Walden

I admire Thoreau’s return to his initial critiques on societal haste and the speed in with which society seems to be advancing. He specifically make the analogy of a man hearing a different drummer, and that it is unimportant that as people, we mature at the same pace as others, as an apple-tree or an oak. I found similar language in this paragraph and language Thoreau utilized in the beginning of his novel. Describing people in, ‘such a desperate haste to succeed’, with this description I think Thoreau also allows the reader to ponder ideas he has presented about what ‘success’ means to the individual. For Thoreau his experiment at Walden has not been described as a success or a failure, but rather an experiment, but one that fulfilled and taught him things he did not previously know. I think this paragraph and the diction Thoreau utilizes is a perfect example of the ways in which he connects almost all aspect’s of his novel: nature, humanity, experience, the concept of success, and purpose. He does this seamlessly and uses language that open up the conclusion of his book, pushing people to look within themselves to determine what they value, what to everyone reading, makes life meaningful.

[  I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live, and could not spare any more time for that one.]

This section is very reminiscent of the beginning of “Where I Lived and What I Lived For.” In the beginning of Walden, Thoreau elaborates on intentionally simplifying the ways of life, saying he went to the woods to “live deliberately.” Repeating that sentiment in the conclusion helps to highlight the importance of this trip for Thoreau and how pursuing deliberate living is crucial to the human existence.

[leaves of fat (γείβω, labor, lapsus, to flow or slip downward, a lapsing; γοβος, globus, lobe, globe; also lap, flap, and many other words,) externally a dry thin leaf, even as the f and v are a pressed and dried b. The radicals of lobe are lb, the soft mass of the b (single lobed, or B, double lobed,) with the liquid l behind it pressing it forward. In globe, glb, the guttural g adds to the meaning the capacity of the throat]

This is an interesting analysis of the word “lobe,” and I also think it’s especially interesting that Thoreau, as an author, is thinking about his own diction and word use. I would be curious to see if “lobe” was always the word he wanted to dissect, as well as how his analysis and meaning of the word have shifted throughout the many drafts of Walden.

[I do not wish to go below now.]

Translation: I don’t want to go back to sleep.

Now that Thoreau has lived a fulfilling, simple, unplugged life, going back to the industrial society he came from feels like dumbing himself down and going back to ‘sleep’, accepting that the work-a-holic life is the only possible way to live when he has seen firsthand that is not the case.

I’m so glad you feel this way about Walden, @fbgreen! You make what I think is a really important point about the way people can allow their lives to be directed by what others think of them. It’s not a new problem, and Thoreau is very much aware of it as a hindrance to self-realization and what we would these days call an “authentic” existence, but the scale of the problem has grown enormously with the advent of social media, which hugely increases the pressure people, especially young people, feel to create an image of themselves that will win acceptance and approval from others.

@averyw: I love how you bring so many important strands together here: Walden Pond as a metaphor in some ways for Thoreau himself; the pond’s natural cycles as an example of the many cycles that pervade life, Nature, and the universe; and the idea that change is a fundamental informing principle of all things. I think your connection with the chapter title, “Spring,” is spot-on, and I wonder how you see paragraphs 6–9 of this chapter, in particular, in light of your observations about change as a theme in Walden.

@tirone: Whether or not Thoreau was thinking of his own effort at self-realization in describing the foxes, it’s easy to see a parallel. I like your idea.

I think it’s interesting, too, that at first the foxes aspire to be dogs, and then, in the next sentence, to be human. In paragraphs 9 and 10 below, humans and dogs collaborate to hunt foxes. Better to be the hunter than the hunted, I suppose.

Thoreau’s narrative of the hunter who shoots a fox in paragraph 10 is unsentimental, yet paragraph 4 certainly sets me up, as a reader, to root for the fox as the story unfolds.

There’s a lot to ponder here, especially in light of what Thoreau has to say in “Higher Laws” about hunting, fishing, and the fact that “We are conscious of an animal in us, which awakens in proportion as our higher nature slumbers.”

The Chapter “Winter Animals”, and especially paragraph four make me wonder if in Thoreau’s descriptions of the sounds and activity of the animals, he was really describing his own emotions “… as if laboring with some anxiety, or seeking expression, struggling for light …” and his views on humankind “… awaiting their transformation …” Or perhaps I see (or share) in his words my own anxiety and struggle for light.

I am grateful to learn more about Thoreau by reading your insightful comments.

BTW my icon is a photograph I took of Farm Pond in Framingham, perhaps near “Harmony Grove” where Thoreau spoke at the annual Fourth of July rallies in the late 1860’s.

In this paragraph, Thoreau urges readers to “advance confidently in the direction of their dreams” and to live deliberately, even if their path looks unconventional. This echoes the message he introduced much earlier in “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For” where he talks about stripping life down to its essentials so he can truly live intentionally rather than being tied to a routine or society’s expectations.

Thoreau returns to this same language in Conclusion, but he shifts its purpose. Instead of just simplifying life, he now pushes the reader to act boldly and trust that a more intentional and thoughtful life will open new possibilities. He begins the book by describing his own deliberate living and in the end turns outward and speaks to the reader. What began as a personal experiment in simplicity and finding onesself becomes a broader philosophy of action.

Walden has honestly been such a pleasure to read, and I’m shocked to realize it’s become one of my favorite books. The themes of living intentionally and refusing to let society’s expectations dictate your choices really speak to me, especially at a time when it feels like everyone (myself included) goes through life so carefully, aware of how we might be perceived. Thoreau’s perspective feels liberating because he encourages people to live for themselves, not for an audience. Reading Walden has me want to be more intentional about the way I live and more thoughtful about my choices. Am I doing something because it genuinely aligns with who I want to be and what my values are, or because I feel pressured to?

I absolutely love this paragraph and think the idea of every new day being a fresh start is incredibly important. So many people get stuck in a loop of negativity, letting the weight of one bad day spill into the next. The ability to let go, reset, and start fresh each morning sounds simple, but it’s actually a skill many people struggle with in practice. Learning to release yesterday’s mistakes and allow new “sprouts” of goodness to grow is a powerful form of resilience, and in my opinion, self love.