving in his class or as a teacher if I do not write in my books. Now I find myself underlining and otherwise marking passages in all my books for class. This is something I would have never done before this year.
Alas, this is not may point! Not for this post any way. I think we use too many words to say too little. Like Thoreau, we add meaningless things that have nothing to do with what we mean. I know that I do the same thing. I have led people on to think what I did not want them to with my saying too much. I have had girls believe I liked them, and guys believe I hated them, all because I waste words. This is a horrible trend, one I mean to stop, hopefully, someday.
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