Essays on Walden

Often referred to as the leading writer of transcendentalism, Unitarian Ralph Waldo Emerson directed thousands in the 19th century to rediscovery of self through his literature. Among them, young New Englander Henry David Thoreau mirrored Emerson’s revolutionary ideas yet simultaneously brought new ideals. In their...

One of the more superficial lessons often gleaned from Thoreau’s Walden is the superiority of the “natural” laws of time over those of commercially-motivated, fast-paced humans. This viewpoint has its supports in Thoreau’s almost constant juxtaposition of timeless, melodious birdsong to the screeching, interruptive quality...

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary nature is define as, “The physical world and everything such as plants, animals, mountains, oceans, stars, etc., that is not made by people.” Many people in our society today would say nature is just animals, trees and rocks. Not many people...

In Thoreau’s story “Walden” he is trying to get the message across to the reader that it doesn’t take a lot to live a good life. A good life can be acquired with the simple things that surrounds us every day. He points out that...

The autobiography Walden, or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau is a personal narrative describing how and why he performed his experiment of living at Walden Pond, close to nature. “Economy” describes Thoreau’s personal experience in the beginning of his time at Walden,...

American culture has a notoriously rapid pace and obvious state of exhaustion which accompanies an overexertion of the mind, body, and spirit of a person. In this hustle and bustle it becomes easy to lose sight of the ideals set for happiness and overall lifestyle....

Henry Thoreau’s Walden is often classified as a philosophical autobiography recounting his two-year experience living in a woodland outside Concord, Massachusetts. Residing in a tiny cabin overlooking Walden Pond, Thoreau spent his days observing nature, meeting travelers, baking bread and planting seeds. The importance of...

“As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.” This is a quote from Walden, a prose written by the American writer and philosopher, Henry David Thoreau who...

The Autobiography Walden, written by Henry David Thoreau shows the impact Transcendentalism had on Thoreau’s outlook on life. In the book Walden, Thoreau uses long informal sentences, many rhetorical strategies throughout his writing and is partially expressing his feelings on Transcendentalism and the main three...

One is so completely consumed in his own world that he becomes ignorant to the rut he has fallen into, a rut known as conformity. He or she craves materialistic possessions as if he were a drug addict. The endless pursuit of the next best...