Essays on Walden

Henry David Thoreau was a 19th Century American writer and philosopher. He is well known for his book, ​Walden, ​which he writes in isolation in a small cabin in the woods. Thoreau decides to leave society and retreat into the woods to live simply and…

“Our life is frittered away by detail.” As individuals, we center much of our consciousness on the materialistic aspects of life which renders us blind to its more salient features. We need to live in a simplified manner in order to perceive all that living…

Walden was written in the spirit to prove that man could live on much fewer expenses and thus the effort a man put into earning the money to buy them was unnecessary. Before diving deeper, Thoreau fails to point out that one of his friends…

“Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves”. Henry Thereau wrote this statement in his essay “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” that corresponds to his book “Walden”. The disobedience he refers to in this quote is civil disobedience that he…

Each experience we have throughout our lives, negative or positive, is an opportunity to learn and grow. From those experiences, we make changes, adapt, and adjust. If we look at them in a positive light, we can actually move our lives forward and become better…

Isolation: Knowledge of Oneself Beyond What Society Could Ever Teach Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden” announces that Thoreau spent two years in Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts, living a simple life supported by no one. The episode was both experimental and temporary. A way in which…

Philanthropy in Thoreau’s Walden When you first start reading Henry David Thoreau’s book, Walden, there are so many things that demand to analyze. The multiple topics that exist within the book are numerous, yet there are several that stick out amongst the rest. One of…

Snakes and Other Creatures in Thoreau’s Walden In Walden Pond, Thoreau certainly describes animals from an observatory standpoint more so than an integrated standpoint. While Thoreau does seem to gain genuine peace and friendship from the creatures around him, it is more apparent that they…

Thoreau is encouraging us to wake ourselves up spiritually. The original consciousness that he is referring to is likely an attitude in which one takes nature for granted and does not ‘awaken’ their heart and soul. Thoreau similarly stresses that this will lead to a…