Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817, in Concord, Massachusetts. He was an American philosopher, poet, and environmental scientist. He began writing nature poetry in the 1840s. He became known for his beliefs in Transcendentalism and civil disobedience, and was a dedicated abolitionist. One of America's most famous writers, Henry David Thoreau is remembered for his philosophical and naturalist writings. (biography.com, Henry David Thoreau) He was born and raised in Concord, Massachusetts, along with his older siblings John and Helen and younger sister Sophia. Thoreau went to Harvard College, where he studied Greek, Latin, and German. After college, Thoreau met Ralph Waldo Emerson, a writer also from Concord. Emerson helped and worked with Thoreau, and Thoreau even lived with Emerson, acting as a housekeeper. In 1845, Thoreau moved to Walden Pond and built himself a small abode. Thoreau wanted a simple life, so his move to Walden Pond was beneficial. Being away from the society, he had plenty of time to work on his philosophical and literary interests. …show more content…
His house was small and not built to withstand extreme weather, but it was more of mere defense against the rain. He went to the woods because he “wished to live deliberately, to font 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”. Thoreau states “Still, we live meanly, like ants”, he uses this simile to represent that “Our life is frittered away by detail”. People waste their lives, hurrying from project to project or person to person. Simplicity is the key to a happier, fuller