Analysis of Conclusion of Thoreau’s Walden Essay

In Walden, Henry D. Thoreau presented a radical and controversial perspective on society that was far beyond its time. In a period where growth both economically and territorially was seen as necessary for the development of a premature country, Thoreau felt the opposite. Thoreau was a man in search of growth within himself and was not concerned with outward improvements in him or society. In the chapter entitled "economy," he argued that people were too occupied with work to truly appreciate what life has to offer. He felt the root of this obsession with work was created through the misconstrued perception that material needs were a necessity, rather than a hindrance to true happiness and the

In Rebecca Solnit’s essay entitled The Thoreau Problem, the American writer analyzes the problematic response and formation of Thoreau’s reputation. She claims that the scholars and critics refuse to acknowledge the multidimensional aspect of Thoreau’s actions, not being able to see that he could be both a revolutionary figure who is able to inspire activists, as well as a man who was passionate about natural histories. In isolating these two parts of Thoreau, a reflection of the American thought is shown that there’s no belief in multifaceted ideas in regards to the environment and social justice. However, Solnit has stated that this notion is false and detrimental to society as well as nature, stating

Thoreau is making a point that a new moral law is being established when following ones’ intuition. He suggests that, “He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded and interpreted in his favor in more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a high order of beings.” This quote means that when man continues to pursue their free will to follow the path that is intended for them based on their intuition, it will push more societal boundaries and create new moral laws. These moral laws are concerned with ideals of equality and humanitarian reforms. Therefore, when man has pushed the boundaries to create these moral laws, they eventually work out for man.

His rhetorical devices of hypophora, parallelism, and allusion are hollow and contrived throughout the essay, and give little to no appeal. How one who is hailed as one of America’s great writers cannot put together a simple and concise argument is confounding. As Thoreau himself pointed out, “to be awake is to be alive”. However, he misses the most fundamentally obvious facet of being awake, for only then can one truly form a bond with his fellow man, and cherish some of the most essential aspects of life, the aspects of voluntary communication and harmonization with other individuals. At this point only can man consider himself truly alive, for what is life, without the influences, both positive and negative, of all those around you? Thoreau, through his own misguided experiences, has utterly failed in determining that for himself, yet claims the title of an individualist, all while attempting to pass his own collectivized view of society as all-encompassing. The hypocrisy is noted; noted and

1. “For most men, it appears to me, are in a strange uncertainty about it, where it is of the devil or of God, and have somewhat hastily concluded that it is the chief end of man here to “glorify God and enjoy him forever.” P.383 What is the “it” that Thoreau is referring to when he says people are in a strange uncertainty about “it” AND what does the rest of the quote in mean?

Although it can be considered a descriptive piece, this passage aims at persuasion if not outright conversion. To remove the conventional distance between author and audience, and to connect with his reader, Thoreau uses the first person. Repeating “Let us” instead of “you must,” he establishes a conversation instead of a lecture (49). In addition, Thoreau relies on pathos to achieve his rhetorical aims and get people to cleanse their life. Phrases like “sweet edge dividing your heat,” “rattle in our throats and feel cold in the extremities” attack the readers’ senses, and sweeping ideas such as “future ages,” “life,” “death,” and “eternity” lend the passage emotional appeal (49, 50). Thoreau also creates a stipulative definition of “reality,” giving a generally clinical word a more emotional meaning (49). Rhetorical questions such as “Why

In Henry David Thoreau's Walden and Civil Disobedience, a problem is presented in the way in which we live our lives. Thoreau sees this problem and goes to Walden Pond to find the solution. Yet his solution is controversial in that it seems to propose actions that go against human nature. Thoreau's prescription for American desperation cannot be accepted by the masses for it is rooted in anti-socialism when humans are essentially social in nature. However, this conclusion is not entirely accurate, as one needs to explore Thoreau's entire solution and the intent of what he is saying in this work.

In the excerpt of “Walden”, by Henry D. Thoreau, the narrator explains how a person can find the essence of life. In the story, it talks about a person seeking treasures in the forest. The central theme of the story is that to let go of life’s pleasures and seek life’s treasures. The author uses first person point of view to portray his theme.

Today, many people often consume themselves in the lives of others rather than focusing on their own paths. People are quick to settle for other’s opinions or beliefs, however Henry David Thoreau is someone who extensively advocated for the power of one’s own thoughts. Within the last chapter of his book Walden Thoreau states, “If a man does not keep pace with his companion, perhaps it is because hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” This quote highlights how people should take pride in their own values rather than molding to those surrounding us. Like Henry David Thoreau once believed, it is important that people should listen to their own thoughts and goals rather than conforming

In chapter 17, Spring, Thoreau is describing the extravagant transformation in the woods as the seasons go from winter to spring. He mainly focuses on the pond at the beginning of this chapter and then goes on to talk about the transformation of the sand, trees, and animals. He describes these transformations as a total change of nature and as the nature changes so does Thoreau. In fact, the pond is a representation of Thoreau's self so as it is going through a “rebirth” by thawing his spirit is doing the same. He very much enjoys this transformation into spring and he even says in the chapter, “ One attraction in coming to the woods was that i should have leisure and opportunity to see the spring come in.” By this we can see why he would

He is saying that people go at their own pace and stay true to themselves. It doesn’t matter if they take their own path as long as they get to their destination. Another way Thoreau shows transcendentalism is explaining that God and nature are connected, “ Heaven is under our feet as well as over our head,” (“Walden” 143). Thoreau is saying that the ground we walk on and the sky that is above is all God because God is everything. In “Walden”, Thoreau says that you should always stay true to yourself no matter where it takes you and God is

I think that Henry David Thoreau’s argument is how human society isn’t close enough to nature, and that we use the environment mostly for our interests. He wants people to be more attuned to the environment, and we should carefully observe the environment. Henry David Thoreau believes that we know ourselves only by knowing nature. We are apart of nature, knowing that is the only way to truly live.

Transcendentalists believed that God was showing himself in nature and Thoreau’s detail brings that out. Thoreau used a lot of detail which shows that he paid great attention to his surroundings, like many transcendentalists would. Now Thoreau goes on to talk about people needing to be more harmonized with nature. He says, “Probably if our lives were more conformed to nature, we should not need to defend ourselves against her heats and colds, but find her our constant nurse and friend, as do plants and quadrupeds.” Thoreau says people should be more like plants and animals.

Consciousness of the disproportion between a person’s facilities and work provided for them. ““If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”

In New England, around the early nineteenth century, two men were voicing their beliefs on the world, how we as individuals should be, and what should really matter to us. These two men were the writers Ralph Waldo Emerson and David Thoreau. Emerson was the first and wrote a collection of essays that includes one of the more popular Self Reliance, this then inspired Thoreau to write his own work Walden. Since Thoreau wrote Walden after Emerson wrote Self Reliance there are similarities in the two works but there are also differences given that Thoreau’s own opinion shone through in his work, and these similarities and differences are historical settings, cultural environmental, and aesthetic principles.