Recent Comments
- Comment on The Ponds 1-17 by Alireza TaghdarrehPosted in: Thoreau-Harding Project It is strange, rather odd, to see Thoreau reducing the geographical rank of Walden Pond to a mere well. Walden is a pond which Thoreau loves so dearly. Is he not humiliating his beloved pond by calling it a well? I think not! The word "well" carries a profound symbolic meaning […]
- Comment on The Ponds 1-17 by Alireza TaghdarrehPosted in: Thoreau-Harding Project I do share this joy with you, Jennifer. I am from Iran. Picture this: Thoreau believed that the water from Walden Pond came to the Persian Gulf through evaporation. Couldn't we imagine that the common joy that we draw from this magnificent book brings our minds together the way evaporation brought […]
- Comment on Higher Laws by Laura GikasPosted in: Thoreau-Harding Project It is interesting that Thoreau references Mencius, a follower of Confucius, when talking about our inner animals. Confucius himself never specifically stated his view on human nature, but Mencius expounded on Confucius' ideas, adding that humans were born naturally good. Another follower of Confucius, Hsun-Tzu, argued that since we need to […]
- Comment on Conclusion 1-9 by Nicholas VanameePosted in: Thoreau-Harding Project Thoreau here distinguishes personal agency as a core tenant of transcendental thought. I believe that agency, while an objectively benevolent virtue, is not exclusive to the objective, caring, transcendental thought Thoreau lauds. It is possible, for objectively bad individuals to have agency, to act as they will, make their terrifying dreams […]
- Comment on The Village by Alireza TaghdarrehPosted in: Thoreau-Harding Project This is a particularly profound paragraph in Walden for me. Consider this, for example, that Thoreau is speaking of "setting sails" while he is in fact moving on land. I believe this is an extremely subtle reference to the fact that Thoreau is not moving through any established or predetermined roads […]