ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos


U.S. and World Literature Passage Videos 25 videos

SAT Reading: Citing Evidence to Identify a Theme in Walden
35 Views

Contemplating one's life is key to fulfilled happiness. Thoreau's theme revolves around the simple life well lived. He clearly never tried virtual...

SAT Reading: Why Does Thoreau Use the Phrase "Mechanical Aids" in this Passage?
57 Views

Thoreau was all about simplicity; anything that took away from his vision was the enemy. Mechanical aids were one of them. Guess he had to train a...

What Does the Author Mean by "Front" in this Context?
25 Views

Thoreau uses "front" to mean "face". He wants to face The Facts of Life without shying away from our natural tendencies, roots, and the simply way...

See All

SAT Reading: Assessing the Reasoning Behind Thoreau's Argument 7 Views


Share It!


Description:

Railroad ranchor. Modern life damages human life. Metaphorically. We all sacrifice our lives to be part of The System which doesn't really mirror natural human nature.


Transcript

00:02

okay people the last question in this section here we go what is the most

00:07

likely reason that water makes the statement we do not ride on the railroad [text on screen]

00:09

it rides upon us all right so let's go back to the very end here we're kind of

00:13

skimming and would go through a whole mile road you're not ride on the

00:19

railroad it rides upon us the correct answer here yeah it's a there's the

00:23

suggestions it's a to show through a metaphor that modern life damages human [students in school]

00:28

life it's pretty powerful statement but it's also another metaphor the rose not [texting while driving]

00:32

suggesting actual bodies are in fact buried under railroad tracks this is not [tomb stones along rail road tracks]

00:38

like people falling into a hot dog meat VAT and becoming hotdogs themselves like [tiny person falls into boiling caldron]

00:42

another fine book Thoreau is using the railroad as a metaphor for progress in

00:46

commerce and saying that while all of us are sacrificing our lives if we waste [crowded city]

00:51

them waste the time in our lives laboring just for the sake of the

00:55

almighty dollar or commerce as he calls it well the history of the

00:59

Transcontinental Railroad was brutal and hazardous yes see people lost their [old train movie]

01:03

lives doing work they were forced to do be however thorough isn't really [tomb stones]

01:07

concerned with those practical dangers in the passage like you see any direct

01:11

references to this stuff he does criticize the need to move rapidly but

01:15

in the case of the railroad it's the sacrifice of a person's time to commerce [crowded city time lapse]

01:19

that really bothers Thoreau so get rid of D there the answer is a all right [women shopping

01:23

good luck we're gonna move on to a new passage now finally we're done with the [man in the mountains next to a fire]

01:27

rub thoroughly

Related Videos

SAT Reading: Why Does Thoreau Use the Phrase "Mechanical Aids" in this Passage?
57 Views

Thoreau was all about simplicity; anything that took away from his vision was the enemy. Mechanical aids were one of them. Guess he had to train a...

SAT Reading: Suggesting a Reason for Thoreau's Word Choice
9 Views

Thoreau wants our lives to be simplified. He claims that we gain less from life when we over-complicate things.

How Does Thoreau Feel about Commerce?
41 Views

How does Thoreau feel about commerce? He writes, "We don't ride upon the railroad; it rides upon us." He wants and end to the war fighting for the...

SAT Reading: Describing President Obama's Reasoning for Referencing the Founding Principles
13 Views

We need to find solutions for modern problems. The founding fathers of the country had no idea we'd have fake news. We have to adjust to modern lif...

SAT Reading: Describing President Obama's Point of View in the Conclusion of His Speech
6 Views

Obama's stance on the nation: We need to reform our economic opportunities. More resources need to be allocated to those at the bottom of the socia...