by Henry David Thoreau
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Posted in: ENGL 340 S24 Geneseo
[I should not obtrude my affairs so much on the notice of my readers]
Here is my comment. Oh I forgot a period. Edit again. And again. And … again.
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Posted in: ENGL 340 S24 Geneseo
[The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation]
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[As this business was to be entered into without the usual capital]
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[I have thought that Walden Pond would be a good place for business]
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Posted in: ENGL 340 S24 Geneseo
i know what hes talking about but ive never thought of it that way before- I know ice holes are just circles and people put their line down to fish them, but because of club penguin I see it differently in my head and picture an orange fish every single time. With the way he described it as transcendent it makes me think of the rainbow fish from another childhood book. Reading his sometimes whimsical words makes me relive more colorful and imaginative images in my mind. I like that about his writing.
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Posted in: ENGL 340 S24 Geneseo
Even in the winter time, Thoreau sits and listens to the noises that nature and the animals make. This time with himself, allows him to appreciate and think about nature even if it is too cold for him to go outside and truly experience it. Additionally, while paying close attention to these animals, Thoreau makes sure to recognize their behaviors and patterns that they do.
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Posted in: ENGL 340 S24 Geneseo
He describes how the Earth itself is always changing and “there is nothing inorganic”. Everything is always constantly changing and this is very powerful on Thoreaus intake of nature and how he personally feels and how he chooses to describe nature from his own feelings and how everything is connected.
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Posted in: ENGL 340 S24 Geneseo
This section was interesting to me because just as Thoreau is speaking about the peace of nature, he then emphasizes the war between two ants. This, then specifies that all nature is not peaceful and there is conflict and war in everything even nature.
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Posted in: ENGL 340 S24 Geneseo
In this Chapter of Walden, we see Thoreau discussing the beauty of the first few days of spring, which he describes as, “the first tender signs of the infant year just peeping forth.” His observations are quite interesting, as he states that the early signs of the new season are the most fascinating and beautiful parts of nature that people tend to disregard. He also states that people tend to focus on the tiresome aspects of the seasons, such as the bitter cold of winter, and the long rainy periods of spring rather than being grateful to observe the intricate details of the changing of the seasons.
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Where I Lived, And What I Lived For 1-12 (21 comments)
We have an ongoing discussion on this chapter in Iran based on my Persian translation. It is hard for us to imagine that Thoreau is merely referring to early adulthood by the phrase “at a certain season of our life” in the beginning of this chapter. It also seems hard to imagine he is looking for a permanent residence. Thoreau may not be looking for a physical residence in the material world at all. The reason I think so is that later in the chapter, he says, “We are wont to imagine rare and delectable places in some remote and more celestial corner of the system, behind the constellation of Cassiopeia’s Chair, far from noise and disturbance?” A permanent house was never on T’s mind. He says, “Wherever I sat, there I might live, and the landscape radiated from me accordingly. What is a house but a sedes, a seat?” Even in the beginning of Walden he considers himself “a sojourner of civilized life.” Rumi says, “The whole seven universes are too small for me.” It is most pleasant mysteries of Walden for us in Iran. What certain season and what spot is really Thoreau speaking about here?
I agree with that completely, I think that people should definitely take time and look whats around them instead of focusing on what they need all the time.
People today are incredibly focused on money, but focusing on experience instead of money might be a better way to assess how satisfied someone is with his life because he will always have his experiences and memories, while money can be easily taken.
“Though the view from my door was still more contracted, I did not feel crowded or confined in the least” this quote talks about how the view from his front door is restricted, likely due to the difficulty and complexity of glass working causing thick or low quality glass in his windows. He discusses that despite the poor view from his window, he still feels free and in the open.
“This small lake was of most value as a neighbor in the intervals of a gentle rain storm in August, when, both air and water being perfectly still, but the sky overcast, mid-afternoon had all the serenity of evening,” This is just great imagery about how he enjoys the lake his shack is built by, and the general ambiance of the area in the calm before the storm.
I feel like Thoreau is just trying to make the best out of a bad situation. because it’s almost winter, but his house is only half done, so instead of stressing and rushing to get it fixed, he is content to share his home with the birds and the fresh air.
I thought the last line was very ironic because if my memory serves me correctly, he did spend the night in jail for not paying taxes, so he can say that it doesn’t matter where you are as long as you live freely.
I especially love how Thoreau, having lived within the deferential quarters of only a tent, still refers to it as a home in which he had taken up residence in prior to this more substantial shelter. He is kind and appreciative to himself, as well as the land on which it was built upon. It does not act as a barrier separating human hospitality from the natural world, but rather, it bridge connecting the two. He can still hear and admire the melodic conversing of the birds, and taste the fresh air of the outdoors, despite being behind one himself. This idea of being in close proximity to nature is further defined thoroughly as he explains, “Such was not my abode, for I found myself suddenly neighbor to the birds; not by having imprisoned one, but having caged myself near them.”
Though unfinished and quite literally rough around the edges, Thoreau holds his humble abode in high regard, as he should. Despite its certain characteristics that would be considered flaws or foundational issues in modern society, Thoreau does not see the wide chinks and weather-stained boarding as distasteful, but rather something to be appreciated and possibly romanticized. He classifies it as clean and airy, and by the time the afternoon falls upon him and his lodgings, the morning dew it had been saturated with would glow, and grant it its “auroral character” meaning like the dawn.
I am also especially fond of the line that follows:
”This was an airy and unplastered cabin, fit to entertain a traveling god, and where a goddess might trail her garments.”
What T was trying to say in this paragraph was that a wall that divides humans from nature should not divide them apart. T states that even he had a a tent, he always tried to have contact with the nature (birds) and tried to be part of their world instead of making them being part of his. I really liked how he worded this, it shows the difference between buying a bird and having it domesticated at home instead of being out and both free to explore.
I really liked the way T related the difference between living by what you want instead on focusing on living as how you should do in order to impress society. What T is trying to say is that when a person decides to live without commitment and tries to be free, that person is going to be happier and would see their life as success. Instead of living in a prison world where people has been told how to act, what to get, how to dress, etc.
[The only house I had been the owner of before, if I except a boat, was a tent]
He lived with his family so he had a home… but it wasn’t exclusively his.
[The real attractions of the Hollowell farm, to me, were; its complete retirement, being about two miles from the village, half a mile from the nearest neighbor]
The way that he’s describing the farm sounds like to be a place that is peaceful and doesn’t have to worry about the neighbors and only really other animals. The way how it’s described as “complete retirement” sounds to be as a place that is calm and doesn’t create stress, like a vacation on the beach. I really like how they mentioned that the neighbor is half a mile away because it gives the audience the idea that this farm is in the country and is set back in a large plot of land away from the world.
In paragraph 3, Thoreau talks about the farm in the sense that he, as the poet, gained more from the farm than the farmer ever will. In a literary sense, he has drained the farm for every admirable trait, leaving the farmer with the “skimmed milk” while Thoreau now has all the valuable parts. This can also be an indication that now he has dominion over this farm because it is now apart of this narrative. He may not own the land but he has put an “invisible fence” around it through his poetry.
There is a parallelism here between Thoreau himself and the house in which he will live. The house is unfinished since Thoreau has just begun to construct his new life. There may also be a suggestion that he hasn’t decided if the house should ever be finished lest it diminish his hearing of the morning wind blowing over his home carrying the poem of creation. Will the completed plastered cabin be a place where the poem of creation can be sung?
Thoreau was eating his own house. He was tasting life in all its details. This is part of the deliberate life he followed at Walden Pond.
Henrik, I can’t tell you how happy I am to be among you and read your comment. Forgive me for my late reply. My decade long journey in Walden has only added to a sweet sense of amazement and wondering. Walden fills me with wonders and mysteries. Here, as you pointed out, Thoreau is both speaking of a site both for his own cabin, his own soul and at the same time moving beyond himself as an individual. Thoreau started Walden with his famous “I” giving the book an egotistic odor, but he immediately moves to “we” in the first sentence of the second chapter. He then tries to take our minds away from a single cabin and the woods around it to other spots. I personally believe by “every spot” he is referring to all possible places in the universe. The season that opens the mind to such an expansion is not just a natural season. It is a quality in our soul which Thoreau would call “wakefulness.” We should seek such a season in Thoreau’s own words when he says, “I have, as it were, my own sun and moon and stars, and a little world all to myself.” In this little world seasons are also represented on a little scale. He says, “The day is an epitome of the year. The night is the winter, the morning and evening are the spring and fall, and the noon is the summer.” Thoreau’s Spring and morning arrive only when we are awake: “Morning is when I am awake and there is a dawn in me.” A mere rising of the sun is not enough. Therefore, when this season dawns in our soul we will be able to discover the whole universe as a possible site of our house: “Where I lived was as far off as many a region viewed nightly by astronomers. We are wont to imagine rare and delectable places in some remote and more celestial corner of the system, behind the constellation of Cassiopeia’s Chair, far from noise and disturbance. I discovered that my house actually had its site in such a withdrawn, but forever new and unprofaned, part of the universe.”
But the most astounding aspect of Thoreau profound thought here is that even when he conquers those inaccessible corners of the universe, he does not believe that he has settled there and says, “Such was that part of creation where I had squatted;” He is still a squatter. It means that at an even higher level of wakefulness he will still be looking for more remote places for other types of houses. That is why in the beginning of Walden he considers himself a sojourner of civilized life. The same sense of place or lack of place exists in my culture. Dervishes are know to be homeless, wanderer people. You can even see this culture right in Walden when Thoreau says, “as a dervish in the desert.” It is not that these dervishes were unable to obtain a house. It is that they thought the universe was too small for them. I am sorry I wrote too much!
This is a perceptive comment by Alireza, which asks us to probe deeper into Thoreau’s writing; always difficult, but always rewarding in the end. As inspired by Alireza, I wonder if the passage also touches on the complex/intricate temporalities at play in Walden. To begin with the well-known 101 literal level, two years and more have been conflated into one in the book. This makes for good narrative sense, of course, but also hints toward the mythological, archetypical, and ultimately representative in Thoreau’s account. Perhaps there is even a sort of eschatology hinted in the passage in question, as a “season of life” would seem to indicate a life not necessarily bounded by linear time. In other words, “a certain season of life” can at once be seen as a straightforward, temporal season – here as yet relatively young adulthood, as we may infer from the specific vantage of Walden‘s narrator. But a “season of life” can also be something recurrent, largely independent of chronological life: there can be “spring in me,” as I seem to recall Thoreau writing somewhere else in gratitude over the gift of such a feeling. And this independently of whether winter rages outside, or whether Thoreau’s own tally of years would seem to preclude such a statement. And finally, a “season of life” may hint beyond the individual life as well, by the rudimentary logic that seasons are by definition recurrent, not gone once and for all in a linear progression (or so we hope). James Guthrie, Richard Tuerk and several others have studied the wonder of Thoreau’s handling of time in his writings, and from recent work by Branka Arsic and Audrey Raden on Thoreau’s concepts of grief and dying, respectively, we may learn more. The hurt and challenge, it would seem, is the realisation of the loss of time, and what to do about this from an existential vantage. // This commentary aside, I hope we may hear more of Thoreau’s relationship to Persian poets Saadi, Rumi, Khayyam and others; on how to live a poetic life in the highest sense. This is an area yet to be explored and made known to the wider body of Thoreau scholars. I hope Alireza will return with more. As it is, I am very thankful for the note offered by him to this passage.
[as lustily as a chanticleer]
The rooster, a standard symbol of dawn.
[carry it on; like Atlas]
According to Greek mythology, Atlas carried the world on his shoulders.
[each farmer’s premises]
Poirier (86), in a discussion of T’s use of puns, points out that “premises” here can appropriately mean both property and proposition from which a conclusion is drawn.
Where I Lived, And What I Lived For 13-23 (13 comments)
I feel that Walden has made a good point here, but he is living in conflict with his own beliefs. In a lot of ways I view his sojourn into the woods to be a break from reality. Here he is exhaulting the goodness of being one with nature and how it can transform anyone’s life, but he does not understand the true implications of this life. He has not lived it his entire existance. He does not understand the toils of working the land consistantly to survive, he has not felt the gnawing hunger of starvation, and so I don’t feel he has the authority to comment on this. I do realize that he has mentioned that his decsion is for everyone. I read this passage and felt that he was waxing poetic on a lifestyle he does not fully understand.
