Excerpt from Walden
Henry David Thoreau
They were pleasant spring days, in which the winter of man’s discontent was thawing as well as the earth, and the life that had lain torpid began to stretch itself.

One day, when my axe had come off and I had cut a green hickory for a wedge, driving it with a stone, and had placed the whole to soak in a pond hole in order to swell the wood, I saw a striped snake run into the water, and he lay on the bottom, apparently without inconvenience, as long as I staid there, or more than a quarter of an hour; perhaps because he had no yet fairly come out of the torpid state.

What does the word "torpid" mean as used in this passage?
A) lazy or slow to move
B) indolent or inactive
C) sluggish or apathetic
D) dormant; as in hibernating

the anecdote makes readers feel sorry for the man’s lack of heritage, then reminds readers that the man has an equally valuable heritage.

the book's theme is the moral ambiguity of the iranian revolution, history of middle eastern relations and the process of growing up during war. it sheds light on the stereotypical views of middle eastern culture and religion.

the author explicitly portrays the issues of class disparities and racism continously throught the whole novel.

the relationship between parents and childrens, the abandonment of faith, modernity vs fundamentalism and class conflict are the 4 main panels that this novel englobes.

hope this , if you would like me to be more specific about a specific excerpt let me know : )

i decided to stay late in the laboratory to continue my experiment with the lightbulb. at midnight, thomas edison opened the door and walked in with his head held high.

1. he leaned on the wall and observed me carefully.

2. his harsh scrutiny made me self-conscious of my skills in the lab.

3. perhaps it was just me, but the air in the laboratory began to thicken as i found myself having difficulty to breathe.

4. i turned to look at him fully as i mentally prepared myself for what my very first words would be to thomas edison.

5. the next couple of seconds shocked me. it wasn't me who spoke, but rather him and with diction i could never think of using in a simple sentence.

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hey, sorry if this was bad, i really didn't know what to write but i wanted to you. is there anything that you had to include within the excerpt?

violent i did some research