In Walden, Henry David Thoreau uses the metaphor of a “chopping sea” to describe “civilized life.” Let's explore what he means.

Thoreau begins the paragraph by talking about how people tend to “live meanly, like ants.” They scurry about with little purpose except to stay busy, multiplying their affairs and frittering away their lives on detail. Herein lies the “chopping sea” of cares and difficulties that plague most people. They get themselves involved in too much and often feel like they are being tossed about and perhaps even drowning.

As a solution to this problem, Thoreau says, “Simplify, simplify, simplify!” He recommends people keep their affairs “as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand.” People do not need to do or have as much as they think they do. They can calm the waters of their lives by getting rid of unnecessary activity. Thoreau continues by recommending that people reduce everything in their lives to a minimum, including their meals and their possessions. Simplicity, he argues, will lead to a more peaceful life.