[To a philosopher all news, as it is called, is gossip, and they who edit and read it are old women over their tea.]
Thought this quote was very applicable towards our lives in the present and our issues with news/media currently.
[Men say that a stitch in time saves nine, and so they take a thousand stitches today to save nine tomorrow.]
Really enjoyed looking at his line because after I looked it up to get a better understanding figured out it’s about procrastination and how problems can build up which I have been guilty of at times.
I really like the reference he used to demonstrate the difference between living and not living the right way. T uses morning and being awake as a form to say that he was alive and living his life as his best by not worrying about anything. However, he also used sleep as a way of people not actually living their life because they live in the way people want them to live instead of living how they really want. People are alive but not actually living.
I like how he relates time as a stream.
Being out and living alone in the woods certainly brings tough tasks and challenges but also teaches some of the most fundamental facts of life. Thoreau did not want to go through life and die not having lived life to the fullest extent.
[I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.]
This part of the paragraph means that he wanted to live out in the woods on purpose and wanted to see what life wouldn’t hand him.
[Cassiopeia’s]
Cassiopeia is a constellation in the northern sky. In Mythology, Cassiopeia was the wife of King Cepheus.
[Little is to be expected of that day, if it can be called a day, to which we are not awakened by our Genius, but by the mechanical nudgings of some servitor, are not awakened by our own newly-acquired force and aspirations from within, accompanied by the undulations of celestial music, instead of factory bells, and a fragrance filling the air—to a higher life than we fell asleep from; and thus the darkness bear its fruit, and prove itself to be good, no less than the light. ]
Interesting solely if taken at face value but even more so, if thought about metaphorically. Maybe the mechanical nudgings of a servitor are not only the tones of an alarm clock, but the aspirations and meanings given to us by society? Perhaps the Genius that physically awakes us in the morning if we allow it, is also the pull to think above the conventions society has established and to seek our own purpose separate of them as Thoreau seeks to do in is retreat to Walden.
[ride thirty miles an hour]
Railroad trains, the first vehicles to reach such speeds, were just coming into the area, and in fact had reached Concord just the year before T moved out to Walden. While T admired the vigor of the railroads, he despaired of its devotion to material ends (Cronkhite).
[The penny-post]
England had established the so-called penny post in 1839. At the time of the publication of W, letter postage in the United States was three cents.
[like ants; though the fable]
Aeacus, son of Jupiter in Greek mythology, was king of Oenopia. When a pestilence destroyed his subjects, he entreated Jupiter to repopulate his kingdom by changing all the ants in an old oak tree into men.
[and again, and forever again]
Confucius, The Great Learning, “Commentary of the Philosopher Tsang,” chap. I, p. 1.
Economy 1-14 (33 comments)
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[and suckled by a wolf]
Romulus, the founder of Rome, and his brother Remus are fabled to have been stranded as babies at the foot of the Palatine hill and adopted and suckled by a she-wolf.
[I wrote the following pages]
Morse (150), choosing these opening lines as a notable example, says, “In truth W is a self-dramatizing, self-advertising and deeply duplicitous book that seeks to mask its excessive ambitions behind a facade of commonsense and practicality.” W is filled with wordplay of all sorts. Lane (1970) analyzes at length the puns in the first three paragraphs of the book. Donald Ross (1971) provides a checklist of the wordplay T uses.
[Economy]
Saunders suggests that T’s surprising use of economic terms to convey the joys of a natural and spiritual life is intended to demonstrate how overwhelmingly our vision of life is dominated by commercial values. For further discussion of T’s use of the word “economy,” see Werge and see Heinzelman. Blasing’s “The Economics of W” is a thoughtful and much broader study than its title implies. It includes a good discussion of W as autobiography. Neufeldt (1966, 156) points out that T in his earliest version of the W manuscript used one series of page numberings for “Economy” and a second for the rest of the book, as though “Economy” were an extended preface to W. The most extensive analysis of T’s economic theories is Neufeldt (1989). Birch and Metting give an interesting contrast of T’s economic theory with that of his contemporaries, saying, “T wanted to make it clear that the real quarrel between himself and his neighbors did not involve the necessity of work and industry but centered on the Calvinist doctrine that earthly duties, such as work, were necessarily a hardship to be endured and that accumulation of material wealth was a symbol of spiritual success.”
[debt, a very ancient slough]
T is undoubtedly referring to the “Slough of Despond” in Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress where insolvent debtors were mired.
Here Thoreau is speaking of how some humans are born into their future, specifically farmers. He thing this is unfortunate because people will struggle to get rid of being in this. It is human nature to do what the individual wishes to do and benefit themselves but if they are born into something they do not enjoy it may not be a fulfilled life. Compared to lock which says from labor we obtain property and he may look at this as a open door to perform labor and gain property if already born into it.
I think that quotations allow us to inspect a text from a different angle, which may, I admit, lead to a quotation being used in a way that is different from that the author had intended. Somewhat like looking at a detail of a painting. It can be something missed or overlooked. Thoreau himself was a quoter, not always attributing it, and not always quoiting correctly when it suited him to do otherwise (look at how he quoted Etzler’s text in “Paradise (to be) Regained.”) And I do think a single quotation can lead a person to the text, somewhat like how a single potato chip can lead you to the whole bag.
Had it not been for the wonders of Technology I would not have been able to study Thoreau from Iran. Technology made it possible to connect to Thoreau scholars in the US and and use their knowledge and wisdom to penetrate deep into Thoreau’s Walden and even deliver a translation of this book to my people.
[But men labor under a mistake. The better part of the man is soon ploughed into the soil for compost.]
The “better part” of the man is himself. In the previous paragraph, Thoreau emphasized the mistake in men cultivating and prioritizing land instead of the body and mind. The labor of cultivating and upkeep on land is a never ending task and gives little room for a person to cultivate themselves as an individual.
[It is a fool’s life, as they will find when they get to the end of it, if not before.”
Men waste their lives focusing on the wrong things and do not realize it has been wasted until its over.
Thoreau’s use of the word “sojourner” proves that he has no intention of remaining in civilized life. From the very beginning of this book, he is trying to convince the reader that living in a house at Walden should be the ideal lifestyle for everyone. This is the beginning of Thoreau explaining what he believes is “living deliberately”.
[As if you could kill time without injuring eternity]
I recently saw this quotation on the Henry David Thoreau twitter handle as a stand-alone tweet, without the context of the entire book, or even the immediate context of the passage. It’s interesting to consider how quotations can accurately sum up a theme of a whole section of a book, and can stand alone (as this one seems to be able to do nicely enough)– however, do things like focusing on “nice quotations” lead us to be lazy and not read the whole book, and thus lose the essential(?) support for the quotation? Will things like this easy quoting, tweeting, etc., only, go against the very meaning of this line itself if we don’t bother to read the book itself and merely rely on the “spark notes edition” of things? “I sometimes wonder that we can be so frivolous.” I think T himself would be somewhat disappointed in how his name was being used, for quotable twitter handles, unless these “scaffolding” type tools like spark notes and easy-to-remember quotations led us to read the actual work.
[two years and two months]
Exactly two years, two months, and two days—that is, from July 4, 1845, to September 6, 1847.
[in Concord]
Concord, then a village of about 2,000 people, is 18 miles northwest of Boston. It is now a prosperous suburb with a population of 15,000.
[the shore of Walden Pond]
Lyon discusses Walden Pond as a symbol. “Walden remains Thoreau’s ultimate image of God upon Earth and the central symbol of the work to which it gives its name” (299).
When Thoreau talks about old people, he says they have no valuable information to pass on to the younger generation: “They have told me nothing, and probably cannot tell me any thing, to the purpose. Here is life, an experiment to a great extent untried by me…” As much as I agree with his view, I also disagree. When we are born, old people give us as much knowledge as possible so by the time we go to school and are educated, we know more than they do, because we have learned everything they taught us, and then some. However, old people have gone through most of life at this point and, let’s say he is talking about retired people, they either regret their course because they have worked their whole life and never appreciated anything, or they are happy with what they’ve done and have a big family or something. however, people have different values, and just because someone is old and happy with their lives, does not mean that somebody younger will find happiness from doing the same thing. listening to what older people have to say is somewhat like studying the humanities; it is a story of how another person lived. However, young people have their whole lives ahead of them and have yet to choose their path. So when Thoreau says, “I have yet to hear the first syllable of valuable or even earnest advice from my seniors”, he means that he will find out what brings him happiness on his own, and their stories may go against what he believes in.
I wonder how Thoreau felt about age “not profiting so much as it has lost” toward the end of his own life. Did he uphold the distinction created in “old deeds for old people, and new deeds for new”? Understanding and keeping up with recent technological advances requires various fresh approaches to “old deeds” like encoding language, so I tend to believe the relationship between old and new has become more fluid than ever before. Some old people learn new ways to interact with our technological world, some ‘new’ or young people revisit the old ways to learn history, or the origin of the new. Thoreau didn’t seem to hold out much hope for the prevailing wisdom of older generations. But he does indicate some connection with “and they are only less young than they were”; perhaps ‘youth’ or more broadly, ‘newness’, is a state of mind or a way of being that is momentarily achievable regardless of true age. Approaching technology especially with a transcendental, unprejudiced, and open mind seems key; anticipating learning the new even though you may have already mastered the old, framing life as a journey of continual learning rather than the journey as a means to an end like eventual wisdom. I think what Thoreau is getting at is that assuming mastery of life comes with age is flawed. The person who has the greater insight on the ‘true nature’ of life looks from the perspective of perpetual youth.
I think there is a very subtle irony in this part of the sentence. T could have said, “you … who live in…” Instead he twists the sentence and says, “you … who are said to live.” Implying that he himself does not recognize some of his readers to be alive or living. The whole book says why.
Thoreau moves up one level of abstraction from talking about the fact that “the same sun which ripens my beans illumines at once a system of Earths like ours” to “could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?”. He is implying that the sun has a wider purpose and story rather than just for him. At the end of the paragraph he elaborates that it would be more beneficial to society to see through the eyes of others and consider the fact that you’re a small part of a big picture.
In this paragraph, I noticed a repetition of the theme of accountability as stated by both Macintyre and Thoreau. This passage demonstrates the idea of being accountable for others as well as being accountable for ones self. In this case, Thoreau raises the idea that laborers and the common man sometimes do not live their life to the fullest potential because they are preoccupied with their work. As a result, they are not experiencing life as they should and not taking accountability of their narrative. Thoreau makes a similar accusation to higher class individuals, in that they judge the common man to harshly and they should assist the common man in finding the finer fruits of life. This accusation fits into the idea that we are accountable for the narrative of others as well as our own.
I wonder if Thoreau is being shortsighted here because it is unlikely that people could survive famine and droughts if we only grew what we could by hand
The first version of Walden, the 1846-47 manuscript held by the Huntington Library (HM 924), begins, “I should not presume to talk so much about myself and my affairs as I shall in this lecture if very particular and personal inquiries had not been made concerning my mode of life,–what some would call impertinent, but they are by no means impertinent to me, but on the contrary very natural and pertinent, consider the circumstances” (1-2). Having already spent a year at the Pond, Thoreau began work on the first draft of Walden, initially conceived as a lyceum lecture for Concord citizens who were curious about his experimental mode of living. For more on Thoreau’s “A History of Myself” lecture, see Richard Smith, “Thoreau’s First Year at
Walden in Fact & Fiction” at the Thoreau E-server website, http://thoreau.eserver.org/smith.html.
[ see young men, my townsmen, whose misfortune it is to have inherited farms, houses, barns, cattle, and farming tools; for these are more easily acquired than got rid of. Better if they had been born in the open pasture and suckled by a wolf, that they might have seen with clearer eyes what field they were called to labor in.]
On the values of what both ‘being given’ and ‘having earned’ mean. He is comparing inheritance to having to earn things in your life, implying what is earned can be far more than what is given by alluding to Romulus and Remus – Having inherited nothing, they were able to create one of the the greatest empires in history
This comment was only posted as a trial run. I was not serious about this comment.
