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Thoreau's Essay: Examining Progress And Freedom

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Audrey Nace Literary Analysis Honors English 10 17 February 2023 Thoreau's ¨Walking¨; Examining Progress and Freedom The year 1851 presents itself as a time of great change, in the industrial revolution´s heart, which radically changed western society´s landscape. Although the industrial revolution is widely hailed as a catalyst for civilizational advancement, Thoreau presents an opposing viewpoint. In the essay ¨Walking¨, he explains his life´s yearning to be guided by the natural world. However, his philosophy placed him at odds with the world, so he advocates radically changing humanity´s life approach. He explains how nature has impacted his own life, his observations concerning the people around him, and how he himself would fix the world. …show more content…

Walking devotes large portions within the essay detailing an individual’s spiritual necessities. Chief among the necessities comes time away from society, in which a man can adequately reflect. Thoreau himself recounts an anecdote during his own time away, narrating: “I am alarmed when it happens that I have walked a mile into the woods bodily, without getting there in spirit. In my afternoon walk I would fain forget…and my obligations to society.” (Thoreau) The author deliberately selects his “obligations to society” as an obstacle, creating difficulty in achieving the right spirit. Repeatedly, Thoreau symbolically mentions walking in the woods as a spiritual respite, gifting him a closer relationship with the natural world, and subsequently his God. While his contemporaries regarded spiritual growth in more materialistic terms, Thoreau emphasizes his belief in the simple steps: the woods, the sky, uninterrupted reflection. The author reiterates his belief in nature’s powerful spiritual effects when drawing a correlation between land and potential: “For I believe that climate does thus react on man, — as there is something in the mountain air that feeds the spirit and inspires.” (Thoreau) In Thoreau’s view, a life lacking time outdoors represents a lost opportunity for self-improvement, despite the productivity stemming from time indoors. Contradicting the ideal detailing an individual steeped in human culture as most spiritually developed, Thoreau’s ideal is one who not only reflects but draws from their setting, not their fellow man. The author chooses mountain air as his example because of the inherent difficulty and inhospitable nature mountains present settlers, indicating spiritual growth derives not from ease but nature’s bold challenge. Indeed, Thoreau attributes not only spiritual growth to natural

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