...Reading the excerpt from Walden helped me appreciate life as it is. The novel Walden, by Henry David Thoreau, is a day to day account of his experiences at Walden Pond. Thoreau focused on the idea of a simple life and encouraged his readers to simplify their lives as he stated, “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail.” It may have been easier to live by his theory of a simple life in the 1800’s as opposed to today because of the latest advancements in technology. The American population has become very dependent on the luxuries of life (such as the computer, the car, the cell phone, etc.) that it would be more difficult to live and function without them. Thanks to the media and advertising, there is a constant race between people to obtain the latest technology or even fashion apparel. For example; about a three weeks ago, a pair of Jordan sneakers, the Concords, were released in stores. Almost every teenager in America battled to buy these sneakers. It got way out of hand, to the point where a group of boys stabbed a young man just to steal his sneakers. Thoreau’s idea of living a simple life should be taken more into consideration these days. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. The general public is more materialistic these days than ever and it would be very difficult to break them out of this habit. Thoreau...
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...In Walden, Henry David Thoreau writes of his experiences living in a cabin in the woods in his pursuit for solitude, self-reliance and greater self-awareness. Similarly, in this particular passage, Thoreau urges the reader to be unperturbed by daily happenings and to live and let live as one with nature. Thoreau’s underlying message of self-sufficiency is apparent through his usage of diction as well as natural imagery as metaphors. In this way, this passage is typical of the wider text. Firstly, Thoreau implores the reader to strive to do his or her best under any given circumstance and not be affected by insignificant events, or societal pressures. The passage opens by requesting we “spend one day as deliberately as Nature” and not be distracted by “every nutshell and mosquito’s wing”. In nature, there is only survival of the fittest and everything happens with purpose. By requesting we live “deliberately as Nature” Thoreau is perhaps appealing for the reader to find purpose in life and give his or her best in working towards it each day. Thoreau also questions conformity, wondering why we should “go with the stream”. These ideas coincide with Thoreau’s belief that through pursuing meaningful work one can truly become self-reliant and thus attain fulfilment. Secondly, Thoreau’s usage of natural imagery as metaphors serves to criticise the superficiality and pretensions of society he disagrees with as well as reveal his reverence for nature. Thoreau appeals for the reader...
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...However, this does not mean that this utopia he creates in his story, called Walden Two, emulating Thoreau's Walden Pond in Maine, is not without flaws. The most obvious flaws that stand out to the modern day reader are simply due to the fact that this book was published nearly 60 years ago. Values in the post-WWII era differed from modern ones, and psychology took a back seat during the war for other "real sciences." This social commentary is extensively relevant to the study of psychology, especially conditioning/behaviorism, because all consequences of all the actions of people in Walden Two directly stem from some psychological event, be it the shaping of the children to want to learn, or the way the officials (planners/managers) are appointed (and not elected). The interesting thing about this book is the way in which it is written. The main protagonist's name is Burris, awfully close to the author and psychologist's name Burrhus, and they share nearly identical lives and professions. I believe this book basically breaks down B.F. Skinner's feelings about creating utopia's into the characters. Burris would be closest to B.F. Skinner himself, with Skinner's moderate point of view being exemplified in this character, his extremely in favor feeling exemplified in Frazier's character, and his extremely against/skeptical feeling exemplified in Augustine Castle. In order to understand why in fact "Walden Two" is a commentary on American society, we must juxtapose...
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...Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, published in 1854, is a book composed of the author’s reflections on living simply for several years near Walden Pond. One of the final chapters of this book entitled “Spring” opens the gateway for a physical and metaphorical change in the author’s life. This chapter will be examined through several topics including historical context, the audience, the speaker and the text itself in an attempt to analyze the rhetoric utilized by Thoreau. “Spring” calls forth a transformative and, almost, biblical attitude leading those who read this excerpt to sense the physical changes occurring at Walden Pond. Thoreau, himself, anxiously awaits this seasonal change as it is almost as if the Earth is experiencing a rebirth of its own. “…One attraction in coming to the woods to live was that I should have leisure and opportunity to see the Spring come in” (Thoreau, 1854, p. 322). Thus, the analysis will commence as the historical context of this chapter is investigated further. When examining the historical context of this chapter from Walden, one must first understand that not only is the transformative period of Walden Pond documented, but it is possible that Thoreau could’ve hinted towards changes within the United States as well. When this book was published, slavery was still very much commonplace and the Kansas-Nebraska Act had just blossomed two new territories. The crescendo of tension over whether these territories would allow slavery spurred the creation...