I love Thoreau’s use of paradox, forever reminding us that “every stick has two ends” or never to get all that comfortable with a static thought. Look at how he presents the capacity to “look through each other’s eyes for an instant” as a greater miracle, when in paragraph #10 he tells us that the “old have no very important advice to give the young” and again, further ahead in paragraph #14 he hears “an irresistible voice which invites” him away from whatever the wisest have to say to him. I believe Thoreau is a master at inviting us to do our own thinking and to stay forever on our toes when reading intentionally.
The finest qualities of our nature, like the bloom on fruits, can be preserved only by the most delicate handling.
This sentence, as an educator, strikes me most forcefully as our current industrial model of education is in need of some quality attention.
[to have a northern one]
Despite the popular understanding that T fled the problems of modem civilization, he was one of the earliest Americans to protest the northern factory system. He favored beginning one’s reforms at home, rather than in a distant land.
[only his peck of dirt]
“We must eat a peck of dirt before we die” is a proverb that can be traced at least as far back as Oswald Dyke’s English Proverbs of 1709.
[called]
Called: T, by the use of this word, stresses how frequently we are misled by the names of things (Cavell, 65).
[contracting yourselves into a nutshell]
“I could be bounded in a nutshell” (Hamlet, II, ii, 260).
[always on the limits]
On the limits: to the point of overdrawing a bank account.
[a simple and sincere account]
There are those who question just how “simple and sincere” T’s own account is—and not without reason.
[the notice of my readers]
For a particularly thoughtful study of the relationship between T and his intended audience, see Railton.
[we should cut our nails]
“The nails neither to exceed nor come short of the finger tips” (Hippocrates, “In the Surgery,” Works [Loeb, 1928, III, 63]).
Solitude (37 comments)
[alone, hardly in their dreams]
A famous social experiment of the time was conducted in Lowell, Massachusetts, where girls were hired to work in the textile mills and lived in factory dormitories nearby. Reformers roundly praised the artistic products of their leisure time, but T questioned the effect on their individual spirits.
Thoreau’s description of his surroundings tempts the reader to drop everything and go to Walden pond. The serenity and his appreciation for the little things in nature makes the reader stop and enter this mindset. This simplistic way of thinking makes the reader more observant to his or her surroundings as well.
To me, I find this paragraph quintessential to the theme of Walden, almost the equivalent of John 3:16 from the New Testament, which is considered to encapsulate the entire message of Christianity in one verse. Thoreau reiterates several main themes of his work, such as his isolation, being in his “own world,” and the reclamation of nature. If I was to introduce someone to the work of Thoreau and they did not have time to read the whole work, I would make sure that they were aware of this paragraph. His last line, which even brings up religious themes and the fear imbibed by the dark, only serves to drive home the biblical comparisons.
Thoreau goes into even more descriptors of how nature is his solitude. He describes how some of his pleasantest hours were during long rain storms in the spring or fall. He chooses to use the word pleasantest, which shows how much he enjoys these types of little things. I also like how Thoreau defines loneliness and differentiates it from solitude. He prefers to be more removed from others but finds comfort in other aspects, which perhaps brings him even closer to understanding relationships with others and concepts surrounding that.
The strong descriptions of nature in this passage allow for beautiful and intricate illustrations. We can see even in this intro paragraph to solitude, Thoreau keeps himself company through nature. Nature as a whole keeps him company like sounds, weather, rain and all are connected to the days of animated life.
This passage is essentially a love letter to nature. Every word seems to speak in the tongue of a romantic with an unfurling affection for the natural world – so much so, that Thoreau seems to depict nature as a conscious, sentient being that is alive in this midst of such tranquility. This is evident through the capitalization of the very term ‘Nature’ that is seen throughout this publication in general. From my perspective, this passage in particular is infused with the essence of Walden Pond, and the feelings in which the setting had invoked for Thoreau as he describes each detail of his solitude of serenity with immense detail.
I feel like in this paragraph he is trying to say that his friends and visitors is the ancient landscape of Walden Pond. And only he can see them because only he is alone with them all the time.
I feel like the first part of the paragraph is his version of solitude, because he can’t see anyone for miles, and no one can see him so he rarely gets visitors. But then at the end I feel like he is trying to say that man is hindered by his fear, they give into their own personal darkness when they give into fear, just like everyone went crazy hanging people who were accused of being witches for absurd reasons.
I feel like hes trying to say that there is no limit to what we can do and that if we just think in a different way we can unlock our potential.
FOr me it seems like simplistic is a staple that never leaves his writing no matter what
I really like how T explains how society is based on rules and duties. It feels like our lives are being managed by other people and we have to follow everything we are supposed to do without us being able to manage it. We as humans tend to see our value as what we can offer, but not what’s under our skin, which in this case he refers as our emotions. Which is why at the end he says “the value of man is not in his skin, that we should touch him”, as a way of referring to the value we give to people that it’s incorrect.
In this paragraph T explains how he sees the terms of “alone” and “loneliness” as two different things. T explains that a person can feel lonely even though its surrounded by people and lives in a town. The difference between being alone and feeling lonely is whether you feel the connection or not. Since he lived in nature, he found the beauty on it and connected himself with it, which is why he doesn’t feel lonely. Sometimes people misunderstand the difference between these two words, but in reality it all depends of the emotions.
I love that he uses rainy and snowing days as a way of calming himself, it reminds me of me. Every time I hear the rain is like bringing peace to my soul, I only have to listen to it without having to worry about the outside world. I feel calm and all I think about it how beautiful Earth is.
What T is trying to say reminds me of religion. My family is Catholic and I was always told about the dark and evil side of religion that hides in the dark. Which is why I like how he related the “dark” to witches and the unknown in the forest, the fears of humans. Even though nature is beautiful even when it’s dark, however, we never know the predators that can be out there with us at the same time.
As for Christianity and candles, I think he refers to this as the way to pray and be protected when the “evil” from the dark comes to us. Since we know that by praying and saying the word of God we’re putting away all the evil in the world.
Leave a comment on paragraph 170″ The indescribable innocence and beneficence of Nature,—of sun and wind and rain, of summer and winter,—such health, such cheer, they afford forever!” –
“forever” made me come to the realization that nature is everlasting and will replenish itself always no matter the destruction done to it. Yet most humans neglect nature’s “indescribable innocence and beneficence”.
This paragraph is so descriptive and really makes me visualize the nature around him. I like how he describes how man is still a bit weary of the world around them.
Describing a man dying alone at the foot of a tree forced to be alone with his thoughts, Thoreau strengthens his idea that when alone, one must be able to face, and truly understand, their thoughts. Saying, “his diseased imagination surrounded him,” is an excellent way of describing the often dark thoughts the mind has a way of concocting.
Thoreau used the time in his home to slow down and enjoy the time he has to be alone. He used rainy and snowy days as an opportunity for space away from people. He contested the thought of needing to be close to people all the time as a way to feel secure and safe.
This short paragraph I found a bit confusing as a whole due to the language but he first line was interesting. Saying that we are subjects of an experiement when referring to people in life is something I have heard before. Thoreau tends to have a different perspective on life than most and this definitely proves this.
In this paragraph, Thoreau connects the nature that surrounds him while he walks along the pond.
Thoreau explains how he is basically living out natures course by saying he is not anymore lonesome than a variety of things such as a dandelion by living alone in the woods. He knows that he is never alone, even though the average person would perceive him to be a hermit.
A lot of Thoreau’s writing in this section reminds me of Into the Wild. I know Christopher McCandless was heavily influenced by people like Thoreau in his quest for solitude and a simple life, and it definitely shows in the writing I feel.
This paragraph in particular makes me think of the spread of information technology, be that in the form of social media, the internet, or the like. “Can we not do without the society of our gossips a little while?” I think we cannot. The endless, meaningless chattering of the information age is nigh inescapable. I pride myself in not using social media, and in similarly not watching television or Netflix or whatever equivalent, while also not using the internet to socialize. Even still, this is not something I can escape. One cannot walk through campus without hearing of whatever transient and meaningless drama is occurring for some people or another. Even if I isolated myself as much as I am capable, I would still be bombarded by the infinitude of emails sent by the college. I must use my email to function in college life. It is not something I can afford to avoid. And, that technological omnipresence makes the ability to have naught but “our own thoughts to cheer us” a practical impossibility.
Thoreau makes a very important point here as he weighs “solitude” versus “society” in terms of quality versus quantity. He notes that many people–family members, friends, etc–make it a point to set aside regular, “short intervals” of time to meet with each other, in order to keep their relationships going. However, while setting aside time to meet up may keep their current relationships going, it is not effective at fostering growing, progressing relationships through which “new value” and “respect” is gained.
Society’s tendency to place more focus on quantity (i.e., frequency of meet-ups) rather than quality (i.e., duration of meet-ups and depth of conversation) has inevitably led society to develop “rules, called etiquette and politeness” which further fuel this stagnant trend whereby people talk to or past each other, rather than WITH each other. As Thoreau concludes, keeping company with few, yet high-quality people, rather than many people who lack communicative substance, is ideal: that is, quality over quantity–and solitude over superficial popularity–is a better path to take.
Since the time Thoreau penned these thoughts, I think technology has only served to exacerbate the issues he addresses here. Email and text and social media mean that we, as a society, keep in touch with people at an unprecedented, global-reaching rate; an yet, rarely is meaningful human connection gained through these means of communication. As many people my age, including myself, have realized, taking breaks from social media–and even temporarily deleting one’s accounts in order to do this–are sometimes necessary for one’s sanity. “FOMO” (fear of missing out) leads people to think they are missing out on meaningful social interactions, when in reality social media often is used to depict mere quantity over quality.
[ Why should I feel lonely? is not our planet in the Milky Way? This which you put seems to me not to be the most important question. What sort of space is that which separates a man from his fellows and makes him solitary? I have found that no exertion of the legs can bring two minds much nearer to one another. ]
Thoreau explores the idea of solitude through his own experiences and explains that in order to truly be happy, one has to be able to appreciate the simplicity of life. I find this section to be extremely powerful, and was struck by this idea that we, as humans, are always isolated in a sense, but not necessarily alone. By moving up a level of abstraction, Thoreau also allows the reader to dig into their own thoughts and ‘get meta’ themselves. This portion is ultimately grounding despite its universe-oriented themes, and helps to contrast with the previous weather/nature related analogies.
I believe that Thoreau believes that he is superior to other man when he says “as if I was more favored by the gods.” He thinks the he has something that those other may not contain.
especially because in todays society it hard to become disconnected with technology.
Thoreau’s solitude is what allows him to truly connect with the nature around him. In today’s modern society, solitude is hard to come by and is often underrated.
“I believe that men are generally still a little afraid of the dark, though the witches are all hung, and Christianity and candles have been introduced.” I find this sentence really interesting because he touches upon two “religious” ideas; that of Christianity and Paganism. Religion as whole can be viewed as a way to bring people together that may fear life and the unknown. When Th. talks about how many men are still afraid of the dark, this darkness goes deeper than just absence of light. I believe that this darkness encompasses a whole other Truth or area of awareness and knowledge that most men may still shrink from. This darkness and the fear of it can be seen as the fear of the unknown and rather than welcoming it and befriending it, learning from it, they run and hide. Those who are not willing to take the time to learn from Nature entrap themselves in their societal ideals. Religion can be viewed as a way to subdue fears but it never explains where the fear comes from or why there may be no reason to feel it at all. Th. says that he has no reason to be afraid and perhaps it is that he has taken the time to understand the darkness that he has welcomed it as an essential part of life and Nature.
This might be my favorite line of Thoreau’s thus far. I feel that he perfectly described the separation of the minds that every individual feels, while addressing the question of loneliness due to his isolation. I found this entire paragraph to be very thought provoking, as he brought in a lot of different elements to the conversation.
I found it particularly interesting when he addressed the issue of enormity in the universe. I enjoyed the quote, “This whole earth which we inhabit is but a point in space. How far apart, think you, dwell the two most distant inhabitants of yonder star, the breadth of whose disk cannot be appreciated by our instruments? Why should I feel lonely? is not our planet in the Milky Way?” I felt that he perfectly put in perspective the isolation that our planet as a whole experiences. In retrospect, living outside of the village is merely a few hundred feet of distance, compared to the immense distance between all aspects of the universe that we are a part of.
