"Former Inhabitants; and Winter Visitors" & "Winter Animals" 10/19

1. This chapter renews the discussion of animals begun in the "Brute Neighbors" chapter, but on a more literal level. Why does Thoreau think common animals such as blue-jays, rabbits, and foxes are an important part of our world?

Thoreau takes time to discuss the animals he sees in the winter around his cabin to illustrate the serenity and simplicity of the nature around him. Thoreau finds the common blue-jays "discordant screams" to be similar to the men of society he left behind, fore he dislikes them and their manner of taking little food, but trying to eat, and thus choking on pieces too big for their beaks. He appreciates the fox for outsmarting the hounds, similar to how Thoreau seems to have outsmarted society in his quest to live simply with nature. The rabbits were skittish, but resilient. Thoreau found one who seemed to be sickly and weak, but upon approach, asserted its "vigor and the dignity of Nature" by flying off into the forest in a display of the quiet power that Nature holds. In this way, all of the common animals are displayed as elements of Thoreau's life, and are thus important parts of our world.