Thoreaus Ideas of Sound - Essay Example

Thoreau’s Ideas of Sound Thoreau enters the concept of sound after pointing out that while books are important, they are only metaphor and that the truth can be found in aspects around us that are directly observable such as sound. It was because of this that Thoreau spent most of the summer hoeing beans, claiming that it was better than reading as it allowed him to be in closer contact with Nature. Thoreau’s favorite aspect of being out-of-doors was the numerous sounds of the outdoors and the animals in their natural habitats. Thoreau admitted to growing the most during his time spent on his doorstep, reveling in what Nature had to offer him. He would observe his surroundings as a bystander, enjoying it without becoming involved in it. “As the sparrow had its trill, sitting on the hickory before my door, so had I my chuckle or suppressed warble which he might hear out of my nest.” Thoreau did all that he could to not disturb the natural sounds around him by making his own sounds that would be out of place in this natural setting. Thoreau implemented Nature into every aspect of his life with the greatest focus on cleaning his home. He would muse over how he felt seeing his furniture out of his house in comparison to the natural surroundings. “It was pleasant to see my whole household effects out on the grass [...] and my three-legged table [...] standing amid the pines and hickories. They seemed glad to get out themselves, and as if unwilling to be brought in. I was sometimes tempted to stretch an awning over them and take my seat there. It was worth the while to see the sun shine on these things, and hear the free wind blow on them; so much more interesting most familiar objects look out of doors than in the house.” He appreciated waking up early to tend to the cleaning of his floors, finding a unique experience every time that he did because Nature would always offer him something new. After he finished, he would be able to spend the rest of his day in meditation amongst the various sounds of his nature home. Being in the situation that Thoreau was in, living in Nature with no modern-world distraction, he had numerous opportunities to listen to the sounds around him and be undistracted by the rush and hum of life. He became as tuned in to Nature as Nature was tuned it with itself as a whole. He would not only hear all of the subtle sounds of the forest and understand what had taken place, but he had grown to appreciate all of it. “As I sat at my window, so heedlessly did they grow and tax their weak joints, I heard a fresh and tender bough suddenly fall like a fan to the ground, when there was not a breath of air stirring, broken off by its own weight.” Thoreau knew every whim of his forest setting, mainly by paying attention and deciphering the sounds. Thoreau became so adapted to the sounds around him that he was even able to pick out sounds that did not really exist. He found sounds when the pigeons flew past his house, or when the fish hawk would grab a fish from the pond. He was able to hear it when the mink would attack frogs by the shore of the pond. These were sounds that, while clearly in existent, were often gone missed by other people. The calls of pigeons could be heard by others if they listened hard enough, but it takes someone who is truly in-tune with Nature to hear the most subtle sounds. Due to the amount of time that Thoreau dedicated to the annoyance of the locomotive that passed his home quite often, it is clear that he became bothered by the interruption of Nature by such modern creations. However, this did not stop him from comparing the sound that the train and its whistle would make as it approached to aspects of Nature that he was familiar with. “[...] sounding like the scream of a hawk sailing over some farmer’s yard, informing me that many restless city merchants are arriving.” It was as though Thoreau was trying to compensate the interruption of mankind by comparing it to Nature. The incident of hearing the railroad cars moving along the tracks prompted an extended meditation on the relationship of man to nature. Thoreau originally responded to the sounds of the train as normal people would. He was bothered by the disruption, feeling a great distaste for the loud, clanging noise. It bothered him that it was this train that disturbed the natural peace and quiet of Nature. These thoughts led to the concept that some aspects of the modern human world were not always horrible. The trains, for example, allowed people to get from one place to another, especially if they were great distances from each other. However, almost in the same breath, Thoreau realises that trains have taken away from a more simple time of life, when travels were done by means of walking or loading wagons - methods that did not involve disturbing Nature. Furthermore, these methods of transportation actually allowed these people to become closer to Nature. It aggravated Thoreau to realise that while people had come along way in regard to technology and amazing inventions that they had really set themselves quite far back by abandoning Nature for these wonderful creations. It became rather confusing trying to decipher how Thoreau really felt about the existence of the train, especially as it was so close to his new home. He understood its purpose in the modern world, yet he found it difficult to comprehend why people would want to trade such peaceful methods of transportation for something that was painful to the ears. More over, it clashed intensely, both the train and its noise, against the peaceful, beautiful serenity of the forest. Thoreau, perhaps in keeping with the natural surroundings, tends to match unnatural sounds to natural beings like when he calls the train the iron horse. A horse essential held the same purpose that the train now does; a horse just would have made more sense being in Nature. He tried to give these unnatural sounds and aspects purposes and meanings that would fit the natural aspects. “If the cloud that hangs over the engine were the perspiration of heroic deeds, or as beneficent as that which floats over the farmers fields, then the elements and Nature herself would cheerfully accompany men on their errands and be their escort.” As Thoreau continues to bask on his front steps with his book, more sounds reach him, the sounds of a cattle truck full of cattle and sheep. He can hear the bell-wether at the head of the cattle train ring his bell. These sounds remind him of the pastoral times when people only knew how to live like this. Unfortunately, Thoreau is once again interrupted by thoughts of the sound of the train. “[..] but I will cross it like a cart-path in the woods. I will not have my eyes put out and my ears spoiled by its smoke and steam and hissing.” Try as he might, he could not escape the presence of the train. It was if the train had become an unwanted companion during his stay in the forest. What Thoreau spends much of this section trying to get across to the reader is how most sounds, regardless of how unnatural they are, can still be natural. Despite this, he still points out that even though they can be natural they still may be unwanted to the listener. One cannot escape the creations of mankind and get in touch with Nature without first leaving behind the creations of man. As Thoreau divulges so much on the passing train, it becomes clear just how annoyed he is by the modernity of humanity, especially when it came to the sounds. Nature, he thought, was a peaceful, quiet place, a place where one would not expect to hear a train so closely. It is easy to imagine that kind of figurative pain that Thoreau went through as he tried to block those sounds from his ears, trying to hold tight to the sounds that he connected with Nature. Sounds are a vital part of being in-tune with Nature. Thoreau even considered keeping a cockerel for the sake of simply hearing what one sounds like. It is a very simple thing for people to be able to see what is around them, and to understand their existences and purposes, but it can be an almost impossible feat to really hear the music that Nature has to offer to the listener. This is a feat that Thoreau had been able to overcome. Read More