One will never find another man who completely understands his mind. Therefore, isolation will always exist. Without isolation of the minds, we would lose the ability for original thought. I felt that he brought in the positives of isolation through this paragraph, and brought to light a new perspective to loneliness.
[I could always tell if visitors had called in my absence, either by the bended twigs or grass, or the print of their shoes, and generally of what sex or age or quality they were by some slight trace left,]
I wonder what Thoreau means here by quality. Does your quality depend on the type of trace you leave? What trace could one leave behind that makes you higher quality in Thoreau’s eyes?
I wonder, how would Thoreau feel about methods of communication like email, texting, and talking on the phone? Would he condemn these types of technology or find them more tolerable than forced face-to-face conversations?
[visitors have been there and left their cards, either a bunch of flowers, or a wreath of evergreen, or a name in pencil on a yellow walnut leaf or a chip] So Thoreau had groupies even in his own time. I wasn’t sure if he was considered more of an eccentric than a local celebrity, but I guess it was both. It’s pretty comical, though, that they left him flowers and wreaths and a ring from a willow – those sound like little kid gifts, like “mud pie” or something. I guess that’s the stuff Thoreau likes, though. Nature.
[ever did Goffe or Whalley]
Two of the regicides under indictment for killing King Charles I in 1649. They fled to America and hid in various places in the Connecticut River Valley.
[must of necessity have neighbors]
Confucian Analects, IV, xxv.
[Beautiful daughter of Toscar]
From Patrick MacGregor’s “translation” of Ossian, The Genuine Remains of Ossian, “Croma” (London, 1841, 193).
[remunerate]
In the first edition a comma appeared after “remunerate,” but T struck it out in his copy.
[Hill, or the Five Points]
Beacon Hill is the eminence on which the state house stands in Boston. Five Points was a section of lower Manhattan notorious for its squalor and crime.
Sounds 1-11 (12 comments)
[were on hand when the bell rang. To do things “railroad fashion” is now the by-word; and it is worth the while to be warned so often and so sincerely by any power to get off its track. ]
This quote reminds me of just a few month ago while I was in Florida we had to stop and wait for a train to go by. We saw the lights flashing and the bells ringing telling us to stop and if someone’s on the tracks to get off. Much like what the quote is saying that the trains and the tracks have so much energy that it can’t stop to let people or cars go by.
Summer living at the lake? Talking about being calm in the moment. No fear about future or past. Just living in the moment. He did no planning.
This line is really interesting as well, I just love the way he describes things. Especially the lines about different languages and dialects
The way Thoreau described his home and Boston shows how different the country and city are in terms of sounds. Thoreau painted an image in my head that concord was this peaceful place of tranquility, and Boston was full of angry, ignorant people trying to get through the day.
I really enjoyed reading this paragraph because of the imagery of the home he lives in. I love that he mentions the materials scattered on the floor, it almost seems as if he lives the most natural life. I even love the description of his furniture, it paints a really great image of his life and what he must be seeing
Very interesting technique he uses to clean his floor; water and white sand from the pond. I wonder if that changed the smell of his house? Also a solid connection between seeing his chairs and other furniture outside among the objects in nature who’s form they once were.
“We are in danger of forgetting the language which all things and events speak without metaphor, which alone is copious and standard”
This quote stood out to me because Thoreau makes a great point in explaining that we can read as many texts as we want but what good is it if we are not allowed to have discussions about it and collaboratively analyze it? It’s important to have a clear space to voice what one’s thoughts or opinions are, especially after reading a text. Whether it is a book, a newspaper article, a tabloid, or a text message, we need to be able to voice how we feel and what our understanding is. We can do so little with only the written language which is why Thoreau foreshadows us losing our spoken, human language: communication.
“Read your fate, see what is before you, and walk on into futurity.”
This paragraph acts as a bridge between reading and sounds. It speaks of the importance of reading, but that there is so much our there, it all cannot be read. The last quote of the paragraph is telling the reader to read what you believe will guide you in your life. The writings of the past will help in your future endeavors. The quote ties into the chapter of Sounds because this chapter focus’s on how listening to and noticing the sounds of the world is a form of “reading” as well. So “reading your fate” also can connect to paying attention to the world around you and noticing what you may have never noticed before.
Thoreau’s pedagogy can be easily pointed out here. “No method nor discipline can supersede the necessity of being forever on the alert.” To Thoreau, this process of always seeking and finding information is an important part of the learning process. This act of constantly seeking and expanding one’s mind through query and action, are important to Thoreau. This idea is reiterated again in paragraph 2 when he states that he did not spend his summer reading, but working, and learning that way. This pedagogy argues that to better fully understand, we must step away from memorizing text and instead go out into Nature with open minds and enthusiasm, and partake in practical experiences. This raises the question of if interest and enthusiasm are vital in a truly successful and empowering learning process.
[I should not have been found wanting]
“Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting” (Daniel 5:27).
[remove the books and pen and ink]
When T went to Staten Island in 1843 to tutor Emerson’s nephews, he was given an inkstand by his friend and neighbor Elizabeth Hoar. He kept it throughout his life, and it is now on exhibit in the Concord Museum.
[But while we are]
Notice how the opening paragraph carries over the idea from the preceding chapter. This was one of the many devices T used to unify the seemingly unrelated essays of the book. Note also that the sounds described in the chapter follow a chronological order starting with morning, going on through afternoon, evening, night, and ending up with morning once more. Just as the whole book epitomizes the year, so this chapter epitomizes the day, and both end on the theme of renewal – the book on the renewal of spring, and the chapter on the renewal of dawn.
Spring 1-13 (5 comments)
I really loved this paragraph, as I relate to what Thoreau is saying. For my entire life my family has gone to Schroon Lake during the winter to spend time together, as my father grew up there and it is a place that is special to my family. While we stay at our family friend’s home that’s right on the water, we would go out onto the lake to ice fish, since the ice is several feet thick and can hold people with ease. My family would spend hours outside together, throwing our dogs a ball, eating lunch, and seeing how far across the lake we could walk. As spring comes in, we would see the ice slowly begin to melt as the weather gets warmer. I related to Thoreau saying that the ice is suddenly 6 inches thick instead of a foot. It seems as though the ice melts in a blink and suddenly winter is over. I felt that Thoreau did a great job explaining his connection with the lake and I related to his description.
This paragraph speaks a lot about Thoreau’s intense attention to detail. Not only does he detail the thickness and thinness of the ice, but he also discusses the relation between the thickness of the ice and the way it melts. Thoreau also discusses in-depth the way that the temperature causes state changes in the ice and the way it impacts the water at different lengths. I doubt many people, and I know I haven’t, have ever put that much thought and consideration into ice and the way it melts. While it also speaks a lot to Thoreau’s surroundings, it speaks even more to his attention to detail, especially in nature. He notices everything he possibly can, and thinks about it and what it means as opposed to letting it be a passing thought, which is what most do.
Here in this paragraph Thoreau explains that while living in the woods, he can see the spring come in by looking at his surroundings. He also mentions that he wont need a large fire to keep him warm.
[The brooks sing carols and glees to the spring. ]
I can relate to this quote in a few different ways. I have a brook outside of my house that is in a wooded area and in the spring I like to go down and sit on the big rock and listen to the birds chirp and the water rushing. Reading this quote makes me think of the spring time when everything just seems so fresh and new. New flowers are growing, the grass is getting greener, and new wildlife is being born.
[sand and clay assume]
Few passages in W have been analyzed with more frequency and at greater length than these paragraphs. Bigelow cites them as an outstanding early example of “how the modern symbolist mind works.” Saucerman discusses it in the light of contemporary theories of geology. Perhaps the best general discussion can be found in Paul (1958, 346-9).
Conclusion 1-9 (11 comments)
Does anyone else feel a little shiver go down their spine when Thoreau says, “we think that if railfences are pulled down and stone-walls piled up on our farms, bounds are henceforth set to our lives and our fates decided”? It’s so chillingly true, isn’t it? And think of how, by sheer habit, we condemn ourselves to live like deep-cave-dwelling fish, swimming around sightless in the same pools, because we think that’s all we can do. But even more chilling, strangely, is the idea that I could – could – walk out of my door, with nothing but a pocketful of bus fare, and ride to a different part of the country, begin a new life – that in fact, the boundaries of our lives are not set. Such a simple thought, and yet one that chills with both excitement and fear.
As a teenager, I had not a care in the world. I was never a good student. I spent my time off playing baseball, a game I loved. In June, 1966, I was Drafted. I spent the next three years in the Army. The middle year was spent fighting in an ill conceived war where we had no business being. During my last year in the Army, I decided I wanted to become a social worker, in an attempt to give back to humanity what I had taken away from others. That did not work out. Instead I became a Respiratory Therapist (1970) and spent the next 45 years working in hospitals.
My “experiment” was to practice and excel at my profession, go to college, and pursue my interests, as well as the usual “American Dream” stuff that we all grew up with, and then be able to stop working while I was still a viable human being. So, from when I entered the Army, until my retirement in February, 2015, I was involved with death, more often then not on a daily basis. This reality, that life is fleeting, helped me live in the moment, more often than not. I learned as a 20 year old that the next moment is not always there to do what one wanted to do.
My aspirations were predicated on the thought that if I can get to sleep that day, and awaken after that sleep, and still have my senses about me, and be able to walk and talk, I was ahead of the vast majority of people that whine about every possible thing.
In large part, I believe I was successful in my experiment, and able to accomplish my aspirations while in the work force. I never hated my job. Granted, some places were more trying than others, but I would just move to another hospital, which I found to be very beneficial in the learning process. I took a very long road in completing a degree, and am thankful to the professors and students I encountered. And, I was never so consumed by work or studies, so as to not enjoy my life doing other things.
Now that my life is my own, I take joy in most things around me. I go to bed when I chose, as well as getting up when I decide I am ready, whether it be 3 AM or 7:15 AM. An alarm clock is a thing of the past. The garden outside the kitchen window that is overgrown with Lemon Balm, gives me daffodils in the early Spring, Evening Primrose in June, Tiger Lilies later in the Summer as well as a beautiful red colored flower. I watch the chipmunks dashing about, as well as the squirrels. Mother Groundhog had twins this Spring, so I can watch them, and the beautiful deer and fawns that visit. If I am fortunate, I will see the hen turkey watch over her 8 chicks feeding as they traverse the yard. Not cutting the grass too short in the back yard allows them all a sense of security. And than there are the birds, including all the various woodpeckers. When the weather cools, the same cast of characters will be here, except for the bear. The chicks will be grown and the fawns will have lost their spots. Occasionally, the bear comes to see what is left in the bird feeders or visits me when I am trapped within the garden, picking greens for lunch. Fortunately, I do not seem to be on its list of things to eat.
My life, I believe is simple. I do not need things. Granted my computer is an extravagance, as well as my TV, and my Honda, and then there are my books, but I acquired all these, except for a few books, when I was still working. Retirement has allowed me to do what I chose to do. My goal of never again having to earn a penny is intact. My benefactors are SSI, a pension from my first hospital job, and the Veterans Administration.
My life is lived by what I remember of the 10 Commandments, although I have considered myself an atheist for over four decades. My interest in Buddhism has guided much of my life. My “higher laws” come from living and observing. I believe I understand Right from Wrong and that we are all the same, and killing others and animals will only complicate the future. In this period of devisiveness, I find sadness and sorrow, but realize that there are those that will continue along these paths in attempts to become powerful, and accumulate wealth, while leaving destruction of various types, in their wake.
I really do not know if I built castles in the air. What I am convinced of is that what has preceded this moment has allowed me to live on a firm foundation, and enjoy.
Whether or not I stayed true to the subject of Mark’s question/request is for you who may read this to decide. I am happy with it, and will welcome any comments.
Hannah, I agree that these lines are particularly loaded with meaning – and scary at that! It certainly feels to me like Thoreau is challenging us to do something bigger, to find our own Walden Pond and search for inner fulfillment there.
It calls to mind the famous lines from paragraph 16 of “Where I Lived, And What I Lived For,” where Thoreau writes of going to the pond to “learn what it had to teach.” He’s not going out to see what he can do while at the pond, as many of us would, but to see what living at the pond can do for him. He is unsure of what it can teach, at least going in. I think this is reflected beautifully in the last line of this paragraph: “The universe is wider than our views of it.” So simple a concept, and yet one we can all benefit from taking to heart.
