Thoreau believed human life mimicked that of nature. Thoreau used the simile of how a day is like a year: "The night is the winter, the morning and evening are the spring and fall, and the noon is the summer" (200). Therefore, following Thoreau's theory, if nature is 'reborn' every spring and never actually dies, then life should be eternal as well. Thoreau describes spring at the pond as rejuvenation from the 'death' of winter: "At …showed first 75 words of 229 total…

…showed last 75 words of 229 total…death or a latent state of the world: "Like the marmots in the surrounding hills, it closes its eyes and becomes dormant for three months or more" (189). Thoreau believed that human life was also like this. Although man's life on earth is over, it does not mean life itself is over; just as Thoreau himself said, "So our human life but dies down to its root, and still puts forth its green blade to eternity" (207).