"Henry David Thoreau Study III" (2015) by Mathieu Laca
Both of the texts below are excerpts from Walden (1854).
Click here for the full text of "Where I Lived and What I Lived For."
1. The piece is full of philosophical references, ranging from Confucius to Hindu religious texts as when he mentions that "The Harivansa says, 'An abode without birds is like a meat without seasoning.'"
2. He says, “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” (Walden). Everything that he did in life, or tried to do, he did in order to live the life he wanted to live and do what he wanted to do.
3. Thoreau makes a clear transition from the search for real estate to his passion found in nature at Hallowell, despite the ruin of the home and land. Thoreau was, in fact, proud of this run-down place, saying “As I have said, I do not propose to write an ode to dejection, but to brag as lustily as chanticleer in the morning, standing on his roost, if only to wake my neighbors up [...]” [He] finds beauty in things [others] deem undesirable, which is reflected in his lifestyle and his writing in the rest of this passage.
4. By living out in this isolation from the rest of the world, Thoreau becomes in tune with nature and his own mind. [When he writes,] “The millions are awake enough for physical labor; but only one in a million is awake enough for effective intellectual exertion, only one in a hundred millions to a poetic or divine life. To be awake is to be alive....”, he is saying that by allowing yourself to be sucked into the everyday life that is expected of you, going with the stream, you are not “awake” or truly living. To me, this translates to the modern-day idea of being “woke” to societal wretchedness.
5. Thoreau goes from the search for and purchasing [of] his perfect land to [unloading] his burdened mind about the tediousness of society and life as a whole. He says “The nation itself, with all its so–called internal improvements, which, by the way are all external and superficial, is just such an unwieldy and overgrown establishment, cluttered with furniture and tripped up by its own traps, ruined by luxury and heedless expense, by want of calculation and a worthy aim, as the million households in the land; and the only cure for it, as for them, is in a rigid economy, a stern and more than Spartan simplicity of life and elevation of purpose. It lives too fast [....,”] ultimately [suggesting] that the nation and economy are a sham. He argues that society lives an unnecessarily fast-paced and luxurious life when all we really need is a simple means of living [...] ". . .
6. “The nation itself, with all its so-called internal improvements, which, by the way, are all external and superficial, is just an unwieldly and overgrown establishment...ruined by luxury and heedless expense,” (968). Thoreau feels that society is entirely superficial and shallow. The need to keep improving and growing has made society do the opposite, becoming innately stagnant. Everyone is living to impress, living to make money, living to be somebody. He feels that everyone is living for the wrong reasons, rather than enjoying what life should be when connected to nature.
7. In "Where I lived and What I Lived For," Thoreau writes, ["]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. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary." Essentially, Thoreau went to the woods to confront life in its most natural form without the burden of society. He says that the minutia of society is a distraction and that, "We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake." By being "awake," Thoreau talks about being completely present in the moment—living instead of tolerating life. [As he puts it,] "To be awake is to be alive."
8. I now view this as an escape from escapism. [As Thoreau asks,] “Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life? . . .. Men say that a stitch in time saves nine, and so they take a thousand stitches today to save nine tomorrow. . . . .” . . .Thoreau argues that we get lost in the trivial, that is why we should keep it simple.
9. In the stillness of the forest and feverish trill from bird-song, Thoreau extrapolates a bare-bones manifestation of essential vigor—in narration[.] [He] says, “We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep.” Without signaling alarm clock, or tolling bells from city tower, [. . .] he is aroused by the anticipation of the dawning light of morning, which, to a cabin-dwelling creature, is a preface to the day’s doing; he needn’t read the paper or review his timesheets (of which he is critical, challenging) . . . ; he awakens and lives with an internal propellant. Exemplifying this communion with earthen wonders, a passage reads, “Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself. I have been as sincere a worshipper of Aurora as the Greeks. I got up early and bathed in the pond; that was a religious exercise, and one of the best things which I did.”