This paragraph was super important in the sense that Thoreau’s safe place, his favorite location with his favorite sounds and scents of the trees and waters and animals, became a feeling of normalcy. When Thoreau first moved into the woods, he was in awe of everything around him, and took in everything he possibly could. However, after having the same surroundings and doing the same things day after day, Thoreau was no longer satisfied in this lifestyle he had created. He states that he thought he had more lives to live, and I think that by this he means he has very different experiences ahead of him. While the woods offered and taught Thoreau so much, he can only experience so much inside of the woods, and he realized that he had gained everything he could from this experience and it was time to move on.
This paragraph is showing how Thoreau felt about falling into a sense of normalcy and habit, he was not fond of it. He is also saying humanity will have a lasting impact on Earth regardless of how minimalistic or big people get, so long as there is a habit of doing things by everyone, there will be a notable footprint of those habits.
[The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity!]
Thoreau has closely experienced nature in New England and acknowledges that there is so much left for him to see elsewhere in the world. In this quote specifically, he addresses how most people don’t deviate from the rest of society in their lives (calling their journeys highways because a lot of people travel on that same road) and therefore all live in the same “small world” as everyone else around them. Thoreau himself wants to walk in another direction than everyone else, to the areas that are still unknown/under appreciated to most.
[ Nay, be a Columbus to whole new continents and worlds within you, opening new channels, not of trade, but of thought.]
Thoreau seems to move up one level of abstraction here when he gets me, as a reader, to theorize about thought. I really liked this quote because it makes me think about how I think and what my thoughts can be used for. Thoreau wants us to see our thoughts as channels to new discoveries and worlds. This move seems necessary because without new thoughts and discoveries, there wouldn’t be innovation and progression in the world and we would be stuck in the cycle of complacency and ignorance of society that Thoreau seems to despise.
This first paragraph of the conclusion is interesting because he seems to be almost making fun of what he says doctors recommend to sick people, especially with his comment about Tierra del Fuego and what can be interpreted as hell.
One of the most quoted lines in all of American literature. It has sold countless coffee mugs and motivational calendars, to be sure, but the source is a proverb that goes back into the English tradition as far as the writings of Jonathan Swift and before that, too. While it was a commonplace in Thoreau’s day, the source for Thoreau’s “castles in the air” may have been more specific. Some believe that Thoreau is revising the proverb as he found it in the writings of seventeenth-century English writer Sir Thomas Browne. In his “Letter to a Friend” (1656), Browne writes, “They build not castles in the air who would build churches on earth; and though they leave no such structures here, may lay good foundations in heaven.” Thoreau’s revision thus reads like a refutation to Browne’s Christian humanism. Rather than postpone your dreams for another world, Thoreau says, realize them in the here and now. See Stefano Paolucci, “The Foundations of Thoreau’s ‘Castles in the Air'” in the Thoreau Society Bulletin 290 (Summer 2015), 10. For a history of “castles in the air” as a proverbial expression, see “To Build Castles in Spain” in Wolfgang Mieder, Behold the Proverbs of a People: Proverbial Wisdom in Culture, Literature, and Politics (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2014), 415-435.
“Nay, be a Columbus to whole new continents and worlds within you, opening new channels, not of trade, but of thought.”
I think this quote essentially sums up why Thoreau benefited from the time he spent at Walden Pond. Being isolated from the influences society gave him the opportunity to journey into the depths of his mind. In effect, I believe that the observations he makes about the natural world throughout Walden are reflections of his own soul. When there are no other people around, he imprints his own ideals onto what he sees, and the way he finds meaning in the little details of his surroundings is a sort of self discovery.
[stupid sailors picking oakum]
On sailing vessels, sailors were often kept busy untwisting old pieces of rope to use in caulking the seams of the ship.
Reading (4 comments)
What with the democratization of literature and much higher literacy rate today, it could be said that Thoreau’s belief, “Most men have learned to read to serve as a paltry convenience,” is outdated. However, his insistence that reading should not be merely an escape or a pastime but a challenging exercise is much easier to relate to modern readers. Surely Thoreau would see the popularity of reading for fun today as irreverent; students and scholars may actively study the classics, but many more people pick up literature for personal entertainment. Perhaps this could be the modern application of Thoreau’s statement about people reading for their own convenience.
What I see Thoreau saying here is that education, though encouraged and even demanded by our society, is undertaken in the wrong way. He wishes “that we did not leave off our education when we begin to be men and women.” He also points out the trend in our education system to learn what we need to, and not all that we can. When he claims a village should be both a university and a “patron of the fine arts,” he is saying that learning subjects like math and science just so that we can become a functioning member of society isn’t enough. We need to have a passion and drive to learn more than what is necessary.
[two shallow books of travel]
T was actually an inveterate reader of travel books, averaging about one a month (Christie).
[poet Mîr Camar Uddîn Mast]
“Etant assis, parcourir la région du monde spiritual: j’ai eu cet avantage dans les livres. Etre enivré par une seule coupe de Yin: j’ai éprouvé ce plaisir lorsque j’ai bu la liqueur des doctrines ésoteriques” (M. Garcin de Tassy, Histoire de La Littérature Hindoui, Paris, 1839, I,331). The translation from the French is undoubtedly T’s own. Mast was a Hindu poet of the eighteenth century.
The Ponds 1-17 (2 comments)
[Yet a single glass of its water held up to the light is as colorless as an equal quantity of air]
About ten years ago I made a pilgrimage to Walden Pond and, in true pilgrim spirit, stole away a few ounces of its holy water in a capped plastic bottle. To this day it looks as clear and colorless as if I had just purchased the water from a grocery store. In wonderment about this, a while back I sent an email to Professor Sid Bosch of Geneseo’s Biology Department, an expert in freshwater ecology. I didn’t disclose the particulars of my interest, merely inquiring what ought to happen to a plastic container of pond water scooped up from the water’s edge as I had done. He responded that, in general, after some time photosynthesis and other processes ought to set in, discoloring the sides of the container and also discoloring the water.
So why does my Walden water remain so clear? The romantic in me wants to believe in the special purity Thoreau speaks about–a purity so perfect that it resists the onslaughts of time. My realist side has a vague awareness of the process by which many Adirondack lakes have become so environmentally compromised that their crystal waters indicate that they are ecologically dead. In some terror, I ask: does anyone know what’s going on with my Walden water?
Walden so far has discussed for the most part the impact of nature and technology on a person’s life, but this particular passage calls attention to language and how that can have monumental effects on the way we as people perceive the world around us. [If the name was not derived from that of some English locality, – Saffron Walden, for instance, – one might suppose that is was called, originally, Walled-in Pond.] This line specifically really made me think about how easily the world we live in is shaped by the human language and how even today language is constantly changing and evolving to take a new form in this digital age that we live in today. Less than twenty five years ago the phrase, “electronic mail” was used sparingly, whereas now it has been condensed to “e-mail” and is a part of our daily vocabulary. Language is constantly moving and changing to keep up with the times, and language of course plays a very significant role in how we view the world.
Economy 15-29 (4 comments)
[grape and the yellow violet]
All of these species were rarities in Concord and so especially cherished.
“I think that we may safely trust a good deal more than we do.” While Thoreu is relating this line to the lives of humans in reference to labor and their livelihoods, it is very true of the relationships we carry today with technology. Humans rely on and put trust in their laptops, cellphones, gps, cars, home security systems, and more to ensure they live the most “simple” life of all. We turn over all of our responsibilities to machines that we truly do not understand. Thoreau goes on to say, “We are made to exaggerate the importance of what work we do; and yet how much is not done by us!” This is entirely true of civilization today. As I am typing this right now, the programs that make up my computer are computing my words into the language that will be read on the internet. As I make presentations for other classes, I might be the one writing the words, but my computer is behind the scenes making the presentation possible. When I drive back to Long Island for winter break, it is not I doing all of that work, it is my car taking the toll of the 7 hr ride and it is my gps doing the work of finding the safest way to travel. Thoreau is right,as humans we have put too much faith in the things we do not understand, and we do not give these the things the credit they deserve for the work they do. He goes on to talk about change, and everyday our technology is changing and advancing to a status humans never thought possible. The idea of a self driving car is absurd to most of us, but who wouldn’t want to take a long trip in a Tesla? Have all of these advancements made our lives more “simple” in the sense that we no longer have to exert as much energy to write out directions before heading off, or using a pen and paper to write an essay without spell check? Or have these advancements made our lives more complicated than ever, increasing our anxiety by the minute because of the unknown. Ever had your laptop shut down as you wrote the last sentence of a 10 page paper that didn’t have autosave? It is a bad feeling. We have become so reliant and trusting of our technology to protect and serve us that the minute there is a glitch in the system, our lives turn to chaos.
I find it so interesting that most people think of Thoreau in such a simple-minded way that suggests he just wants to “escape society”, even though he acknowledges himself one of his basic needs is fuel. I think it is extremely interesting that he went into Nature and attempted to live deliberately, although he was only a mile and a half from town, and quite close to the railroad (both ‘civilized’ entities).
What i like most about Thoreau is that he attempts to reconnect individuals with Nature in the places where they actually reside. It is less about rebelling and “leaving society” for Nature, and more about just being present in your environment and living deliberately not only in the place that you are, but the actual physical SPACE. It makes the conclusions he makes much more realistic, and is a response to those critics who try to bash him for being too much of an idealist.
I don’t think Thoreau is measuring time here in any way, or passing time to be specific. To be purely perceptive of, and attuned through the senses to the present moment where one is in that moment, as opposed to being of it, is a critical faculty to possess. Thoreau often refers to the lack of this faculty as being asleep, slumbering, or not experiencing or anticipating the dawn. His quality of attentiveness to where he is inwardly and outwardly in the moment is what brings forth the intuitive moment of the philosopher. I often wonder if his “hound, bay horse, and turtle dove” in the paragraph that follows is in reference to his head, heart, and hand working in concert within any moment? The hound dog being the intellectual capacity to sense, track, and be attentive to the moment, while the bay horse represents the emotional fortitude of the heart to be open and free of like/dislike, while the turtle dove represent the loving hand of wisdom responding humbly to what might be a moment of grace. The obscurities and secrets of this trade resonate well with what the perennial philosophies have been intimating throughout the ages, and what Thoreau is truly after in his experiment called Walden.
Sounds 12-22 (4 comments)
I feel like this is one of the first times that Thoreau is actually feeling alone. I feel that while he discusses it frequently and there are various mentions of his seclusion, this is the first time that I feel as if he is feeling the affects of that seclusion.
This also makes me think about the need humans have for human interaction. Its a known fact that we are a social species, we need interaction with other intelligence beings and we have to build relationships with people – going to long without that starts to affect oneself. This is the first time I have read Walden, so it makes me wonder if Thoreau will reflect on this in the coming chapters or if the prolonged seclusion he subjected himself to will not be mentioned.
So relatable! Good old NE
In this passage Thoreau is really explaining on what is feels like to be lonely out in the middle of the woods, and how during the afternoon there’s not to many sounds to distract him. I can relate to this part of the passage because even though I live in a big town with a lot of people, I live in a small neighborhood so it can get very quiet and lonely.
I kept neither dog, cat, cow, pig, nor hens, so that you would have said there was a deficiency of domestic sounds; neither the churn, nor the spinning wheel, nor even the singing of the kettle, nor the hissing of the urn, nor the children crying to comfort one. An old-fashioned man would have lost his senses or died of ennui before this.
This particular passage stood out to me the most for multiple reasons. It made me put a new perspective on the loneliness of Walden Pond. The average person is so used to those sounds that we don’t necessarily notice them anymore, however; we would notice it more if we didn’t hear them on a daily basis. By saying that an “old-fashioned man would have lost his senses or died of ennui before this”, is essentially referring to the idea of not being able to survive after becoming accustomed to the every day scenarios by which average societies deal with. Having such a simplified lifestyle could really make a difference for those of us who are more accustomed to, in a sense, our chaotic lives. We don’t take the time to appreciate quiet because we don’t really know what true quietness is. By pointing out the difference of sounds at Walden Pond, Thoreau is demonstrating what it is that we take for granted in our every day lives, such as domestic animals and house noises. It is a strong, but reasonable point that Thoreau makes through the idea of domestic sounds.
