Chapter 5, The American Scene-Page 479-585 Summary and Analysis

Henry David Thoreau is well known for his views on nonconformity. He stresses the importance of living your own life as you feel directed. His sentences are long but easily understood. In his piece, "Walking," Thoreau describes not a physical walk but a mental stroll.

H.L. Mencken works for the Baltimore Sun and that is where his essay "On Being an American" is first published. Mencken calls his collection of writings "prejudices." He, much like Thoreau, is a freethinker. James Thurber is known more for his humor in his essays and it is said that he inspired nonsense in American essay prose. Many of Thurber's views focus on the battle between the male and female sexes. Thurber is also a cartoonist. "The Secret Life of James Thurber" is based largely on Thurber's...