Transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau’s essay “Walking” is an amazing analysis of the relationship between man and nature, trying to find a balance between society and what we as primitive animals hold as rules of life. The essay exemplifies Thoreau’s personal feelings about nature with what he believes to be the nature of mankind as well as the nature of himself as an individual. Albeit with beautiful writing and some of the best imagery ever put onto paper, Thoreau’s essay is not without its flaws. In Thoreau’s essay, it is said that "In my afternoon walk I would fain forget all my morning occupations and my obligations to society". Thoreau off the bat states own personal feeliabouts about nature and the woods as a way to build an argument around the benefits nature and evening strolls have for the soul. …show more content…
It is my belief that a personal opinion or argument should not be taught as though it is the only practical or sound answer to an otherwise extremely broad and personal question. As we continue to read the essay, Thoreau suffers from this very same problem time and time again, an example being: “When we walk, we naturally go to the fields and woods: what would become of us if we walked only in a garden or a mall?”. Don’t get me wrong, Thoreau is a personal hero of mine and is on par with the likes of Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir when it comes to affection for the beauty of nature, but to say that his own opinions and ideas are the opinions and ideas of everyone is nothing short of negligent. With all that Henry David Thoreaug writes, it would appear that most of it cannot be applied to the majority of people, and more so to his elf. I wish I could say that the essay eventually falls out of habit when associating his own personal traits and preferences with the preferences of the general public, but alas I