Question

I perceive that we inhabitants of New England live this mean life that we do because our vision does not penetrate the surface of things. We think that that is which appears to be. If a man should walk through this town and see only the reality, where, think you, would the "Mill-dam" go to? If he should give us an account of the realities he beheld there, we should not recognize the place in his description. Look at a meeting-house, or a court-house, or a jail, or a shop, or a dwelling-house, and say what that thing really is before a true gaze, and they would all go to pieces in your account of them.

What device does Thoreau use in this passage?

historical allusion

rhetorical question

figurative language

extended analogy

Answer 1

Rhetorical

Explanation: We think that that is which appears to be. If a man should walk through this town and see only the reality, where, think you, would the "Mill-dam" go to?

Answer 2

Thoreau makes use of the rhetorical question for the determination of the perceptions and the different meanings of life.

Step-by-step explanation:

The author describes the concept of reality and its recognition in the description of the varied elements of life. He also gives examples of various other places and the reality of the places on seeing them and observing them. The account of reality is given in context of the different places.