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Henry David Thoreau: Chapter Summary And Analysis

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Henry David Thoreau, one of America's most famous transcendentalist writers, undertook a journey in 1845 that his fellow Americans and other people around the world can only dream of: he escaped the eternal "rat race" of daily life. Thoreau abandoned his traditional lifestyle to pursue a living experiment in which he isolated himself in the woods for two years, two months, and two days. He built a small cabin a mile away from civilization, lived off of the land, and for the most part, relied solely on himself for survival. This was not done out of hatred towards society, but rather a personal desire to seek greater self-reliance and freedom by living a deliberate life. Thoreau sought to "live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life." Chapter one …show more content…

People work the majority of the day, nearly every day of the week, in order to buy unnecessary material goods. In the pursuit of luxurious goods, a large portion of their very limited time on Earth is devoted to preforming meaningless tasks at never ending jobs. By accepting this unfortunate reality, working as if they are a machine, and not taking action to change their life course, they are essentially their own slave drivers. Thoreau sought to break this cycle and explore alternative ways of living. Having himself isolated from society, Thoreau lived a self-sufficient life; he built himself a one-room cabin in the woods, wore clothing he already owned, and harvested and sold his own vegetables in order to earn a basic income. He limited his consumption to only include the necessities of life: food, shelter, clothing, and fuel. In doing so, his days were no longer consumed by work. By limiting the need for luxuries in life, you not only save hard-earned money, but you also have more time for pleasure; you can live a richer life by working

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As I have stated before many people would warn him what not to do but he didn’t like to be told what to do so he would do them anyways because it was what he desired and he was going to live his life. In the article , “Where I Lived and What I Lived For“ by Henry David Thoreau he discusses how he 's only met a few people that are actually living and not just doing the same routine everyday when he says ,”The millions are awake enough for physical labor; but only one in a million to a poetic or divine life. To be awake is to be alive.

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Both Thoreau and Mccandless took steps to live apart from others to simply free themselves from the limitations of society. As a matter of fact, the most notable similarity these two men shared was their strong disagreement with the attitude of the governments they lived with. Currency and government rule was nothing but an obstacle in their pursuit for more independent lives. Unlike Thoreau, “Mccandless went into the wilderness not primarily to ponder nature…but, rather, to explore the inner country of his own soul”(Krakauer 183). He did not know what Thoreau already knew, as a result, Mccandless learned later that “an extended stay in the wilderness inevitably directs one’s attention outward as much as inward, and it is impossible to live off the land without developing both a subtle understanding of, and a strong emotional bond with, that land and all it holds”(Krakauer 183).

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Rhetorical Analysis Walden

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In the chapter titled Where I Lived, and What I Lived For from Henry David Thoreau’s novel Walden, the author utilizes rhetorical strategies such as imagery and tone to convey how the distractions that accompany a progressing civilization corrupts society. Since he is a transcendentalist, his argument encapsulates the same principles of becoming free from the binds of society and seeking harmony with nature. He emphasizes those ideals when he states that “[he] went to the woods because he wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if [he] could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when [he] came to die, discover that [he] had not lived”(276). In other words, he wanted to escape from society and live

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Thoreau was a prominent and influential transcendentalist which meant that he believed modern society’s institutions, organizations, religions, and politics are all corrupt. He believes that people should go back to their roots in nature and be more simple-minded like our ancient ancestors who lived in nature. To think about it in more modern terms, he was practically a minimalist who believed people should only live with things essential for life, basic life necessities like food, water, and shelter. He quotes, “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 66). From the quote, we can tell that he believes that a life without living with nature and essentials only is a life wasted.