Conclusion 10-19 (5 comments)
To me, the whole last chapter seems to be a direct contradiction to “Pond Scum.” Within this chapter, one can see a certain humility possessed by Thoreau, such as when he discusses himself looking down at the ants. Along with this, it seems clear that he does not have animosity towards humans, but rather seems to possess an animosity towards society. Within this chapter, he discusses how money and fame and riches corrupt people by distracting them from the true values of life. Much like Emerson, he seems to have infinite hope for humanity, if only they can recognize their divine possibilities.
“Shall we with pains erect a heaven of blue grass over ourselves, though when it is done we shall be sure to gaze still at the true ethereal heaven far above, as if the former were not?”
Here, Thoreau revisits his reasoning for going to the woods. In one of the first chapters, Thoreau explains his biggest fear: laying on his death bed only to realize that he failed to “suck the marrow out of life”. In the conclusion he reiterates the necessity of shunning convention. Thoreau encourages individuality, and a patient, soul-searching lifestyle. He recoils at the artificial reality that humans have created for themselves- an arena for competition and strict societal roles. Thoreau asks his readers to abandon our man-made “heaven of blue grass”. Then, we may recognize the true heaven, which floats over us as Nature, and live a purposeful life.
Although I’m a proponent for individuality, I can’t help but envision a world of disconnected, delusional woodsmen if we were all to lead this Transcendentalist lifestyle.
[Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.]
Thoreau didn’t want love, money or fame. He wanted to find the meaning of life.
Yes & yes. Some readers, then and now, are put off by the ambiguity of his writing. People asked him, even while he was alive, to write more simply: to offer more usable “Guides to Simple Living.” But he didn’t want to tell people how to live. He wanted a reader just like you –to draw his own conclusions, be inspired in his own way. One of the things I love most about Walden is how I take different ideas from it every time I read it, and I’ve been reading it off and on for 30 years… The ambiguity and density are what make that possible.
[If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.]
People have different motivations and goals in life so deflecting from the majority is not something that should be looked down upon but rather inspiring to others to follow whatever calls them.
The Village (12 comments)
Every day or two I strolled to the village to hear some of the gossip which is incessantly going on there, circulating either from mouth to mouth, or from newspaper to newspaper, and which, taken in homœopathic doses, was really as refreshing in its way as the rustle of leaves and the peeping of frogs.
I found this especially interesting because I was under the impression that since Thoreau willingly established his residence so far away from others at Walden pond, that he would have no desire to listen to gossip in the town. However, after reading on, he seemed to compare the people and the life in the village to the woods and the woodland life.By saying that visiting the town and hearing the sounds a human life was as refreshing to him as listening to the frogs and leaves, I believe that Thoreau visited the town as a way to get a change of scenery, as someone who lives in the village would visit the woods for some fresh air and a walk through nature.
Upon a second reading of this passage, I was under the assumption that Thoreau would not take it upon himself to seek out the scandalous, human activities of his society. However, after further analysis, it seems as though his day trips into the village were simply for leisure, and this is not to say he is growing tired or bored of his little slice of life in the wilderness. Throughout this passage, he consistently compares the bustling sounds and gossip of the village to the lyrical choir composed by Nature. He takes pleasure from both parts of the world, the man-made and the natural, despite taking up residence in the part that pre-dates man. From my perspective, this passage seems to carry Thoreau above the rest of the world. He is transcendent, or a simple spectator watching the world go by as he lives out his days in one of Nature’s making. Though he does take part in some of the village quirks, he does not allow himself to root into place. Within itself, this passage acts a break from Thoreau’s regularly scheduled programming or the reality that he has built for himself, whilst upholding his view on the world surpassing that in which we initially perceive. He wishes to explore not just the parts untouched by industrialization, but those harbored by it as well. It fascinates and entices him.
[ One afternoon, near the end of the first summer, when I went to the village to get a shoe from the cobbler’s, I was seized and put into jail, because, as I have elsewhere related, I did not pay a tax to, or recognize the authority of, the state which buys and sells men, women, and children]
Abolitionism was still in its early stages even in the north in the 1840’s, and even though slavery had not existed in Massachusetts for some time, this quote still highlights slavery’s existance in America.
[ As I walked in the woods to see the birds and squirrels, so I walked in the village to see the men and boys; instead of the wind among the pines I heard the carts rattle.]
In this quote, and the following sentences, Thoreau talks about the correlation between nature and the nearby town. This sets a tone for the whole chapter as he discusses the differences between watching wild animals go about their day, versus humans with our more complex daily regiments. In this paragraph he says, “…a village of busy men, as curious to me as if they had been prairie dogs,” showing that despite his time living and participating with society, he did not understand it fully.
[Signs were hung out on all sides to allure him; some to catch him by the appetite, as the tavern and victualling cellar; some by the fancy, as the dry goods store and the jeweller’s; and others by the hair or the feet or the skirts, as the barber, the shoemaker, or the tailor.]
What I take away from this is he has a distaste for advertising, perhaps because some of what is being advertised is materialistic.
The way T relates his relationship with the town life style is fascinating for me. I feel that what he is trying to say is that by going to town it feels like a gate away weekend for us. However, the difference is that our society seeks for a place where nature can be related in order to escape from the city, the problems, the thoughts and all the bad things happening in our lives. For T is the opposite and it’s not like he was trying to escape from nature, it was more about observation and point out the difference between his life and others. Even though he says how much he likes listening to others people’s gossip, it is a way of feeling the connection again with the town.
“I am convinced, that if all men were to live as simply as I then did, thieving and robbery would be unknown. These take place only in communities where some have got more than is sufficient while others have not enough”
I agree to an extent. Yes, if everyone had only what they needed then there would be no need to take from another person out of jealousy, but, no one knows the true motive. Definitely debateable.
I really admire the way that he writes and the way that he describes specific things. It really paints a picture in my head.
[I frequently had to look up at the opening between the trees above the path in order to learn my route]
I found this quote to be very interesting and really neat to think about. I found it interesting because it says that Thoreau had used the sky to navigate back home from going into town. I never would have thought of using the sky as a map or GPS to find out how to get back. I honestly just thought that he had it memorized or he had markings on the trees that created a path to get back home. I also found this really neat to think about because now a days we have our phones or GPS’s to help us find our ways back home but back then they had to use the earth’s map to find their ways.
In this passage, Thoreau talks about how he was arrested and put in jail for tax evasion. Towards the end of the passage he explains that if all men were to live a simple life and be free, we wouldn’t have thieving and robbery issues
This makes Thoreau seem empathetic or understanding, which contradicts the dislike he shows towards his neighbors in later parts of the book. But then again, he is human and humans are complicated beans. (Get it?????)
[odd-fellow society]
A pun on the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternal organization.
The Bean-Field 1-8 (2 comments)
[MEANWHILE my beans]
In his Journal for June 3, 1851, T identifies them as a variety of bush bean known as “Phaseolus vulgaris”; later in this chapter he identifies them as “common small white bush beans.” His beanfield was located on the level land just north of the cabin. In 1857 when he and Emerson were walking in the area, T said he thought the ground barren and offered to replant it for Emerson. It was two years before he did it, when he planted four hundred white pines, as well as oaks, birches, and larch trees. The result was a beautiful grove that became a popular picnic site. In 1872 a spark from a passing locomotive started a fire that burned part of it. But a good deal of the grove lasted well into this century, though the great hurricane of 1938 felled most of what was left. One can still identify the beanfield site by the rows of stumps of the pine trees felled by the hurricane.
I find the difference between Thoreau’s attitude towards his bean field and his attitude towards farming as a living interesting to consider. As Thoreau writes in “Where I Lived, And What I Live For,” “It makes but little difference whether you are committed to a farm or the county jail.” Yet here Thoreau commits himself to what seems a little too extensive (what with two and a half acres of beans) to be considered merely a garden. The distinction, I think, is that he views his labors in the bean field as a fulfilling practice rather than a way to make a living. If a man needs to tend to his crops, does a farm, in Thoreau’s view, then become a chain?
The Ponds 18-34 (3 comments)
Thoreau says “Nations come and go without defiling [Walden],” so does he consider his dwelling, built within close proximity to the pond, to not alter the landscape in any significant way? Does it lack the permanence of the pond and nature, therefore making it irrelevant?
On a slightly different note, we can certainly say in the modern world that many nations, especially the United States, have defiled great areas of nature, though Walden Pond itself is currently protected by the government of Massachusetts, mainly due to this text. I can’t help but wonder what Thoreau might have to say (or write) about the current state of nature, as well as the attempts at preservation.
After noticing a fact provided courtesy of Walter Harding in one of his comments on this paragraph – about how Thoreau originally intended to build his cabin on the shore of Flint’s pond but had been thwarted by the owner makes this an interesting paragraph. Keeping in mind Thoreau’s original intentions for wanting to live at Walden pond, to find himself and live deliberately in nature, should where he did that have mattered? Would it have been any different if he had in fact been able to build his cabin on the shore of Flint’s pond?
[devilish Iron Horse]
Twenty-first century readers of Walden might think that Thoreau was being imaginative when he described the railroad as a “devilish Iron Horse,” and they would be justified in thinking so. And yet, it may be helpful to tease out what particularly is imaginative about this animal-machine metaphor. What’s imaginative about this passage, I’d like to suggest, isn’t the bare fact that Thoreau decided to use the vehicle “horse” to describe the tenor “railroad,” but the very linguistic act of collapsing these two entities into one metaphor. Horses and railroads are already conceptually linked for anyone living in early to middle nineteenth-century America because, in the first few decades of railway transportation, passenger trains were literally horse-powered. Even as late as 1844, some United States railway lines—such as the storied P&C (Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad)—would include horse-drawn trains, even going so far as to allow horse-power at certain hours of the day and steam power during other times. Thoreau, in other words, is imaginatively collapsing two terms—horses and railroads—that are already linked in the popular imagination of the day. Thus the specifically imaginative aspect about this passage isn’t how Thoreau decided to compare railroads to horses, but how he linguistically united them into an apocalyptic vision of forest degradation.
Spring 14-26 (3 comments)
This is an amazing paragraph from Thoreau. His description brings the words to life and helps to paint a vivid picture for the reader. I can very easily envision a frozen pond in late winter/early spring, with the ice cracking apart and the sections of open water growing day by day
It’s interesting that he was able to just sit back and watch all of the things that happen in nature. He really appreciated all of the qualities of nature which I find admirable.
[left Walden September 6th, 1847]
People often wonder what happened to the cabin after T abandoned it. Zimmer gives a detailed and fascinating later history of both the cabin site and of the cabin itself. The cabin was sold, moved twice, and eventually was incorporated into a barn some miles away, where its particular boards are no longer identifiable. In 1872 a Mrs. Adams from Dubuque, Iowa, on visiting the original site of the cabin, decided it should be marked in some way, and so she gathered up a little cairn of stones. That started a tradition of visitors’ adding their own stones to the cairn. Over the years the cairn grew immense, though tourists as often carried away stones, for souvenirs, as added them to the pile. In 1945, in answer to questions raised about the accuracy of the cairn’s placement, Roland Robbins (1947) excavated the area and found the foundation of T’s cabin only a few feet from the cairn. That site is now marked with granite corner posts and chains. People continue to add to, and subtract from, the cairn. In recent years a new tradition has developed among the children of the area: It is bad luck to pass the cairn without setting a stone on it, even if only a pebble, since all the larger stones in the area have already been placed on the cairn.
Economy 30-44 (4 comments)
[the lawyer had only to weave arguments]
The use of “weave” here cleverly compares the lawyer’s livelihood with that of the Indian. It shows that they both do what they can do.
Within this paragraph, Thoreau exemplifies the rate in which the original intentions for man’s clothing – to warm, to conceal, and to work – is rapidly dismissing, and essentially becoming more a tool of aesthetics rather than a tool of utility. Society is becoming more concerned with outer appearances and obtaining fashionable attire that is reflective of social and financial class, rather than clothing that is universally essential to going about the daily chores of life that are untainted by the opinions and beliefs of others.
