Philosophies In Walden, By Henry David Thoreau

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

The excerpt Walden, by Henry David Thoreau, is a piece that explores the purpose of life, especially if it isn 't lived to the fullest. Thoreau starts by sharing the meaning and value of life. His idea of his personal achievement was to live life and die with a sense of peace and knowledge that he did not waste a single moment. He wanted to live life while being true to himself regardless of whether he would find life to be cruel or a wonderful place, and this was a risk he was willing to take. In a modern sense we are intrigued by technology. Although those in favor of technology may say that the new devices and applications do not affect human interaction and our way of living we are, are unable to see that, even in a room filled with people, there is an isolation barrier and an inability to live life to the fullest.

Thoreau was one of the many followers of Emerson but he acted upon his teaching most consistently. Emerson’s essay, Self-Reliance, had made an abiding impression on Thoreau. Towards the end of his essay, Emerson asserted, “It is only as a man puts off all foreign support, and stands alone, that I see him to be strong and to prevail.” Acting upon Emerson’s call for self-reliance, Thoreau went to Walden Lake in Concord, Massachusetts to learn to lead an independent life. It was an experiment, as he said, to lead a life without materialistic possessions, people, society and the government and his initial intentions to live isolated was development of his own spirit and soul.

In order to be heard by the government policies speak up for yourself. Speak up and let it be known what you want when you feel it’s right. “Let every man make known what of government would command his respect”. Just like what Thoreau believed to speak up and stand up for your voices to be heard. Thoreau was a man that believed that the government shouldn't be in your life business. Also a man that believed in how he could live by himself in nature and escaped from society. He wanted to be an independent person living a peaceful harmony and nature in which he focused the most on. Life was a waste of time if you rushing it in which he shows in “Walden”. “Lead lives of quiet desperation” meaning his life by living in a simple lifestyle was bringing

Within the passage of Walden, by Henry David Thoreau, it demonstrates multiple examples of Romanticism. The concepts being mentioned are ideas about going transcending ordinary societal beliefs, following ones’ intuition, and creating a new moral law.

Schulz clearly states her belief that Thoreau was not only “narcissistic, and fanatical about self control,” but a hypocrite. She relies on common cliches of the “mile” walk back to Concord where Thoreau would feast on his mom’s homemade “cookies.” Contradictions that Thoreau himself commented on in Walden. Thoreau mentions in the book’s first sentence that he is but “a mile” from the village of Concord, the author seemingly self aware of his situation. Schultz criticism is overly literal, arguing that “Thoreau’s retreat at Walden was a desperate compromise.” The problem is that Walden is not a desperate attempt by a narcissistic misanthrope to distance himself from society, but rather an attempt by Thoreau to balance his own

Chris McCandless, from the movie Into the Wild, and Henry David Thoreau shared similar reasons wanting to leave society, however how they approached life lead toward Chris’s death and Thoreau’s success. Thoreau and Chris shared many of the same values and beliefs. The beliefs and values they share included one should learn from living life and society damages the individual however, they did not share similar believes how they planned their lives.

          T.E. Frazier is a former classmate of Burris' at his graduate school,      and is one of the founding members of Walden Two.

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.

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.

Busy highways, briefcases, and paychecks. These are few of many sights seen by individuals living the ‘American dream’. It has been established in one’s development to go to school, get good grades, then slip right into college where a degree is earned and a career is cast. In a matter of a few years, one’s life is dictated and the routine of the working man, or woman, is set. Happiness is illustrated through new cars, nice clothes, and the newest phone available on the market—but what is not seen is serenity within one’s self. Thoreau describes the ability to find the true sense and meaning of happiness without all of the materialistic barriers that seem to serve as its guidelines. In Thoreau’s Walden, people are proclaimed for not living life to its full ability by impassively going through everyday routines, mistakable importance of necessities, and the idea of individual purpose.

Though the reasons for their pilgrimages were different, transcendentalists emphasized journeys into nature. Henry David Thoreau, perhaps the most famous transcendentalist, wrote Walden on his time spent in the wilderness of Walden pond. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote Nature on his walks into the woods. Much of Emerson’s works were on intuition and self-reliance. Jeremiah Johnson is a modern movie that seemingly adopts the ideas of these transcendentalist authors into a narrative about a man who leaves civilisation for the mountain. All three characters had different stated motivations. Thoreau left to “live simply” (Thoreau). Emerson left for solitude. Though it never was stated directly, Jeremiah Johnson left to “Leave his troubles far behind”, with later hints to him being a deserter of the Mexican American War. But why is nature a staple of transcendentalism? Transcendentalism, unlike rationalism or empiricism, is founded on the belief that one can “transcend the data that we intake via our senses” using intuition (Dwinell). For Transcendentalists, nature is the path to truth, because it is there intuition rules above all.

Henry David Thoreau's life began on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts. At a young age he began to show an interest in writing. In 1833, at the age of sixteen, Thoreau was accepted to Harvard University. Although his parents could not afford the cost of tuition, his family offered to help with the funds, and in August he entered Harvard. In 1837 he graduated and applied for a teaching position at a public school in Concord. However, he refused to flog children as punishment. He choose instead to deliver moral lectures. The community looked down upon this, and a committee was asked to review the situation. They decided that the lectures were not ample punishment, so they ordered Thoreau to

Born in 1817, in Concord, Henry David Thoreau became one of the greatest writers among the American Renaissance. Thoreau based his whole philosophy on the fact that man needed to get rid of material things in order to be an individual. An exquisitely educated man, Thoreau went to Harvard, which placed heavy emphasis on the classics. Thoreau studied a curriculum that included grammar and composition, mathematics, English, history, and various philosophies. He also spoke fluently in Italian, French, German, and Spanish.

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was an American philosopher, author, poet, abolitionist, and naturalist. He was famous for his essay, “Civil Disobedience”, and his book, Walden. He believed in individual conscience and nonviolent acts of political resistance to protest unfair laws. Moreover, he valued the importance of observing nature, being individual, and living in a simple life by his own values. His writings later influenced the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. In “Civil Disobedience” and Walden, he advocated individual nonviolent resistance to the unjust state and reflected his simple living in the nature.