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...The poems from Walden, “Nature”, and “Self-Reliance” all highlight key aspects of transcendentalism. In Walden, Henry David Thoreau moved to the woods by a pond to live simply and the way he wanted to with nature. In “Nature”, Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was Thoreau’s friend, writes about how nature brings us back to who we really are. In the excerpt from “Self-Reliance”, Emerson writes about how the only person you can really trust or need is yourself in order to have a simple, happy life. Thoreau and Emerson both believed that in order to have a happy life, you need to live simply. In the excerpt from Walden called “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For.” Henry Thoreau writes that he “moved to the woods to live deliberately”. This means he willingly wanted to live in the woods to find himself in nature. He also wanted to “front only the essential facts of life, and see if...
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...There are many important and deep quotes including the one mentioned above are found in Walden chapter “Where I lived and What I Lived for”. We learn his experience and values from his writings. According to me, second chapter basically focuses on “beauty of nature”. Thoreau said “The morning wind forever 64 blows, the poem of creation is uninterrupted; but few are the ears that hear it.” From the quote stated above he basically says that our life ought to be comprised of basic things and not every one of the points of interest that lives around us. There are so many ideas and thoughts depicted in this quote such as how it feels to be able to wake up in the morning and able to feel the fresh air of nature. This gives us the ideas that author...
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...Monique Edwards M. Gonzalez-Hernandez English 2327.003 November 1, 2012 Where I Lived, and What I Lived For Where I Lived, and What I Lived For is the title of the second chapter in the book Walden on Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau. The first part of this chapter explains how he built a hut near the forest of Walden Pond close to Concord, Massachusetts where he could gather his thoughts away from society. Thoreau writes in Walden: "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived" (Thoreau 1028). Thoreau was an educated man who chose to live in poverty to explain to his readers that life can be as simple as nature. According to some critics, life cannot be as simple for various reasons: “This is contrasted to the human society from which he isolated himself, of whose utilitarianism, materialism, and consumerism he was extremely critical” (Environmental). In order to agree with Thoreau, one would need to have the same open mind and the ability to see and think outside the norm of society. Those who disagree with Thoreau do not believe that one can still “live deliberately” (Thoreau 1028). The critics clearly see that living such a simple life as Thoreau writes about is impossible. Life cannot be as simple as nature for many reasons. One reason is the outcome of life is not always simple...
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...Brendan Wu This World and the Next Kevin Goldstein November 29, 2014 A Thoreau Examination of Materialism In Walden, Thoreau admonishes society for succumbing to material desires and forsaking greater, more worthy pursuits like knowledge and self-reliance; similarly, in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Dick creates a world where dependence on material possessions causes society to sacrifice its humanity and ultimately creates irreversible ruin. Yet both authors acknowledge that material items are important, with Thoreau depending on things like his house and his field for survival, and Dick introducing pet animals and empathy boxes as possessions that heighten human experience rather than suppress it. Thoreau and Dick argue that material possessions themselves have the potential to make powerful and positive impacts. It is the unchecked desire for material possessions that leads to societal decline and unhappiness. Throughout Walden, Thoreau is largely critical of materialism, venturing into the solitude of Walden Pond for two years partly to escape society’s preoccupation with material possessions. In the beginning of “Economy,” he observes young townsmen strapped with large inheritances and comments that having a massive farm, which is typically perceived as a sign of prosperity, only creates obligations and forces its inhabitants to spend their entire lives toiling, whereas owning a meager plot of land both allows for self-sufficiency and provides time to explore...
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...Comparative Essay Ginsberg, Hughes and Thoreau Confidence and self-reliance are qualities that are admired and desired by many people. Confidence is defined as a feeling or consciousness of one's powers or of reliance on one's circumstances, and a faith or belief that one will act in a right, proper, or effective way. Self-reliance is defined as the ability to care for one's self. Because people aspire to be confident and self-reliant, these qualities are common themes in literature. This essay compares three quotes, taken from three very different pieces of literature about American values, in which confidence and self-reliance are illustrated. “I refuse to give up my obsession. America, stop pushing. I know what I’m doing.” – Allen Ginsberg, “America.” Allen Ginsberg’s “America” presents a sharp criticism of American culture by someone who has almost completely rejected its values. The poem’s speaker addresses America directly, as if he were giving a lecture or a sermon to the nation itself instead of to the American people. The nation’s aggressive anticommunist foreign policy and its culture of materialism and conformity are the targets of the speaker’s criticism. This poem was written in 1956 and was one of the first widely read literary statements of political unrest in the post-World War II America. Themes from the recent wars are prominent such as the nuclear bomb or Asian foreign policy, but the poem also depicts national racial unrest...
