Analysis: Why I Went To The Woods By Henry David Thoreau

Q2.) As Henry David continued to observe the Woodchuck his carefree attitude slowly began to alter into new found respect. While first examining the groundhog, he found the animal to be funny and clumsy, with its chubby face and small, round ears. When Henry tried to toy with the Woodchuck, it just stared back at him standing its ground. This was the moment Henry David Thoreau realized that the Woodchuck is adapting to his very presence. Henry David acknowledges the animal as a truly humble creature. Thoreau realized that the Woodchuck was a much more acclimate creature than us humans. This occasion has helped him learn that patience is key to adapting, and that wisdom and knowledge can be learned on a daily basis.

1. Thoreau believed it was disgraceful for him to be associated with the American government because in his time he was battaling against slavery and the Mexican-American war. He was disgusted that we were delusioned about a Manifest Destiny and weren't being rational in regards to our territory.

Shortly after my stay on the shore of Walden Pond, I returned to civilization and took a job as a scrivener to assimilate myself back into society, a much more difficult task than it would seem, and because I needed money for food, shelter, clothing, and fuel, which are necessities for pondering the true meaning of life (Thoreau, 986). I was not particularly happy about taking the job, but I had few choices in the city. In my short time there I encountered the most silently desperate man (Thoreau, 984) I have ever encountered. His name was Bartleby, and my brief encounter with him caused me to solidify my beliefs on philanthropy, deliberate living, and progress, while teaching me to appreciate the humanity in every person.

He ended with that information because the entire book thus far has been about his experiment at Walden pond, so it seems fitting that he would end his journey by leaving the woods and apply what he’s learned to life outside the woods. Spring marks a new year with a fresh start much like Thoreau’s fresh start once he left Walden pond for good after 2 years. Spring is also the time when new life sprouts up and the Earth is rejuvenated after a long winter. The long winter symbolizes Thoreau’s time while at Walden Pond and the solitude he experienced. Once Thoreau left the woods, he began a new life like that of the plants that begin to grow once spring commences.

Thoreau went to the woods because he “did not want to live what was not life…[he] wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put rout all that was not life.” (Thoreau 220) Moving to the woods gave Thoreau a chance to live life in his own way, not society’s way, he would not be forced to conform. The word marrow is used to show that Thoreau wants to live for what is necessary and get rid of what is not. Marrow is defined as the most essential part, without marrow a person cannot survive. Thoreau does not want to die knowing he lived a live that held no purpose, if he gets rid of what is unnecessary he will die knowing he lived a fulfilled life. Comparing himself to a spartan shows that

In the essay “Walking” by Henry David Thoreau, Thoreau remarks that “A town is saved, not more by the righteous men in it than by the woods and swamps that surround it” (Thoreau 647). I find this comment to be interesting and I also agree with it.

An American essayist, naturalist, poet, historian, pencil maker, surveyor, philosopher, and abolitionist Henry David Thoreau was and still is an inspiration to many readers around the world. By immersing himself into nature he hoped to gain more of a keen understanding of society through his own personal inspection. Living in simplicity and self sufficiency were other goals of Thoreau. This lifestyle was inspired by the transcendentalist philosophy, a popular custom during the American Romantic period. Proven in his literary works Thoreau was not an author that wrote stories, he wrote some

Henry David Thoreau, in his book of Walden or Life in the Woods, he asserts that we don’t think for ourselves and that we create habits by following the society system. Thoreau claims, that we live only to commit ourselves to labor to accumulate wealth and property. As Thoreau says, “The mass of man lead lives of quiet desperation” in this quote he means that we choose to slave ourselves, because we see limited choices but yet we have an infinite will of choice. Thoreau method to avoid living a life with habits and labor, is by not committing to things that are uncertain to us.

Walden, a series of 18 essays by Henry David Thoreau published in 1854, is a record of Thoreau’s experiment in simple living on the northern shore of Walden Pond, Massachusetts. Industrial progress is a theme that Thoreau experiences while at Walden Pond. Even though Thoreau makes some elaborate claims as to why industrial progress is destructive, the exact opposite is true; as such advancement does much to benefit the relationships, economy and safety of any society. Thoreau’s overall philosophy condemns industrial progress. Thoreau believed that simplicity is good for the soul and material possessions and money can become one’s god. (www.walden.org)

The following cool spring night, Arthur roamed the woods on foot. He’d planned to take his horse so he could cover more ground, but decided against that, as going to the stables and saddling-up would draw more attention. It was easier for him to slip out of the castle under the cover of darkness.

In recent discussions of walking the theme of urban walking takes precedence. Thoreau claims the city hinders walking. Through closer reading, I realized that although multiple writers hint towards an authoritative entity that inhibits walking; an escape option almost always presents itself. My own view holds that although there may be some exceptions, the vast majority of the lives of earth’s inhabitants are tethered to a city in one way or another. This paper will be supported to a point by Thoreau’s “Walking.” To clarify, people can still leave the city and enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature, but rather they bring a part of the city with them. Understandably “the city” has multiple meanings, especially against cultural backgrounds. In the

Throughout the book Walking, by Henry David Thoreau, he explains how nature is built into ourselves and communities. The civilization I have grown up in has become more and more complicated due to the growth of many more components placed in our lives. Thoreau’s writing has explained to me that life is supposed to be simple. He was able to find this simplicity in life from the extensive amount of time walking through the woods. I find this having a lot of meaning to me because of the time that I spend in the woods. All of the sports I have a large passion for I rely on the powers of nature to allow me to pursue them. My goals in life is to live simply and happily off nature's bounty. Reading Thoreau’s experiences of life has has

Thoreau’s vision of his world and his advice for living a meaningful existence is still relevant today because it is something that most individuals forget to remember; to be an individual rather than follow everything society does and says, in order to better yourselves. Thoreau says, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and to see if I could not learn what it had to teach…” (Thoreau 1). Society, today, relies on others tremendously in order to get information and survive, however that is the opposite of what Thoreau’s vision implies. Thoreau had the desire to live independently with only the basic knowledge of life to survive because this gave him the opportunity to embrace

I was startled at the beginning of the chapter by Thoreau’s confession that he loves society, despite him previously saying that he did not like company, making me think even the most introverted have a longing for connection. I enjoyed the part where Thoreau talks about risk. It made sense to me when he states that as long as someone is alive, there is always the danger that he will die. I have contemplated this before, that there is no way to truly be safe, so we must be confident in the risks we take. For example, the majority of people in the US drive almost every day, and driving is very dangerous, having killed a large amount of people. Thoreau highly regards frankness in conversation, and he says about one of his visitors who is truthful that “our intercourse might go forward to something better than the intercourse of sages.” I personally agree with him. I’d much rather prefer someone to be honest with me than to tell me lies that are meant to please me. However, I do not think it is always the best idea to be frank, because there are many people who get easily offended by the truth. I always feel bad hiding the truth from someone to make them feel happy, but sometimes it is more practical to make that decision. Another thing Thoreau says which caught my attention was his observation of the positive originality that one of his visitors displays. Thoreau says that he was “thinking for himself and expressing his own opinion,” a rare phenomenon, and

Thoreau from the beginning, showed how tight he was with his money and how much he valued what he had even if it wasn’t much. Throughout this paper he tells of his work he finds, the money he makes and how wisely he spends it. He often thought that men who worked in the labor industry were making a mistake, that they worked endlessly for so long they were basically machines. Henry reaches out to his readers and lets them know that no matter how poor they start out that there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel as long as you’re willing to work hard and spend your money wisely.