Walden

“There is an incessant influx of novelty into the world, and yet we tolerate incredible dulness.”

If there was ever a man who demonstrated any truth behind these words, it was their penman, Henry David Thoreau. He substantiates a powerful development of self-awareness and independence in, Walden, and frequently argues in favor of living a life not in need of material possessions. His arguments solidify his position against the common desires of most men and women; those interested in the improvement of luxury goods rather than the improvement of their own character. One could argue Thoreau’s ability to live luxuriously came through inner self-investment. He writes on numerous occasions about the importance of one’s ability to manage on one’s own—a problem most are incapable of doing, which Thoreau describes as doing simply because one can. He questions the desire for building larger houses with more material goods and providing telegram lines from Boston to Texas, and finally asks, ”Would it not better if man lived more simply?”

As the narrative moves forward, Thoreau explains his two years at the lake through the evolution of the four seasons. He juts out on nearly unrivaled accounts of his surrounding habitat offering a flawless depictions of nature's bounty—nature writing only the likes of Aldo Leopold’s, Sand County Almanac, has matched. He gave an ant war the qualities of an entire Greek army at battle in one account, and equates the buzz of a mosquito to a trumpet blast in another.  All the while, he maintains a highly critical outlook on the human condition and man’s lack of awareness for, what he argues, are the most fundamental, satisfying experiences life has to offer.

FAVORITE QUOTES

“Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things.”

“For what are the classics but the noblest recorded thoughts of man?”

“Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed and in such desperate enterprises?”

“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.”

B.-