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...The Romantic Heart Christina Jones ENG/106 02/24/2014 Debora Aubuchon The Romantic Heart Emotion plays a large part in our lives, no matter what time period we live in. Emotion has fueled literary masterpieces from Ancient to modern times. Shakespeare wrote of love, anger and revenge and Jonathan Swift wrote of what is behind the curtain of love. As you read on you will encounter three literary works and see the part that emotion plays into them and how these pieces are influenced by the many authors who came before them. Jonathan Swift’s poem entitled, The Lady’s Dressing Room tells the story of Strephon, who takes a peek into his love, Celia’s, dressing room. Strephon is appalled by what he finds. In the beginning Strephon refers to Celia as a Goddess, “The Goddess from her Chamber issues, Array'd in Lace, Brocades and Tissues.” (Swift, 1732/2008, pp. 1994). However, as the poem continues Swift makes it clear that Strephon no longer feels this way by writing, “But swears how damnably the Men lie, In calling Celia sweet and cleanly.” (1732/2008, pp.1994). The Lady’s Dressing Room explores and tries to explain the private relationship between male and female. This literary masterpiece digs deep into the core of what is beneath just outside attraction or lust. True love is more than what is just on the surface. True love is when you can love both the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly. Swift’s poem is filled with many emotions. The character, Strephon, moves from...
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...For years people have strived to live a life of simplicity. Today, that simple living is called minimalism and it has become a true way of life. Henry David Thoreau was one of the first people to bestow in a simple life and produced a true American literature classic from the lifestyle. Walden gives us detailed insight on Thoreau’s beliefs and what it was like for him to live in the woods. Thoreau had many reasons for wanting to go and live in the woods. One of the reasons was to live a simple life, Thoreau wanted to create a lifestyle without all the luxuries everyone else lived with. Thoreau thought that one could live a perfectly well-rounded life with just a few things. He said “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail” (Thoreau 65). Through this quote he talks about how he believes that he can live a grand life with the least amount of necessities, and he did. At Walden Pond, he built himself a small cabin, grew his own food, and earned his money by his own manual labor. While living in the woods, Thoreau was able to truly understand how little a person needs to live a simple, free, and...
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...reading, I continued reading the Walden’s Universities cover page and ran across the mission and the vision statement that Walden University wrote for its students. The mission statement was such an inspiring statement that let me know that Walden University continues to provide an assortment of scholarly, educational courses, which gives all professionals the ability to go into the community and become that great inspirational person that could create social change among...
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...from society. For Thoreau, being close to nature is the best part of his choice of place to live. Acquiring the material possession of a house is something he must put up with in order to live in nature. Independence Day has symbolic meaning as the day Thoreau becomes self-reliant and the day that he becomes one of nature's inhabitants. Thoreau's close observation of nature testifies to his profound relationship with it, characterized both by awe of its spiritual greatness and intimacy with its everyday workings. Nature is his spiritual guide, leading him in its simple natural rhythms toward his own spiritual path and his proper work. PLOT SUMMARY | Seeking solitude and self-reliance, Thoreau says, he moved to the woods by Walden Pond, outside Concord Massachusetts, where he lived for two years, writing this book, before returning to society. In the book he sets out his beliefs about society and the nature of human existence, saying first that he believes men need not work as hard as they do, if they are willing to simplify their lives and follow their own instincts. Thoreau designs a life of "voluntary poverty" for himself, determining the absolute necessities of man's existence to be: food, shelter, clothing, and fuel. Criticizing society's spiritually empty obsessions with clothing and elaborate homes, as well as with formal education, travel, and the use of animal labor, he praises the savage man, who is free from the distraction of society's institutions and...
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...Thoreau claims that nature aids in the individual prospering and becoming purified of the corruption caused by society. In the second chapter of Walden, titled Where I Lived and What I Lived For, Thoreau states, “Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself” (❡14). Through this quotation, Thoreau is showing the clarity brought by nature and the positive qualities it causes in those who embrace it. Thoreau uses “innocence” to suggest that nature is pure and is not a sinister thing like the society Thoreau escaped from through nature. This quotation aids in understanding Thoreau’s view on Nature and the positive effect Thoreau believes it brings. This evidence explains...
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...Writing Your Own Rules: Living deliberately in Thoreau Walden Henry David Thoreau once stated, “Why should we knock under and go with the stream? Let us not be upset and overwhelmed in that terrible rapid and whirlpool called a dinner, situated in the meridian shallows” (Thoreau 909). Thoreau has a very strong perspective on transcendentalism. Becoming a transcendentalist offers the right to trust one own intellect. Therefore, this quote demonstrates that Thoreau express to his audience the importance of being one’s self and not following society’s standards. Transcendentalism is referred to as society versus oneself. Henry David Thoreau believes learning to trust one’s individual intuitions and becoming a non-conformist allows individuals to live a more deliberately life. Henry David Thoreau used his selection, “Where I Lived, and What I lived For” to demonstrate how the changes of society serve as a distraction to an individual. Although, Thoreau was a non-conformist, he never stated it he allowed his actions to speak for him through his work. Thoreau notes, “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” (909). Due to the many changes of society, people always try...
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