In 1845, Henry David Thoreau decided that he wanted to live a simpler existence. He left his hometown of Concord, Massachusetts, went into the woods, and built a cabin on the shores of Walden pond. After two years at Walden, Thoreau returned home and wrote about his experiences in Walden. The book combines practical guidance for simple living with meditations on his spiritual insights and moments of self-discovery. An avid reader, Thoreau alludes to a vast, multicultural array of writings in his ruminations.

Skills: analysis, drawing inferences from text, close reading, identifying the relationship between words

About This Document

The Owl Eyes Allusions activity gives students an opportunity to practice identifying and analyzing allusions. Allusions broaden the scope of a text and imbue passages of the text with deeper meaning by subtly drawing on literature, history, science, geography, philosophy, mythology, or other cultural sources. The main components of this activity include the following:

• A contextualized paragraph of the text
• A handout defining “allusion” with examples from classic works
• A list of tips for spotting allusions
• A step-by-step guide to activity procedure
• An example answer

In completing this activity, students will be able to identify, analyze, and interpret allusions, thereby accessing deeper meanings within the text.