Chapter 14 Revisit
Thoreau & Tiffany
The fidelity of my effort with a particular exercise has definitely waned since I first started it. The exercise involves a non-spreadsheet approach to trying to make connections across chapters. I started it as a way to guide another read-through of the book, though I’m not sure how much value I am getting from it as I’ve had no problem finding reasons to go back and re-read various chapters. Still, I am going to try and finish it.
I’ve also been keeping track (this time in a spreadsheet) of as many of the numerical references that I can identify. I still believe that in at least one chapter, the very specific numbers provided are supposed to pieced together in service of a clue.
I’m up to Chapter 14. Let’s first look at the visual map. Clicking the image should open a larger version.
Two things especially stood out to me when I went through this (by the way - it’s much easier with the searchable ebook version from the book distributor Baker & Taylor).
I was reminded of the many Egypt connections — 6 that I counted — across multiple chapters.
I can’t remember if I had noted it earlier, but chapter 6 which mentions the author as a child going to “Walden-books” also has an opening quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Chapter 14 talks about Thoreau’s Walden which was written (or at least inspired by time) on or near a property of Emerson’s in MA.
Here is the link to the full PDF in progress. It kind of an homage to a simple “Hypercard” experience (one of the first Mac environments I ever created things in). If you click on any of the earlier chapters it should jump you to the page.
As for the numerical references, there were many more than I was anticipating.
Of all of the numbers, I think the ones included in the story of his family’s cabin were the least necessary to convey a point.
Spending time in nature has been an influential part my life. When I was three, my parents were gifted twenty acres of woodland on which my father built a log home, practically by himself. It took him almost ten years to do so.
What I mean is that his age, the exact acreage, and, perhaps to a lesser degree, the time it took to build feel very specific. He easily could have said his dad took nearly a decade to build a log home on a property they received when he was very young.
I also find the phrasing of this line interesting:
It’s interesting that of the ninety enameled pieces Louis kept in his private collection, sixty-five were from the EL series.
He goes on to say that it may be interesting because these experimental pieces were special, but I don’t think doing the mental math of 65/90 is going to make people say “huh, that’s interesting.” I don’t think it would be any more or less interesting if it was 30 or 40 or 70. That may be just my opinion, but maybe it’s another weird signal of something to pay attention to.
I guess I am glad that I did this. However, the remaining 9 chapters are starting to feel like a homework assignment that I’ve been putting off. I’ll chip away and ideally revisit the remaining chapters before the end of the year.