humor through the use of literary devices such as, "puns,hyperbole, slapstick, mockery, parody, and burlesque..." (50). Most of his humor ispointed at society and institutions which Thoreau believed could use reform. A goodexample of this: We are eager to tunnel under the Atlantic and bring the Old World someweeks nearer to the New; but perchance the first news that will leak through into thebroad, flapping American ear will be that the Princess Adelaide has the whooping cough(Hicks 50-51). This is a perfect example of the way people are in society when it comes totheir priorities and their interest in the affairs of others. Thoreau is pointing fun at howpeople would be more interested in gossip than any substantial information.Walden is looked upon as an incredibly written literary masterpiece. It is said that hewrote the first Modern American prose. Walden is abstractly written with each wellconstructed paragraph, line, and sentence falling nicely into place together. The cycles ofadventures take place in one year. Each chapter in the book has its own set place. Thespiritual and mundane chapters are carefully alternated. "Higher Laws" is followed by"Brute Neighbors." The practical is followed by the philosophical with "Economy" then"Where I Lived...." The animal chapter is followed by the human one where "WinterVisitors" is followed by "Winter Animals." Chapters that are next to each other are tiedtogether by contrast such as "Solitude" and "Visitors." Some are tied togetherchronologically such as "The Pond in Winter" and "Spring." The three major expositorychapters, "Economy," "Higher Laws," and "Conclusion," are strategically placed in thebeginning, middle, and end. Harding tells us Walden contains 423 well structured, longparagraphs. Thoreau uses a device known as "climax ending" (Hicks 53), where the lastsentence carries the paragraph a little farther and beyond what it is saying. The paragraphsare independent, but can not be mov...
