Thoreau Quotation

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

-Henry David Thoreau

The utterance of these words in the 19^th Century by American essayist and poet Henry Thoreau gave way to radical thought and in turn great accomplishments by many innovators. On a literal semantics level I envision this quote by picturing an adventurous man following a path in the forest that has been bombarded by many footsteps in the past, but then he boldly strays from the path and continues on his way.

This interpretation is not actually what Thoreau means. He uses rhetoric to get at his point that people need to be different and go out on a limb to actually make a difference and be remembered in their short lifetime. It is extinguishing all of the fear from the reader’s body and mind to not just do what society tells you to do or just expects you to do, but rather go out and do something extraordinary that nobody has ever done before. This can apply on a large-scale level or on a much more minute day-to-day basis. It is urging the reader to take a chance and ignore failure because someday others may progress onto your path and follow your example.

This more than likely was not the first quote of its kind, but the way it was conveyed really makes it something special. It uses deductive logic by implying that if you are not walking on the path you are walking off of the path and possibly creating your own path. Also, adding the word instead implies that there is definitely two options but clearly one that is the better but bolder option.

The idea is presented with a simple “do this, but don’t do that” structure. It relies on cleverly turning the phrase “do not go where the path may lead” into “go instead where there is no path and make a trail.” It uses parallelism and repetition by starting off both parts of the quotation with “do not go” and “go.” Thoreau could’ve easily put “instead” in front of “go” to read “Do not go where the path may lead, instead go where there is no path and leave a trail.” Instead Thoreau’s poetic mind put go first to keep a good rhythm and ringing repetition.

Most unique about Thoreau’s word choice is that he uses the word “path” instead of many alternatives such as road, lane, highway, or route. I think this helps to build ethos because when I think of path, as I demonstrated before, I think of a dirt path amongst a lush green forest in the wilderness. This is fitting because Thoreau lived his life as a naturalist and even published a book called Life in the Woods (more commonly known as Walden) about his two years, two months, and two days living the simple life in the wilderness. The quote matches up with his elementary and nonconformist lifestyle.

The tool of rhetoric that Thoreau makes the most use of, as is typical of most memorable quotes, is pathos. As I stated, this quote isn’t the first of it’s kind, but coupled together with his logos and ethos congregation, this quote stands out for me among all of the other typical quotes. It is communicated indirectly and creatively unlike something as banal as “Be yourself.” Thoreau essentially has the same message with his quote “If a man loses pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured, or far away.” It was a great debate, which one of these I liked better, but I like the quote I chose more because it has the same powerful emotional message, but is conveyed more succinctly and in conjunction with Thoreau’s personality.