Click here for the full text of "Conclusion."
6. Thoreau often uses rhetorical questions [,,,] throughout both of the chapters we read. In fact, there is a paragraph in the chapter “[Conclusion]” that is mostly questions:“Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed and in such desperate enterprises? If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. It is not important that he should mature as soon as an apple tree or an oak. Shall he turn his spring into summer? If the condition of things which we were made for is not yet, what were any reality which we can substitute? We will not be shipwrecked on a vain reality. Shall we with pains erect a heaven of blue glass over ourselves, though when it is done we shall be sure to gaze still at thetrue ethereal heaven far above, as if the former were not?”This whole paragraph uses rhetorical questions to drive home Thoreau’s point.
7. In "Where I lived and What I Lived For," Thoreau writes, ["]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. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary." Essentially, Thoreau went to the woods to confront life in its most natural form without the burden of society. He says that the minutia of society is a distraction and that, "We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake." By being "awake," Thoreau talks about being completely present in the moment—living instead of tolerating life. [As he puts it,] "To be awake is to be alive."
8. I now view this as an escape from escapism. [As Thoreau asks,] “Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life? . . .. Men say that a stitch in time saves nine, and so they take a thousand stitches today to save nine tomorrow. . . . .” . . .Thoreau argues that we get lost in the trivial, that is why we should keep it simple.
9. In the stillness of the forest and feverish trill from bird-song, Thoreau extrapolates a bare-bones manifestation of essential vigor—in narration[.] [He] says, “We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep.” Without signaling alarm clock, or tolling bells from city tower, [. . .] he is aroused by the anticipation of the dawning light of morning, which, to a cabin-dwelling creature, is a preface to the day’s doing; he needn’t read the paper or review his timesheets (of which he is critical, challenging) . . . ; he awakens and lives with an internal propellant. Exemplifying this communion with earthen wonders, a passage reads, “Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself. I have been as sincere a worshipper of Aurora as the Greeks. I got up early and bathed in the pond; that was a religious exercise, and one of the best things which I did.”
Click here for the full text of "Conclusion."
1. In his "Conclusion," Thoreau says, "I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live, and could not spare any more time for that one. It is remarkable how easily and insensibly we fall into a particular route, and make a beaten track for ourselves." Thoreau claims to have left because he had gotten comfortable. He says that he went there to be awakened, and then he got comfortable and fell back asleep, so he left to reawaken himself again. As his transcendentalist contemporary Emerson writes, "Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." To live fully, we need to keep ourselves awake and resist the urge to sleep.
2. Thoreau starts this passage by suggesting, in a way, that man should explore the inner most parts of themselves instead of being worried about exploring the physical world. He includes a stanza that says "Direct your eye right inward, and you'll find / A thousand regions in your mind / Yet undiscovered. Travel them, and be / Expert in home-cosmography[,]" insinuating that there is more to be seen inside of yourself than you would expect and that we should become familiar with ourselves, [but] this is a difficult thing to do. He says “…it is easier to sail many thousand miles through cold and storm and cannibals, in a government ship, with five hundred men and boys to assist one, than it is to explore the private sea, the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean of one's being alone [...]”, which speaks to the reasons that not many people do explore internally.
3. Purity and truth are not valued in Thoreau’s time and society or ours. Instead, we remain blissfully ignorant and walk blindly into the “ruts of tradition and conformity” Thoreau, however, encourages and celebrates individuality and the idea that each person has their own path in life. He says “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. It is not important that he should mature as soon as an apple tree or an oak. Shall he turn his spring into summer? If the condition of things which we were made for is not yet, what were any reality which we can substitute?” [I] understood this as every individual has their own time to accomplish what they are meant for. We are not, and cannot be, all on the same page in life. You must go at your own pace and progress how you may. We cannot substitute our destiny or compare it to anyone else’s. Although people are going to judge your journey based on where society thinks you should be in life, Thoreau says “The fault–finder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is.” I, personally, love this short sentiment
4. Thoreau places importance on the physical, tangible, present-moment way of living, one that is exemplified in his communion with nature at Walden Pond and challenges the notion that enlightenment could be informed by logical ponderance or conclusion. Further, Thoreau offers another verse, reading, “Direct your eye right inward, and you'll find / A thousand regions in your mind / Yet undiscovered. / Travel them, and be / Expert in home–cosmography." This could be interpreted as his endorsement of man to journey no certain depths unless having experienced journeying the nooks of his mind.