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Embracing a minimalist lifestyle, Thoreau sought to strip away the habits of modern society and live deliberately, focusing on the essentials of life. Through his observations of nature and reflections on solitude, Thoreau explained the virtues of self-sufficiency, mindfulness, and the pursuit of a deeper

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As I walked into the vicinity of the woods, I looked behind me and into the distance before I entered. I stared at the stormy, low lying, smoky clouds that blanketed the sun and prevented its light from creeping through. The baby blue sky and the ray of light that poked out from the edges of the clouds lit up the day. The openness of the surroundings that laid outside the woods became absorbed into my mind and I began to think. I realized that there is so much more out there in the world and the universe.

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Walden Henry David Thoreau was a transcendentalist who attempted to acquire the truth and meaning in simplicity and live in harmony with nature and his conscience. In order to accomplish that, he lived two years in Walden’s Pond in Concord, Massachusetts; being away from the daily concerns, issues, and society. Clearly, Thoreau wasn’t considered a hermit since he received visitors, but nonetheless, he managed to live away from society. To reply to people’s speculations, Thoreau wrote Walden when he lived in Walden’s Pond. Thoreau pursued the true meaning of life and reality in a complex world by living in simplicity.

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Henry David Thoreau was a philosopher, poet, and a very outspoken person about society. He discusses his opinions on how people should live in his essay “Where I Lived and What I Lived For.” Thoreau's philosophy of simplicity and individualism and self-sufficiency poses many dangers for communities as a whole. Although there are many setbacks, his philosophy is, however, still viable today. Thoreau strongly advocates self-sufficiency and individualism in this essay.

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His house was only, “[T]en feet wide by fifteen long . . . with a garret and a closet, a large window on each side, two trap doors, one door at the end, and a brick fireplace opposite” (41). Although, Thoreau's cabin is small, it is more than sufficient to hold his meager possessions: “My furniture consisted of a bed, a table, a desk, three chairs, a looking-glass three inches in diameter, a pair of tongs and andirons, a kettle, a skillet, and a frying-pan, a dipper, a wash-bowl, two knives and forks, three plates, one cup, one spoon, a jug for oil, a jug for molasses, and a japanned lamp” (56). His cabin along with some of his furniture were crafted from his own labor, the reason being that he finds it simple and natural to be self sufficient. Here Thoreau expands on the importance of self sufficiency, “Who knows but if men constructed their dwellings with their own hands, and provided food for themselves and families simply and honestly enough, the poetic faculty would be universally developed. . .

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In this section Thoreau makes a conclusion to the book; he stresses the importance of knowing yourself. He stated that “truth means more than love, than money, than fame. He also advised that if you want to travel, you should explore yourself. He stated that “the world of nature is but a means of inspiration for us to know ourselves.” He also believed that “it is the interpretation of nature by man, and what it symbolizes in the higher spiritual world that is important to the transcendentalists.”

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Consequently, what Thoreau proposed was simplicity rejecting modern civilization to return to nature and let the individual to develop his/her highest possibilities. Thoreau not only made a critique of the modern society as Emerson did, but also he practiced his ideology: he experienced that life is better without crowd, luxuries and complexity. The transcendentalist poet spent two year close to nature. He lived at Walden Pond where he wrote entire journals recounting his experience. Thoreau is well known for his book “Walden” (1854).

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In Walden, written by Henry David Thoreau, the author expresses the immense longing that we, as human beings, need to give up our connection to our ever-growing materialism in order to revert back to self-sufficient happiness. In Walden, the reader is able to infer that Thoreau feels as if we are becoming enslaved by our material possessions, as well as believes that the study of nature should replace and oppose our enslavement, and that we are to “open new channels of thought” by turning our eyes inward and studying ourselves. Thoreau feels that we are becoming enslaved by our material possessions. As stated in the chapter “In the Where I Lived, and What I Lived For”, Thoreau states that “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.” (972).

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In his essay Walden, Thoreau affirms the Transcendentalist belief of living simply by emphasizing the thought of living with only the essentials and the importance of self reliance. Thoreau supports the ideal of living simply through the emphasis of only living with what one needs. Simplicity exists

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