This paragraph emphasizes the idea of materialistic values in today’s society and is using clothing to do so. I think it’s interesting and something people really don’t think about, who are people buying expensive clothes for? themselves? or to be perceived a certain way by society? Thoreau explains how clothing and wealth intertwine; having certain clothes makes you look a certain way, this idea is like a little piece of just how much society focuses on materialistic value.You are seen differently by what you have or can afford.
[ No man ever stood the lower in my estimation for having a patch in his clothes; yet I am sure that there is greater anxiety, commonly, to have fashionable, or at least clean and unpatched clothes, than to have a sound conscience]
Clothing remains a huge status symbol in society today. Many people are anxious about not wearing what is trendy and what is new. In fact, they could care less about their character than their avatar.
Visitors 1-11 (1 comment)
[Achilles’ reproof to Patroclus]
Significantly Achilles, in the Iliad, cultivates the friendship of Patroclus just as T was cultivating that of the woodcutter.
Economy 71-81 (8 comments)
In paragraphs 72 and 73, Thoreau brings down the education system and paints it in a negative light. It was interesting how he associates “modern improvements” as an illusion, how he sees greater benefit from working with your hands and not being “frivolous” in spending large amount of money on college and lectures. Ironic that he is so anti education when he is writing all these books, but it is interesting to see it in this light.
This paragraph discusses the importance of nurturing a child’s natural skills & interests, rather than pushing a child down the common course from a young age. Thoreau discusses how tuition is very expensive in comparison to the cost of living and experiencing life and what it has to offer. He also makes the point that if a child has an interest in arts & sciences, the child should be allowed to pursue and supported in their decisions and futures, rather than forced into a different field because it is family tradition, or because it has the highest salary. Thoreau believes that life is not about the materialistic items that one can acquire but that the experiences, memories, and knowledge one acquires through living life are most important.
“Nations are possessed with an insane ambition to perpetuate the memory of themselves by the amount of hammered stone they leave. What if equal pains were taken to smooth and polish their manners? One piece of good sense would be more memorable than a monument as high as the moon.”
The way in which nations ‘perpetuate memories’ of themselves has been a concern before Thoreau wrote about it, and is still a concern in American society today. A glorious (but dishonest, and biased) American history may be analogous to the ‘hammered stone’ Thoreau talks about here. Americans take such pain to ensure the collective American memory is a positive one, rather than focusing on the reality of the American experience, which belies this rose-tinted memory. One of the many reasons “Make America Great Again” fails is because America was never objectively great, except perhaps to those working so hard to perpetuate (and create) false memories. The information we choose to preserve and the information we choose to erase (or, with a note of concern, information that is unethically erased) impacts the memory of our nation, so it’s important that we remain aware of this and alert to attempts to censor or stifle the spread of information– and whether that information is truly accurate and indicative of the nation it stands for.
Thoreau seems to be speaking remorsefully about the views society continues to have on work. We are expected to work hard through most of our life and only truly living it many years down the line. Thoreau’s line, “but I wish, as you are brothers of mine, that you could have spent your time better than digging in this dirt,” is a direct reference to his desire that people experience and live life, not just kill themselves slowly living, working, for the sake of others instead of themselves. This mindset of working most of your life and retiring in older age still exists today and is a point of remorse for many that would probably agree with a lot of what Thoreau stated in this section, outside of this paragraph. That being said, Thoreau doesn’t think it is the worst thing to work, stating that the workers “might have done worse…” but you cannot escape the melancholy and regret in Thoreau’s writing at the state of the workforce spending most of their lives trapped by work that only brings them closer to death instead of living.
[Nations are possessed with an insane ambition to perpetuate the memory of themselves by the amount of hammered stone they leave. ]
This particular line struck me because it reminded me of our current interaction with technology, specifically with social media. The insane ambition of perpetuating a memory of oneself is evidently clear with platforms like instagram, facebook and sometimes even twitter. As we all know, these platforms allow their users to document snapshots and pivotal moments in their lives with followers. But as younger generations begin to get caught up in the social media hysteria, it almost begins to appear as an obsession. Who gets the most followers, likes, comments, shares, retweets, etc. So, I agree with the language Thoreau uses to convey his criticism: some aspects of advanced technology can appear like an insane ambition.
This paragraph is very interesting, since Thoreau is discussing traveling. He believes that we should travel places by foot if they are to travel anywhere. The way that I read it is that we should do this because we could get to a place faster. It also seems to me that Thoreau believes that transportation is way too expensive, saying that it is “almost a day’s wages” to travel. At the end of the paragraph, he also claims that he doesn’t believe in traveling that much. He says that if you believe in that, then you and him can no longer be friends.
I wonder what Thoreau would make of our technology today. I’m especially curious about abbreviations in the context of our discussions on language and technology with Thoreau’s idea that we are talking faster than we can sensibly. There are so many abbreviations such as “lol,” “jk,” “fyi,” and “asap” that people use on a daily basis, and those examples are only a select few. It’s not quite it’s own language, but I would argue that our abundance of abbreviations is a new type of texting literacy. You have to be literate in text slang in order to understand what people are saying when they use abbreviations.
I’m not certain what Thoreau would make of it, but I lean toward believing that he wouldn’t like it. Something like “lol” which stands for “laugh out loud” has become filler in conversations over text. I highly doubt that every person truly laughs out loud every time they type “lol.” It’s a filler phrase now that just conveys mild humor. It’s something most people type without even thinking about it. As a society, we have the ability to talk to one another across any distance instantly. That’s quite fast communication, but we rarely give much thought to our words.
Here Thoreau condemns “‘modern improvements,'” and especially those that exist to improve the speed and efficiency of communication. He thinks that these advances improve the pace but not the quality of conversation.
It’s hard to imagine, then, the disdain that he would’ve held for modern technology of today– especially social media platforms. I’m sure he would be dismayed by these websites in which one could argue that “the main object [is] to talk fast and not to talk sensibly” and which are full of celebrity gossip not much more interesting than Princess Adelaide having the whooping cough.
Higher Laws (6 comments)
[my case was its uncleanness]
In the 1840s and 1850s, vegetarians and food faddists – Dr. Sylvester Graham among them – called for radical changes in diet. Adams and Hutter gives an amusing account of some of the food reforms suggested. Seybold (42) suggests that some of T’s vegetarian ideas were derived from his reading of Porphyry’s “On Abstinence from Animal Food.”
I thought that Thoreau’s arguments against eating meat throughout the “Higher Laws” chapter were a bit lacking. The impression that I got after reading this was that Thoreau did not stop eating animal flesh because he was overly concerned with animal welfare, rather, it seems he became a vegetarian merely because he felt it helped to “preserve his higher or poetic faculties” and that it elevated him to a greater spiritual level. He admits in paragraph 3 that he, “did not pity the fishes nor the worms”. In fact, he describes how he was born and raised with a hunting gun or fishing pole in his hand (he even states that this was the best education of his life…although perhaps partly due to the fact that this led him to spend large quantities of time in Nature). He decided to end his carnivorous ways when he developed the belief that vegetarianism was something that seemed to be “more civilized” and the “destiny of the human race”. Thus, vegetarianism, according to Thoreau, is ultimately about improving oneself, not necessarily about improving the lives and condition of other creatures (he is positioned on the anthropocentric side of the scale much more so than the biocentric side). As a vegetarian, I was personally a bit dissatisfied with Thoreau’s arguments. His claim that meat is “unclean” and “filthy” seemed to me to be almost ludicrous. However, I think the biggest issue that I have with this chapter is the fact that Thoreau seems to hold his own personal elevation and spiritual ascension as the ultimate good–being a vegetarian merely helps him to achieve this egotistical goal. Personally, I do not partake in the vegetarian diet because I believe it to help me, but because I think that it is innately good in and of itself. Overall, I was a bit frustrated with Thoreau’s lack of giving any substantial reason for vegetarianism. However, it should also be remembered that Thoreau is new to the herbivore lifestyle (he was literally just describing his fishing practices in the last chapter). Perhaps this chapter should not be read as an argument primarily about vegetarianism (I personally don’t think Thoreau is a great authority on the subject), but rather as Thoreau’s personal contemplations concerning a new lifestyle choice and his inward struggle to reach a state of “glorious existence”.
Very interesting how this paragraph corresponds with the second paragraph of the “Sounds” chapter. There are all kinds of inversions: morning becomes evening, warmth becomes coolness, the reverie of spirit is disrupted by the sounds of commerce (wagons on the road) in one, while incessant thoughts of work and practical plans become disrupted by the enchantment of a flute in the other.
Professor Harding suggests that John Farmer is a sort of everyman figure. But the parallelism noted above tells me that Henry Thoreau saw himself in this everyman quite clearly. The penetrating question which an inner voice asks of him–“But how to come out of this condition and actually migrate thither?”–seems genuine and heartfelt. This strikes me as an occasion to perceive that Thoreau’s counsels, which strike some as hectoring and egotistical, are often reflective. Rather than putting himself above or outside our experience of life, he fixes himself firmly within it, showing us that the issues that command our most serious attention also commanded his. I can’t help thinking that the wonderful final line was a resolution he himself had reached.
Thoreau is making the claim that humans will never be “civilized” until they give up eating animals. This begs the question of what it means to be civilized. In urging others to not eat meat, it seems as though he is suggesting that as humans, we should not disturb nature and instead should try to live in harmony with it. Yet, the word civilization often lends the mind to the idea that humans should overcome or transcend nature—perhaps to harness it.
[higher principles]- the pursuit in life.
Aristotle’s Four Cardinal Virtues- Prudence, temperance, courage, and justice. Aristotle’s highest good is happiness.
Kant’s highest good is good will. If there are not good intentions behind what is done then what is done is not good.
Summum bonum- “the highest good” in Greek. The life of the righteous and/or the life led in Communion with God and according to God’s precepts.
[from being the Good Shepherd]
“I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11).
Economy 59-70 (5 comments)
It is interesting that he had moved in on the 4th of July, almost as if he was celebrating a new birth of personal freedom. It is also intriguing that mentioned waiting to start building his chimney after finishing his hoeing in the fall; until it became necessary to focus on that aspect.
It is difficult to begin without borrowing, but perhaps it is the most generous course thus to permit your fellow-men to have an interest in your enterprise. The owner of the axe, as he released his hold on it, said that it was the apple of his eye. I immediately think of the golden rule treat others the way you want to be treated. If you borrow something from someone bring it back better than you got it. Also when he said to permit a fellow man to invest in your enterprise, it made me immediately think of going to ask someone to help you maybe start a business often times going to someone who already has knowledge that can invest that information into you to help.
My group talked about how cheap his house was to build, because we had converted the numbers and he didn’t even pay a full month’s rent for some places. And he even thought that some of the expenses were too high!
[It was a pleasant hillside where I worked, covered with pine woods, through which I looked out on the pond, and a small open field in the woods where pines and hickories were springing up.]
Vivid imagery.
This paragraph contains some very neat imagery. I also like the use of the word “slice” when describing a piece of a log.
Former Inhabitants; and Winter Visitors 1-12 (2 comments)
[some homestead of the Stratton]
In his copy of W, T corrected this from “Stratten.” At the end of the seventeenth century, the Stratton· family owned most of the land on the west side of Walden Street, from the edge of Concord center to Walden Pond. The homestead T speaks of stood near the present intersection of Walden Street and Brister’s Hill Road. It was destroyed about 1770.
[edge of the village]
T was then living with the Emersons, and the brook he speaks later of jumping was the Mill Brook, which runs between the Emerson and Breed properties (Gleason).
The Pond in Winter 1-10 (5 comments)
[Of five coves]
Meigs names, describes, and maps each of these coves.
“It is remarkable how long men will believe in the bottomlessness of a pond without taking the trouble to sound it.”
Is he trying to say, we believe what we hear (internet) and believe it before taking the time to process it?
“It is remarkable how long men will believe in the bottomlessness of a pond without taking the trouble to sound it.”
This quote really stood out to me in my reading of this chapter. I think that it speaks an immense amount to our nature as humans. I think that what Thoreau might be trying to get at is mans innate desire to be trusting. The majority of our lives revolve around following the rules that we have been told to follow and believing things that we are told to believe in. If you heard from numerous people that Walden Pond was bottomless, what reason do you have to go and check yourself if you believe what they are saying.
