Respons 5

Selections from The Heart of Thoreau’s Journals page 41

“By a well-directed silence I have sometimes seen threatening and troubling people routed. You sit musing as if you were in broad nature again. They cannot stand it. Their position becomes more and more uncomfortable every moment.”

In this statement Thoreau gives the reader a good technique on how to over come a person that is threatening or troubling. This technique is to be silent, but just being silent is not enough one has to have cunning timing and skillful direction in the period of silences. For it this art is master he later goes on to say in this quote that the person will not be able to tolerate the situation that they are in and wile you stay silent their position becomes progressively vexing. This technique used almost every day by parents; they direct their period of silence onto their kids until the kid finally gives in. the kid will never win this battle of silence for they lack the patients and endurance to fight the power of their parents. But this technique if used too many times towards the same kid may fail to work after will for the child will build up immunity to it.