i had not lived there a week before my wore a path from my door to the pond side:

he tells how men are so used to following paths, even if they are not antique and significant, and that they linger for long time as he says that the path was still there six years after he left and that some other people might have followed it eventhough it wasnt their own.



moreover if you are restricted in your range by poberty, if you cannot buy books and newspapers, for instance, you are but confided to the most significant and vital experiences:

newspapers and books contain other peoples ideas therefore going against Ralph's principles, and then you cant do anything but work your own stuff.