Former Inhabitants; and winter visitors

Throughout "Former Inhabitants; and winter visitors" Thoreau takes the audience on a journey, traveling through different people and time periods. He speaks of his travels through the heavy snow and while he journeys through the forest, Thoreau begins to ponder who had lived in such a way before him. The tone of this piece seems to be informative and somewhat adventureous (if that can even be considered a tone) Thoreau attempts to make himself appear as a considerate soul by stating "For human society I was obliged to conjure up the former occupants of these woods." (like he is doing them all a favor?) This statement expresses the care Thoreau has for society and that this journey he has done to benefit them, therefore putting himself in a bit of a higher position than the audience.
The audience in this particular chapter could be considered the townspeople in his area for such a topic has the potential to intrege them. Every man cannot necessarily relate to this chapter and due to the location this can be directed to the citizins in his area who would take such interest in the history of this journey. Although every reader has the potential to interprete and relate to any piece, this chapter in particular would be best comprehended by one who is familiar wiht the land that is spoken of here yet anyone can look back at the past and come to new realizations.
The purpose of this piece was to explore new aspects of his own winter historical experiance and encourage the audience to think of their lives in a new perspective or perhaps an old one.
The diction used in this piece expressed Thoreau's purpose well. There were many very well constructed and influential lines that I could have chosen from but one that I felt was strong was quite interesting"Though mainly but a humble route to neighboring villages, or for the woodman's team, it once amused the traveller more than now by its variety, and lingered longer in his memory."The word choice as he speaks of this journey draws the reader in as they now think of their daily journeys, wondering if somehow they can view them from a different perspective yet still staying in Thoreau's story.
Thoreau brings this private experiance into the eyes of the public by pouring his emotions into this piece yet holding back just enough to still appear quite strong. This public expression
The title "Former Inhabitants; and winter visitors" suites this piece well yet is very blunt about the topic. The past is explored throughout this piece and the present is also analyzed, more so than just the past or present but also the people who make such time worth exploring.