[Rachel Wernquest]

Thoreau had lived about five years at Walden Pond for his solitary experiment. During these years, he learned the strength of his own self-reliance, inner peace, and relationship with nature. He crafted his whole life around these principles, and like at the end of any experiment, he had his results. He had learned how a deep bond with nature could fulfill him, and how solitude is the best way to know oneself. Once one truthfully knows themselves, their eyes are open to see the universe clearly. Thoreau ended his experiment because he had seen how carving out a piece of land and attaching oneself to it for the rest of their life, it was like imprisoning yourself to land. Thoreau advocated for exploration to expand the mind. When leaving the pond he remarked, “Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live, and could not spare any more time for that one” (358). Thoreau wanted life to be full of constant journey and discovery; a stationary life with nothing new was barely a life.

Walden is the first philosophy-based book I’ve ever read, and it was interesting to take what an author was doing and try to apply it to my own life. His plea to question conformity stuck out to me, and I am trying to reflect and really look at my actions to see if I do them to please myself and to please others. I also see nature as more of a necessity rather than an option. I want to go out to the woods or the beach more often, though I might not get around to it until it becomes warmer. After reading Walden, I have learned to question what is occurring around me and that it is extremely necessary to self-reflect.

[Rachel Wernquest]

In “Brute Neighbors”, Thoreau recounts a story of an ant battle he witnessed. Thoreau implies that the ants represented other human wars, like the War for Independence. He calls one type of ants “the red republicans”, meaning the colonists fighting for independence from the “black imperialists”, or the English (287). Thoreau wrote that these ants were not fighting for independence but for heroism and patriotism. He writes, “It was evident that their battle-cry was Conquer or die” (288). The ants were only fighting because all other ants were fighting and there was no mercy or thought other than to destroy the opposite colored ants. Humans have been known to have this sort of blind patriotism, but not when they live like Thoreau had lived. When people live in seclusion with time to reflect on their lives and society as a whole, they would not act like the ants who just followed their neighbors into battle without justification.

I thought Elise’s interpretation of the ants representing the internal struggle of man was an interesting perspective.

[Rachel Wernquest]

In “Higher Laws”, Thoreau introduces his philosophy that eating for pleasure and not for survival interferes with other intellectual pursuits. He writes about the temptations to drink tea and coffee, which are unnecessary when water is available, and how these “such apparently slight causes destroyed Greece and Rome, and will destroy England and America” (278). Thoreau is exaggerating the effect of eating for pleasure. He firmly believes in simplicity in all areas of life, which can lead to a more purified existence, but having strict eating habits does not expand the mind as much as he claims. People indulging themselves did not single-handedly lead to the fall of the Greek and Roman empires, and it did not lead to the end of England or America. Thoreau is supported in his writings by a Thseng-tseu quote when he states that “He who distinguishes the true savor of his food can never be a glutton; he who does not cannot be otherwise” (279). His belief that consuming food only for sustenance is beneficial can be proven, but his statement that it interferes with intellectual pursuits is questionable.

 

I agree with Emma’s commentary on Thoreau’s disapproval of eating meat and how it is more beneficial than he believed it to be.

[Rachel Wernquest]

As Max pointed out, Thoreau contradicts his low belief of being confined to land in “Economy” by becoming a farmer himself. He does not see himself as an average farmer however, because he sees his work as an experiment and not a crushing obligation or greed to work for wealth. As he writes that farmers do not express “a sense of the sacred origin. It is the premium and the feast which tempt him…By avarice and selfishness…of regard the soil as property…the farmer leads the meanest of lives” (239). Thoreau does believe that farming is sacred work as long as a farmer does not try to drain the land of all of its resources for profit.

[Rachel Wernquest]

In “Sounds”, Thoreau writes anthropomorphic descriptions of the birds that surround his cabin in the woods. This decision could be simply caused by Thoreau wanting to add more poetic and descriptive writing in his works, but given his solitary condition it is more likely that he starts to personify animals because he lacks interaction with real humans. When recalling the birds around him, Thoreau writes how his neighboring “screech owls take up the strain, like mourning women their ancient u-lu-lu. Their dismal scream is truly Ben Jonosnian.” (208). Thoreau literally compares the owls’ screeching to the dramatic and depressing writings of Jonosnian.

Amanda, your point on how Thoreau is replacing people with all forms of nature, like raindrops as well as birds, and how he places great value in all forms of nature was interesting. I mostly payed attention to his odd descriptions of birds so when reading your comment it made me realize the he does believe other types of nature are important and practically equal to human worth.

[Rachel Wernquest]

In “Solitude”, Thoreau writes that solitude is so important because when one removes themselves from others and is in direct contact with nature instead, they find true peace and clarity of mind. They also find happiness, as Thoreau writes, “There can be no very black melancholy to him who lives in the midst of Nature and has his senses still.” (212). Thoreau believes that people should create this distance between themselves in order to create harmony in the world. He writes how people “are in each other’s way, and stumble over one another, and I think that we thus lose some respect for one another.” (217). Thoreau hypothesizes that if people were more removed from each other and mindful of their own business more than others’, it would prevent discontent and animosity between them.

Alexa, your paragraph which discusses how Thoreau believes that human’s are equal in their significance, or lack of significance, in the world and how humans don’t have enough time for one another was very interesting. It portrayed a point of view I hadn’t considered when reading and was thought-provoking to read over.

[Rachel Wernquest]

In Thoreau’s “Economy”, he claims that there are four necessaries of life, or things needed for humans to survive: Shelter, Clothing, Food, and Fuel. Only after one has securely attained these necessities and built a solid foundation of one’s life upon them can one also obtain superfluous objects. Thoreau believes that in order to be truly independent, one must have total ownership of one’s house, means of providing for oneself, and that one only relies on oneself to provide the necessaries. Thoreau sees too many instances around him where men cannot do not control the house they reside in but have ornate decorations to fill it with. He summarizes his discontent with his metaphor, “The cart before the horse in neither beautiful nor useful” (141). Only after total simplicity has been found by stripping away non-necessities can someone lead a peaceful and respectable life. Muriel brings up a point that elaborates on how the non-necessities coming before the four necessaries can lead to greed and discontent with their lives.

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