5. I’m puzzled as to what Thoreau meant [when he writes “I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”] Is he only referring to the fact he challenged himself to live in this cabin and by adhering to his experiment he achieved some grandiose goal? His statement of “in the direction of dreams” in specific is what gets me. How can one determine the direction of a dream? Maybe that’s why he advised for a simpler life, perhaps the direction will become clearer.
2. Thoreau starts this passage by suggesting, in a way, that man should explore the inner most parts of themselves instead of being worried about exploring the physical world. He includes a stanza that says "Direct your eye right inward, and you'll find / A thousand regions in your mind / Yet undiscovered. Travel them, and be / Expert in home-cosmography[,]" insinuating that there is more to be seen inside of yourself than you would expect and that we should become familiar with ourselves, [but] this is a difficult thing to do. He says “…it is easier to sail many thousand miles through cold and storm and cannibals, in a government ship, with five hundred men and boys to assist one, than it is to explore the private sea, the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean of one's being alone [...]”, which speaks to the reasons that not many people do explore internally.
3. Purity and truth are not valued in Thoreau’s time and society or ours. Instead, we remain blissfully ignorant and walk blindly into the “ruts of tradition and conformity” Thoreau, however, encourages and celebrates individuality and the idea that each person has their own path in life. He says “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. It is not important that he should mature as soon as an apple tree or an oak. Shall he turn his spring into summer? If the condition of things which we were made for is not yet, what were any reality which we can substitute?” [I] understood this as every individual has their own time to accomplish what they are meant for. We are not, and cannot be, all on the same page in life. You must go at your own pace and progress how you may. We cannot substitute our destiny or compare it to anyone else’s. Although people are going to judge your journey based on where society thinks you should be in life, Thoreau says “The fault–finder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is.” I, personally, love this short sentiment
4. Thoreau places importance on the physical, tangible, present-moment way of living, one that is exemplified in his communion with nature at Walden Pond and challenges the notion that enlightenment could be informed by logical ponderance or conclusion. Further, Thoreau offers another verse, reading, “Direct your eye right inward, and you'll find / A thousand regions in your mind / Yet undiscovered. / Travel them, and be / Expert in home–cosmography." This could be interpreted as his endorsement of man to journey no certain depths unless having experienced journeying the nooks of his mind.
5. I’m puzzled as to what Thoreau meant [when he writes “I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”] Is he only referring to the fact he challenged himself to live in this cabin and by adhering to his experiment he achieved some grandiose goal? His statement of “in the direction of dreams” in specific is what gets me. How can one determine the direction of a dream? Maybe that’s why he advised for a simpler life, perhaps the direction will become clearer.
6. Thoreau often uses rhetorical questions [,,,] throughout both of the chapters we read. In fact, there is a paragraph in the chapter “[Conclusion]” that is mostly questions:“Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed and in such desperate enterprises? If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. It is not important that he should mature as soon as an apple tree or an oak. Shall he turn his spring into summer? If the condition of things which we were made for is not yet, what were any reality which we can substitute? We will not be shipwrecked on a vain reality. Shall we with pains erect a heaven of blue glass over ourselves, though when it is done we shall be sure to gaze still at thetrue ethereal heaven far above, as if the former were not?”This whole paragraph uses rhetorical questions to drive home Thoreau’s point.
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