Henry David Thoreau : Idealism And Existentialism

Both Henry David Thoreau and Christopher McCandless ventured out into the woods to get away from the dreariness of everyday society and to find themselves. Only one lived to tell the tale. What was the fatal flaw of the man who didn’t continue on? The only way to find this is to analyze the differences and similarities between the two. McCandless, while embracing some of the same values as Thoreau, was ultimately a different man. While they led very contrasting lives in very distant times, both McCandless and Thoreau sought a type of freedom that can only be achieved when immersed in nature. Thoreau’s entitlement and cozy cabin in the woods is a far cry from McCandless’s constant struggle during his expedition, however, certain parallels

Thoreau galvanizes his reader into living self-dependently and being their own individual. A few ways of living with Thoreau’s virtues are to dabble with your life, and live without

The universe is wide and no man needs to be tied down, Thoreau, believes. He advocates exploration, however, not of distant lands, but of the lands within, urging men to open pathways within them to new thoughts. Using tone, theme and metaphor for the mysterious and powerful life within a man, Thoreau both criticizes the civilized man's penchant for traveling and encourages men to explore solitude in nature as a pathway to a greater spiritual

Thoreau is a hugely influential character in the history of America, helping to define American thought and continue to inspire our modern ideas and authors. “Countless contemporary nature

To Henry David Thoreau, nature serves as a reminder to take a break from the fast paced style of life. Thoreau is a transcendentalist writer who isolated himself from society to live a life at his own pace. The title of his work, Where I Lived and What I Lived For, presents the purpose of his writing. Thoreau expresses where he resided and his reasoning for living there. He successfully achieves his purpose through the use of aphorisms and paradox. He begins his essay with direct and simple vocabulary that clearly states his purpose. He “went to the woods” in order “to front only the essential facts of life”. His destination and intentions are clear. His diction represent his way of thought where details are not needed. His use of aphorisms

It’s the end of the school day. I finally breathe and release myself of the stress and the frustration of a normal school day. I sit on the benches outside and wait for my ride. With technology gone and no people to talk to, I just sit still. The evergreen trees gently move in some of the final gusts of the summer breeze. And as I’m looking at life’s beauty and as thoughts swim through my brain, I become frightened. Because, I have never thought of life, as a whole, so profoundly. It transforms into satisfaction. Without distractions, I sit with my thoughts and world’s alluring nature. As I relive this moment in my mind, I can’t help but think of Henry David Thoreau. How he just sometimes sat and took in everything, and absorbed everything

It is often noted that one can never truly understand the beauty of life until they go and experience it. This idea parallels with getting to know who they really are and figuring out what their purpose in life genuinely is, which not many people cannot comprehend. Everyone has different fears, desires, and feelings, but not until you live a life of new experiences do you harness your true self. Growing through experiences and connecting with nature allows someone to more deeply reflect on their individual purpose on Earth and discover their own definition of happiness. Henry David Thoreau comments on this even further by proposing that the disconnection from a society in which we are comfortable is the only way to cultivate an understanding of ourselves. Chris McCandless sets out on an adventure in a life absent of routine to push his boundaries and prove that he could make it on his own, finding the meaning of life in the process. Henry David Thoreau’s statement “Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves”, is correct, as evidenced by Jon Krakauer’s novel Into the Wild.

“Thoreau walking” was written by Henry David Thoreau who has abundant of love for nature and walking. I believe “Thoreau walking” to be such a great lecture that instantly grab your attention and pull you in as you read it. The more you read you become more and more interested. In addition, I believe everyone may have a different interpretation and understanding to Thoreau lecture and that what makes it so great. I found myself reading the lecture couples of time to have my own understanding of what Thoreau is saying and what he meant in each line. Furthermore, Thoreau does not only talk about his love for nature and walking he also expresses his opinion about problems that are going on around him and in the society, that he did not

A significant philosopher of the pre-Civil War era of the United States, Henry David Thoreau appeared to be above the standard with his philosophically driven life style. He wrote detailed accounts of his life in his book titled Walden, in which he expressed his desire to escape the confining pressures of human society. His second chapter lauded the concepts of individualism and self-sufficiency, yet he never took into account the potential harm of his mentality, for it could hurt individuals as well as communities, and modern life simply cannot support his ideals.

In Walden, Henry David Thoreau explains how a relationship with nature reveals aspects of the true self that remain hidden by the distractions of society and technology. To Thoreau, the burdens of nineteenth century existence, the cycles of exhausting work to obtain property, force society to exist as if it were "slumbering." Therefore, Thoreau urges his readers to seek a spiritual awakening. Through his rhetoric,Thoreau alludes to a "rebirth" of the self and a reconnection to the natural world. The text becomes a landscape and the images become objects, appealing to our pathos, or emotions, our ethos, or character, and our logos, or logical reasoning, because we experience his awakening. Thoreau grounds his spirituality in the physical

For Thoreau, the escape from society was a way to deeply learn about himself and human nature. He writes, “Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself” (Thoreau 72). This simple way of life allowed Thoreau to analyze himself and tendencies within society. He explains the effects of this solitary life on a person: “In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness” (253). Thoreau was able to discover flaws in society. He states, “... men establish and conform their daily life of routine and habit every where, which still is built on purely illusory foundations” (78). Unlike Hester and Sethe, the societal norms Thoreau experiences are not painful punishments or dehumanizing treatment. However, the “opinion, and prejudice, and tradition, and delusion, and appearance, that alluvion which covers the globe … through poetry, philosophy and religion” (80), can still have a profound and often negative effect on individuals and society as a whole. Thoreau is able to overcome these societal norms because he separates himself from them. Thoreau explains of humankind, “When we are unhurried and wise, we perceive that only great and worthy things have any permanent and absolute existence,-that petty fears and petty pleasures are but the

Thoreau wished to open the minds of many revealing the importance of nature “Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito's wing that falls on the rails” (Thoreau II). In the quote, Thoreau discusses how he learned to live deliberately in nature encouraging other members of society to do the same. He has learned that it can lead to harmonization with oneself, to

The chapter entitled “Conclusion” is a fitting and compelling final chapter to Thoreau’s Walden. Throughout Walden, Thoreau delves into his surroundings, the very specifics of nature, and what he was thinking about, without employing any metaphors and including none of his poignant aphorisms. However, placed among these at-times tedious sections, come spectacular and wholly enjoyable interludes of great and profound thought from a writer that has become extremely popular in modern America. His growth of popularity over such contemporary favorites as Emerson in our modern era stems from the fact that Thoreau calls for an “ideological revolution to simplification” in our lives. This

Henry David Thoreau, author of “Civil Disobedience” and Walden, has become one of the most influential authors of all time in the eyes of many. Though some might be led to believe his essays and writings, including “Where I Lived, and What I lived For”, make him a down to earth and even rugged author, as he spent some of his life in the forest. However, his life in the woods was not one of heavy duty work and he often was supported with objects and material possessions, contrary to what many of his essays describe. Although some might think of him as a cheater or a liar, Thoreau’s conflicting lifestyles prove him to be a literary genius as he successfully dictates a lifestyle he himself does not take part in throughout paragraphs one

As Thoreau’s journey progresses, he comes to realize that solitude, however lonely, is no more lonely than “the first spider in a new house.” Using this simile, Thoreau compares the busy spider to himself in a place that is yet to be inhabited. The spider represents one that is living with a purpose: whether diversion or food. Thoreau on the other hand, is just as alone as the spider, yet also scurrying in the forest for life’s essentials. Neither is discontent nor lonely, for they are living for a purpose. Thoreau’s conclusion, however convoluted, summarizes his intentions and beliefs on life as