Thoreau. On one hand, the train symbolizes the progress and speed of the world that he deplores. He describes the rush of commerce from one place to another. In the first chapter, he spoke of how men's lives were wasted building the railroad. This machine, with its speed and silver, whirls away the pastoral life. In the end, he leaves the tracks. However, at the same time, there is a definite attraction to the whirling beast. Thoreau calls it the "iron horse" and describes it with awe, using sublime descriptions. Mechanical objects definitely have an attraction for Thoreau, perhaps because of his background as an engineer, and he says that he feels "refreshed" as the train passes by. Yet, he pulls away.
             Perhaps this is the most telling reflection of the time in which Thoreau existed. Technology was changing at a wondrous rate, but the vestiges of "rural America" still remained. Most people did not live in cities, but trade and commerce were pulling people toward urban life. Thoreau is swept into the beauty of the train. Speed and progress are seductive, yet he also must ask himself what the effects of the train are. He seems to come to some peace, admiring the train aesthetically while keeping a sense of distance from the results.
             All of the sounds in this chapter follow the ebb and flow of one day. They begin with the morning sounds, progress to sounds of the afternoon, move into the evening, and then return to the sounds he does not hear in the morning. Time and sound are deeply linked. When he describes the whippoorwill he describes the precision of the space between each call. The whistle of the locomotive sounds at the same time each morning. The church bells ring on Sunday. Each sound signals something, but at the same time, Thoreau exists within each moment, basking in the implications of each sound.
             Sometimes another man fished with Thoreau in the mornings. They talked of the sky, caught worms, and then went on their w...