“Hermit alone. Let me see: where was I? Methinks I was nearly in the frame of mind; the world lay about at this angle. Shall I go to heaven here or go fishing? If I should bring this meditation to an end, would another sweet occasion be likely to offer?” (Thoreau 245).

This passage stood out to me as it seems Thoreau is very clearly pointing out this transcendental moment he is having by himself, that he is in this state at this perfect “angle” for the moment and changing this would jeopardize the important, hard-to-find moment.

“I pursued with a paddle, and he dived, but when he came up I was nearer than before. He dived again, but I miscalculated the direction he would take, and we were fifty rods apart when he came to the surface this time, for I had helped to widen the interval; and again he laughed loud and loud, and with more reason than before” (Thoreau 255).

Throughout this chapter Thoreau gives many of his “neighbors” in the form of animals personality. One example of when I saw this was during his interaction with the loon; I found this perspective that extended personality to the animals around him and to view them as neighbors to be interesting and entertaining.