[T-Dog “Cantalope” Corey]

In “Conclusion” ,Thoreau wraps up his experiences and what he has learned from living at the Walden pond. During his time there, he was able to determine  the importance of living a simple life and knowing who you truly are. Along with that, Thoreau learned “that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.(358)He discovered that someone who works hard toward their dream and expresses the dedication needed will achieve it. On top of all this, the person would have to truly believe that they actually could reach their dream. Thoreau also claimed that when one “simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex”(359). He wanted people to live simply because of the many distractions that people get from material goods. When a person is away from these distractions,  they can have a clear state of mind and think about things in a calm manner. Thoreau  learned that with this mental state, the world and life itself makes more sense.

I actually learned a lot more than I expected from Walden. The one part of his philosophy that was interested in was to take time to learn who you actually are. It made me realize that I am have been so  enveloped in my phone and other material goods that I never really spend any time by myself, with my own thoughts. Because of this, I plan to find a period of time each week were I can get away from these distractions and found out who I actually am .

[T-Dog “Cantalope” Corey]

In “Brute neighbors”, Thoreau describes a battle between to races of ants, red and black. The ants were fighting over a chip, and the ground surrounding it was “strewn with the dead and dying, both red and black.(287)This worried Thoreau because he thought that the ants were a symbol of what would happen if people were to live only under the necessary’s of life, just like he did. The ants were fighting over the necessity “food” because it is  basically what they lived for. Despite what Walden thought, people most likely not fight for the food, because unlike the ants, people have other values to live for than food. Thoreau compares the battle of ants to the revolutionary war not because of the number of ants killed but because “it was a principle they fought for, as much as our ancestors, and not to avoid a three penny tax on tea.”(289)Thoreau was trying to say how the people and the ants both fought because of their nature of wanting to be dominant.

I agree with what Zac said about the difference between humans and ants when living simply. Just because tiny ants fought over food doesn’t mean that humans would.

[T-Dog “Cantalope” Corey]

In “Higher Laws”, Thoreau talks about the eating habits of people today and his disapproval of it. He believed that people shouldn’t be eating rich and savory foods  because it distracts them from higher intellectual pursuits. Thoreau favored a diet very simple foods that human’s ancestors ate. Or in other words, the healthiest food people can get. Thoreau stated that “We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones.”(276) He points out the fact that humans have control of what they eat and so they should only have the necessary foods. If a person ate only what was necessary they would be able to preserve the body and brain in which they can pursue higher intellectual pursuits. I agree with mostly with Thoreau’s thoughts because it is important for people to take care of their body’s. However, I do think that it is necessary for humans to eat meat because it does have a nutritional value, and eating the simplest foods isn’t as healthy for people as Thoreau thought.

I found Noah’s point on healthy food to be interesting. People today can make the simple foods that Thoreau ate into savory meals. Why not enjoy it if its healthy.

[T-Dog “Cantalope” Corey]

In “The Bean Field”, Thoreau becomes a farmer despite all of the bad things he says about them in the earlier chapters. He ends up becoming attached to farming the beans and gets pleasure from doing it. He claims that he had “little aid from horses or cattle…I was much slower and became much more intimate with my beans than usual”(232) Thoreau liked  farming the beans so much because he gained the satisfaction of knowing he did this my himself. It made him proud and gave him a sense of accomplishment. He did not farm the crops solely for the purpose of gaining money but for gratification. In “Economy”, Thoreau pointed out how most farmers do their jobs only because they want to make money, unlike how Thoreau did it for enjoyment.

I agree with kelcie on how Thoreau started started to farm beans in order to gain self discipline

[T-Dog “Cantalope” Corey]

In “The Ponds”, Thoreau finds great pleasure from the pond and is captivated by its cleanliness. During his time at the barn, he visited  Walden very frequently. Throreau described the pond as “so remarkable for its depth and purity as to merit a particular description. It is a clear and deep green well”(247) Thoreau greatly emphasized on how clear and clean the water was. In the chapter Economy, he talked about the importance of being alone in order to have a clear focus and the pond is a symbol of this purity. It allowed him to get away from the worries of society and achieve a clear state of mind.

I agree with what Zac said on what the rising of the water and the falling of the water meant to Thoreau. People are the same as the Walden pond in that they both can rise and fall very quickly.

[T-Dog “Cantalope” Corey]

In Solitude, Thoreau emphasizes the importance of spending time away from people and how solitude can be be a much better companion than an actual human. He talks about how pleasant he was being alone and how he was very relaxed in the secluded house that he lived in. Thoreau  believed that he had never found “the companion that was so companionable as solitude”(216)Thoreau thought that when a person is interacting with other people then there is a good chance he is not focused . For example, a student does not talk with someone while simultaneously doing homework because it prevents them from concentrating. He states that “A man thinking or working is always alone, let him be where he will”(216).In other words, Thoreau was saying that when a person is alone, they can achieve a clear state of mind from which they could ponder about life and see the world differently.

Max, I agree with your point about how loneliness is just a perspective. It is really interesting to think about how people say they are lonely but are literally surrounded by hundreds of people in a one-mile radius.

[T-Dog “Cantalope” Corey]

The land that Walden wanted to buy was far away from any kind of civilization and was secluded in the woods. Thoreau claimed that it was “about two miles from the village, half a mile from the nearest neighbor, and separated from the highway by a broad field”(176). All of these qualities greatly appealed to his recluse personality and his belief in only needing life’s essentials. Any other person would not have considered that house because it seems like such an inconvenience. A regular person would have wanted a house that was closer to civilization so they would be able to interact with other human beings, and that was something Thoreau didn’t value because it wasn’t a part of his essentials. The house was also in a “ruinous state” and had “dilapidated fences” (176) and wouldn’t have been favorable for someone who wanted luxuries.

Noah made a great point on how Thoreau got the farm to just to maintain the qualities of necessity and not  to impress his neighbor

 

[T-Dog “Cantalope” Corey]

 

In Economy, Thoreau claims that “Food, shelter, clothing, and fuel” (120)are the necessaries of life. These these necessaries are related to heat and warmth in the body. Fuel could be used to make food which would warm the body when eaten. Then clothing and shelter could preserve this warmth. In essence, “The grand necessity, then, for our bodies, is to keep warm, to keep with the vital heat in us” (121). When one obtains these, then they are “prepared to entertain the true problems of life with freedom and a prospect of success”(120)What Thoreau means by this is that once people have all the necessity’s of life then they can  further expand on other parts of life.

Max makes a great point on how civilized people don’t see the necessities as  important as “savages”. I see how a civilized person with not a lot of luxuries would be considered poor in his society but would be considered rich in a society of savages since he/she would have all the necessities.

 

 

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