Progress for the sake of progress "Progress for the sake of progress must be forbidden." Although this quote comes from Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter, it accurately describes Thoreau's attitude toward progress in Where I Lived and What I Lived for, an excerpt from Walden. Where I Lived and Why I Lived is Thoreau's account of the benefits of living simply and avoiding the evils that have permeated society, by going to live in the woods. More specifically, these are his thoughts on the true purpose of life. One of the areas of society that it addresses is the idea of ​​progress. Thoreau argues that progress always has a cost, even if that cost is not easily visible to the public eye. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay The cost of progress can be very serious, even deadly. Thoreau notably describes the most deadly aspect of this cost through the extended metaphor of “sleepers.” Ties are railroad ties, but Thoreau uses them in a different context, as a symbol of those who built the railroads and lost their lives doing so. Many of these people were immigrants and their deaths were covered up. These people represented the “cost” of the railway. Thoreau uses imagery to express this, saying that "the rails are laid upon them, and they are covered with sand, and the wagons roll gently upon them." The sand in this passage is a metaphor for how their dead were "buried" to prevent the population from discovering them. These deaths are “deep sleepers,” meaning it would be very difficult to wake them up or raise awareness about the problem. When such an attempt is made, the railway companies "suddenly stop the cars and shout, as if this were an exception." In other words, those who covered up the deaths in the first place would treat any evidence of deaths resulting from railroad construction as a one-time problem, as if it happened so rarely that no one was aware of it. when the truth was actually the opposite. Thoreau highlights society's tendency to ignore problems and risks when it comes to progress. This ignorance is a trend that has continued from Thoreau's time to the present day. Thoreau realizes this when he says that “every few years a new piece of land is laid out and crushed.” By this quote he means that there will always be more secrets and more cover-ups in the name of progress that society will simply ignore. Through his analysis of sleepers, Thoreau asserts that in the eyes of society, progress is more important than security. Another cost of progress is individual happiness. Thoreau shows this through a second extended metaphor; the railway. He says that “if we don't pull out the ties and forge the rails and spend days and nights at work, but if we start tinkering with our lives to make them better, who will build railways? Individuals are told that their own happiness does not matter, that happiness is a sacrifice they must make in order to progress. This continues today. Many people work long, hard hours, neglecting their families and relationships with others, trying to advance in certain areas or maintain progress already made. Thoreau continues this point by asking “if railroads are not built, how are we going to get to heaven in season?” » Through this question, he illustrates that individuals are told that the progress they make, while benefiting..