It forced me to ponder whether Thoreau thinks that a trusting human nature is a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand I think that Thoreau is less than pleased with it because he argues throughout the book that one has to have their own first hand experiences. Hence, why he goes about the business of finding the true depth of the pond and other activities of similar nature. However, on the other hand, I think that he, in a way, might agree somewhat with this even if he would never admit it. He writes Walden with the intent of people learning from his own experiences and questions why people don’t live the way that he does.
[marmots in the surrounding hills]
Woodchucks.
[with compass and chain and sounding line]
In 1939 Edward S. Deevey rechecked T’s survey and analysis of Walden Pond with the latest scientific instruments and concluded that T was amazingly accurate in his observations, when one considers he was using the crudest of instruments, and that his contribution to the science of limnology was original and genuine (Deevey).
Baker Farm (8 comments)
[are fit to stand before Valhalla]
In Scandinavian mythology, the hall of immortality into which the souls of heroes slain in battle are received.
[that the Druids would have]
An ancient Celtic race living in Britain to whom the oak tree was sacred.
[the waxwork grooves and crushes]
Waxwork: now more commonly known as bittersweet.
[festoons from the black-spruce trees]
In his copy of W, T corrected this to “white-spruce.” For his confusion of the two species, see the note in “Sounds,” p. 125.
[a shingle tree]
A tree with wood especially good for making shingles.
While this entire chapter distresses me greatly, I will defend Thoreau on two minor points that have come up in remarks above.
It seems that he does not disdain John Field because he is “bogging” for money. Since he initially credits Field as “honest” and “hard-working,” it seems rather that he sympathizes with the way he is being taken advantage of by the neighboring farmer. (That farmer, note, is getting an acre of land cultivated for just ten dollars by an immigrant whose only tools are a spade and a hoe; the farmer doesn’t have to hire someone with a plow and oxen to do the work, presumably at a higher rate.) I think the “shiftless man” business is one of those word-plays that sometimes go awry in interpretation. Does Thoreau refer to how Field is unable to shift for himself well against the shrewd Yankee who has manipulated him into so “poor a bargain”?
The second point is that Thoreau doesn’t declare that Irishmen have no halos; he quotes an unnamed visitor. The concept that some optical effect should avoid certain ethnic groups sounds absurd on the surface, of course. As good an observer as Thoreau was, I have to believe he reports this remark to expose the sort of narrow-mindedness and bigotry that the immigrant Irish could expect to endure from his high-minded neighbors.
All of which brings us back to the point that Thoreau often fails to reveal such humanity and understanding elsewhere in the chapter.
Throughout Walden, it seems as though Thoreau is very unaware of the fact that his life is more privileged than others. When he tells the farmer that his clothes are cheaper than the farmer’s, it is clear Thoreau is not aware that not everyone can live his life and not everyone has his opportunities.
Thoreau’s attitude towards the Field family only reminds me of our class discussions about Thoreau’s position of privilege. While he aspires to inspire his neighbors to embrace his philosophy, Thoreau is preaching to a group of people in a situation quite unlike his. An immigrant family, complete with several children (including an infant), would have a considerably more difficult time endeavoring to build their own”tight, light, and clean house” or spending their day fishing to feed the family. While Thoreau aims to improve their lives, he fails to understand how difficult it may be for John Field to drop his source of income or change his lifestyle significantly with so many people to provide for. Thoreau is mainly in charge of himself.
Economy 45-58 (4 comments)
[Shall we always study to obtain more of these things, and not sometimes to be content with less?]
Sort of relates to themes we have discussed in other works (The encyclical, Locke, Marx) in that, as a society, we are always in search of the “next best thing.” In this case, we are always trying to keep up with our neighbors or ensure our superiority over others we deem “savages.”
Where did Thoreau live before going to Walden Pond? Does he have a house?
[Most men appear never to have considered what a house is]
I love this. Should we talk about it? What is a house? What is it for? Is it merely to provide privacy, to keep one from the elements?
According to Thoreau, in the modern society labor often goes unrewarded. Hard and honest work yields little positive results due to the convoluted rules of finance and farmers cannot change that and have to devote all their work just to avoid going bankrupt. “The man who has actually paid for his farm with labor on it is so rare that every neighbor can point to him” (Thoreau). Similarly, merchants often fail but not because of a lack of capital, but a lack of moral conviction to get their work done. This is worse than the farmers; farmers are merely being beaten down by society while the merchants are actively sabotaging themselves. But this puts an infinitely worse face on the matter, and suggests, beside, that probably not even the other three succeed in saving their souls, but are perchance bankrupt in a worse sense than they who fail honestly. Despite all of these little breakdowns the financial world runs smoothly and without notice of its problems.
Winter Animals (1 comment)
[passed for sealers or Esquimaux]
Now generally spelled “Eskimo.”
Economy 82-97 (4 comments)
[I would observe, by the way, that it costs me nothing for curtains, for I have no gazers to shut out but the sun and moon, and I am willing that they should look in. ]
I believe this quote serves as an example for the framework of the life Thoreau has created for himself. He lives by the simplest means possible as this creates the most peaceful or least resistant life. Thoreau goes on to explain that he declined the humble addition of a mat to his home as he felt that it was not necessary to have one as he could wipe his feet off in the doorway. It is strange to think how accustomed we are to all the a material conveniences we have in our life or how we feel we need something. Thoreau challenges people to live without curtains in their own lives. When it comes to our technology, especially our phones, it\’s hard to picture life without it. People have a strong dependency on their technology and may find it hard to function without it and the conveniences it can offer. If we were to try to put down our phone or put less emphasis on them, as Thoreau has done with other luxuries in his life, I wonder how people would connect differently with their current experience. I also feel the concept of living without curtains is interesting — people feel such a need to protect their physical privacy yet live with little to no curtains in their social media lives.
The bread of life. Again, there are religious themes underlying (what seems like) every paragraph. This makes me think of the bread that Catholics receive during mass, which is God’s body. However, Thoreau said that he changed the recipe for the bread and said he went without essential ingredients for a year and is still in the land of the living. I take this to mean that, although there are religious undertones to finding yourself and reaching a certain kind of peace, you can still reach those things without religion. I say that because a lot of people believe you have to return to your religion to find that peace. Thoreau shows us you dont have to.
In this passage, I find Thoreau’s use of the word “savage” interesting, as it does not seem to be being used with the usual negative connotation that is typically attached to this word (especially looking back on older texts from today’s world). In praising other societies’ customs (e.g., of celebrating harvests), Thoreau mentions that his own society could gain something from other cultures.
This casting away of ego-centrism is a concept that is echoed in Chapter 1 of Gleick’s The Information: “These Europeans spoke of the ‘native mind’ and described Africans as ‘primitive’ and ‘animistic’ and nonetheless came to see that they had achieved an ancient dream of every human culture.”
As Thoreau adopts a minimalistic lifestyle detached from modern civilization, and explores other ways of living such as those common to non-Western cultures, the effect is that the language Thoreau uses also seems to change; it is almost as if he takes ownership of the word “savage,” giving it a more positive connotation as he empathetically gains respect for other cultures’ ways.
[Yet I find it not to be an essential ingredient, and after going without it for a year am still in the land of the living]
I think we can read into the subtext a little bit here. There are excesses in the bread’s ingredients that are seen as essential in making the best bread just as there are excesses in life that are seen as basic and necessary fundamentals to living a good life. Thoreau is saying, change the recipe a little bit. You might actually like it.
Former Inhabitants; and Winter Visitors 13-24 (2 comments)
[I often performed this duty of hospitality, waited long enough to milk a whole herd of cows, but did not see the man approaching from the town.]
I thought this was an interesting connection to time and patience, a lesson that the Vishnu Purana seems to be urging. I am intrigued by the idea that patience is required when time itself is fleeting in relation to the Visitor who never comes. The very concept of waiting long enough to milk a herd of cows for a singular visitor seems like something that in modern society, would never be tolerated. That being said, in the age of advanced technology that we live in, rapid responses and instant messages take the place of visitors, and even when we engage in these modes of communication, patience is a valuable skill to practice. I think this final passage highlights the importance of being mindful of the ways in which we manage our own time and how it influences our engagement and presence in the lives of others.
A poem by one of Thoreau’s great admirers that’s worth a look: “Directive.”
Brute Neighbors 1-9 (1 comment)
[one to a distinguished naturalist]
Louis Agassiz (1807-1873). In the late 1840s T collected various specimens of fish, reptiles, and mammals for Agassiz, who was working on the classification of species at Harvard.
The Pond in Winter 11-21 (2 comments)
[the Ganges reading the Vedas]
The sacred scriptures of the Hindus. T would be pleased to know that the Hindus received not only ice from Walden Pond, but his own writings as well. His work had a profound influence on Gandhi and his followers. And W has been officially translated into fifteen Indian languages by the government of India.
[the fabulous islands of Atlantis]
A fabled land now supposedly at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
Visitors 12-18 (1 comment)
[a ramble in the woods occasionally]
In the first edition this was misspelled “occcasionally.”
Title Page - 1854 Edition (5 comments)
The drawing of T’s cabin was made by his sister Sophia, an amateur artist. T himself complained of it, “Thoreau would suggest a little alteration, chiefly in the door, in the wide projection of the roof at the front; and that the bank more immediately about the house be brought out more distinctly” (Sanborn, 1917, 338). Sanborn adds, “He must have noticed that her trees were firs and pines, with a few deciduous tress that did not then grow there.” Ellery Channing thought it a “feeble caricature.” Other contemporary drawings of the cabin may be found in Meltzer and Harding (144-5).
[WALDEN; OR, LIFE IN THE WOODS]
Although the first edition gives the title Walden; or, Life in the Woods, on March 4, 1862, two months before he died, T wrote to his publishers, Ticknor & Fields, asking them to omit the subtitle in a new edition. They complied with this request, although it has rarely been followed since. Paul (75) suggests that T may have dropped the subtitle because he feared his audience was taking it too literally and thus missing the more important philosophy permeating the book. T could have derived the subtitle from his friend Charles Lane’s essay “Life in the Woods” in the Dial (IV, 1844, 415) or from John S. Williams, “Our Cabin; or, Life in the Woods” in the October 1843 American Pioneer (DeMott), but not from the then popular The Adirondack; or Life in the Woods, by J.T. Headley (New York, 1849), which did not appear until after T had used the subtitle in an advertisement for W in the back pages of the first edition of A Week. For a comprehensive study of the types of books on which T based the structure of W, see Linck Johnson. For a discussion of the organic structure of W, see Lane (1960). Kurtz is one o the most straightforward analyses of W’s style.
In his new book, Cryptic Subtexts in Literature and Film: Secret Messages and Buried Treasure (New York: Routledge, 2019), Steven F. Walker offers a new interpretation of Walden’s 1854 subtitle, “Life in the Woods.” It is well known that that subtitle was hardly original, having appeared in several publications prior to the publication of Walden, including an article of that name by Charles Lane which appears in the final issue of The Dial. Walker grants that Thoreau may have used the title “ironically,” that is, “as a vigorous rejoinder to the thesis of Lane’s Dial essay” (13). More intriguing, however, is Walker’s argument that Thoreau may have associated “life in the woods” with a phase of life known in Hindu as “vanaprastha” (literally translated as “life in the woods”)—“the third stage of life—that of the solitary, contemplative hermit living in the forest on the outskirts of the village—as described in The Laws of Manu” (14) which Thoreau read in Emerson’s library in 1840. “Such a new framing,” Walker says, “certainly provides a new perspective on Thoreau’s life-in-the-woods enterprise, which, for all its Yankee originality, also can be seen as a spiritual retreat based on an ancient Hindu paradigm of the stages of life” (16).
Is there any possibility of Thoreau borrowing from the Christian tradition and positing “the woods” as a corollary of “wilderness”, where the demons (in us) are often portrayed and living? To reach one’s “higher self”, one must wake up inwardly to those elements that lead the soul (psychological and emotional state) astray.
[to wake my neighbors up]
The epigraph is quoted from the second chapter of W. It is omitted from many modern editions, and unfortunately so, for it sets the mood for the whole book. Broderick (1954) points out how this awakening and morning theme is a basic image carried throughout W. A possible source for T’s idea is Orestes Brownson’s statement in his Boston Quarterly Review in 1839 that he “aimed to startle, and made it a point to be as paradoxical and extravagant as he could.”