Henry David Thoreau, Walden, and Transcendental Values for Education

I believe that one way in which Thoreau displays his preference for youthful innocence rather than educated sophistication in from Brute Neighbors is in the way he described the Battle of Concord using ants. He cleverly describes the scene, the emotions, and the thrill.

We can’t live without nature. It’s our home and way of life. Henry David Thoreau wrote a piece about Walden Pond in the springtime. Thoreau discusses how nature has so much to offer. His use of anaphora, diction, and imagery helps to show not only his love for nature, but the impact it has on us.

A Comparison of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Beliefs concerning Simplicity, the Value and Potential of Our Soul, and Our Imagination.Henry David Thoreau tests Ralph Waldo Emerson’s ideas about nature by living at Walden Pond, where he discovers that simplicity in physical aspects brings deepness to our mind, our soul to its fullest potential, and our imagination to be uplifted to change our lives. These two men believe that nature is what forces us not to depend on others’ ideas but to develop our own. Nature is ever changing so we must keep searching for explanations about human life. They feel that nature is the key to knowing all.Thoreau lives at Walden Pond to find the true meaning of life. He wants to experience

The final prominent transcendentalism theme expressed in Walden is the importance of experiences. Transcendentalists believed personal experience is how one learned. Literally, people learned everything the hard way. Thoreau demonstrated this clearly in the experiment of living in the woods for two years. He explains in Walden that he wanted to experience living simply for an extended period of time. Notice that Thoreau did not speculate, draw conclusions, or even ask someone who had tried it. The only way, in his mind, that he was going to learn about living simply was to undergo it personally. In speaking about life in the chapter, “Where I lived and What I Lived For”, Thoreau said,“…if [life] proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion.”[4] He emphasized living and feeling everything to be able to understand life and its meaning.

Lawrence and Lee argue for government and societal reform by expressing how a lack of proper education impacts the citizens of the United States. The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail illustrates a

The essay by E.B. White and the original work by Henry David Thoreau on "Walden" both reflect on the serenity of Thoreau's Walden Pond. Here Thoreau gives the tone of the simple pleasures of nature, " As I walk along the stony shore of the pond in my shirt-sleeves, though it is cool as well as cloudy and windy, and I see nothing special to attract me, all the elements are unusually congenial to me. The bullfrogs trump to usher in the night, and the note of the whip-poor-will is borne on the rippling wind from over the water. Sympathy with the fluttering alder and poplar leaves almost takes away my breath; yet, like the lake, my serenity is rippled but not ruffled. These small waves raised by the evening wind are as remote from storm as the smooth reflecting surface. Though it is now dark, the wind still blows and roars in the wood, the waves still dash, and some creatures lull the rest with their notes. The repose is never complete. The wildest animals do not repose, but seek their prey now; the fox, and skunk, and rabbit, now roam the fields and woods without fear." He is separated from the rest of the bustling world and happy that way. Thoreau's work was one that was thought provoking and solemn in tone and he had a simple yet detailed style that gave you a clear picture of the place he was living.

Henry David Thoreau, a nineteenth century naturalist, wrote about his two-year experience of living a separate, simplified life in a small cabin in Concord, Massachusetts. Although Thoreau is seen as a man who would not interfere with nature, he developed his home in the woods. Building his cabin, cultivating a garden, and fishing in Walden Pond, Thoreau took advantage of his natural surroundings. Thoreau also had a great passion for books and described reading as a “noble exercise”. In his essay, Walden, he wrote, “My residence was more favorable, not only to thought, but to serious reading, than a university...I kept Homer’s Iliad on my table through the summer”. Thoreau enjoyed nature more fully when it was combined with some human interventions: a small cabin, a fishing pole, some books, and so forth. While some human interventions facilitate consistent, lasting involvement, others create the capability for unique, ephemeral experiences with

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.

It was my high school teacher, Anna Shaughnessy, who introduced me to Henry David Thoreau. His Walden was not part of the course of study. She asked whether I knew of this Massachusetts writer. I didn't. Without scaring me off by proclaiming how great he was, she said he had lived and died in obscurity. But not like some romantic poet in a dusty garret. He had done all kinds of work for a living-been a schoolteacher, surveyor, pencil-maker, gardener, carpenter, mason, lecturer, naturalist, as well as keeper of a personal journal into which he wrote two million words.

Henry David Thoreau moved to Walden Pond in 1845, on land owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson, author of “Self-Reliance.” Walden shows influence from Emerson, with whom Thoreau was affiliated, but with whom he also disagrees in some respects. A common method of Thoreau’s throughout Walden is the depiction of a place or an action compared to a relevant element of ancient mythology, followed by an explanation of Thoreau’s ideas. Using his own experiences and relevant mythology, Thoreau best conveys his message of self-reliance and Transcendentalist values in “Where I Live and What I Live For,” “Solitude,” and “Conclusion.” Thoreau utilizes his surroundings in Walden Pond in “Where I Live and What I Live For” to explain how valuable nature was to his self-growth.

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

In Thoreau’s mind, he views life experience as the way to learn. Thoreau believes that

The autobiography “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau is a first-person narrative explaining what Thoreau personally experienced from his experiment after two years of living at Walden Pond, encompassed by nature. Thoreau isolates himself from society and martial earnings to gain a higher understanding of what it means to have freedom as an individual. He simplifies his life to get closer to nature to learn more about himself and society. If we focus too much on obtaining these so-called comforts of life. We blur the fact that these luxuries are a hindrance to self-freedom. In society, if you do not follow the same rhythm as everyone else. You will be seen as an out casting in the community. That is not freedom

Emerson says, “Nature never wears a mean appearance… Nature is a setting that fits equally well as a comic or mourning piece.” He explains that people can look to nature in any situation—good or bad. It comforts us and gives us answers if we allow it. Emerson believes nature is our connect to God. In his essay “Nature,” he says, “I am part or a particle of God.” Emerson and Thoreau both believe man can find spiritual meaning through nature. Nature allows us to dig deep into our minds and souls. Thoreau moved to Walden Pond alone and away from society to find meaning in his life. In his essay “Walden,” he says, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had lived.” He tells us that through nature we can learn to depend on ourselves and reach our full potential to better our

Henry Thoreau was an American essayist and philosopher. He was very famous for his writings. His most famous book is about his experience while staying on the Walden Pond. He named the book Walden. In Walden, he stated a lot of his most famous views and beliefs. His views were authentic and impactful. He believed that a person doesn’t need all the latest and fanciest technology to live an excellent life. He thinks that having enough to get by is all a person needs. Thoreau states three major beliefs in this book. He argues that sometimes it’s better to do things yourself, there are more things to experience and enjoy in the world that is free, and people are stronger than they think.