Question

Read the excerpt from Walden.

Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito’s wing that falls on the rails. Let us rise early and fast, or break fast, gently and without perturbation; let company come and let company go, let the bells ring and the children cry—determined to make a day of it.
How does Thoreau use the imagery of bells in the excerpt?
The bells represent festivity.
The bells symbolize a spirit of happiness.
The bells are a symbol of civilization.
The bells represent fate.

Answer 1

The bells are a symbol of civilization.

Thoreau lists “bells” alongside “children cry” as ordinary noises of communal life — interruptions from society that he urges us to accept without being thrown off, rather than festive or fateful signs.