Walden by Henry Thoreau. What Ann Dillard and Henry Thoreau has in similarities - Essay Example

? What Ann Dillard and Henry Thoreau has in similarities Henry Thoreau in his book Walden reveals his experimentation with personal sovereignty and self-sufficiency. The book takes the reader into a journey of the Walden Pond by which the author resided for 26 long months. The book is a work of the author’s self-discovery, the discovery of individuality and the discovery of the right path to lead a life of peace and satisfaction. The author harps on how human being wastes their labor on “excessive toil” (Thoreau) but fails to acquire the “true integrity” (Thoreau). Taking a cue from the work of Henry Thoreau and inspired by the author, the book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard revolves around the Dillard’s life about how she spent her life in the Tinker Creek of Virginia. Dillard spends her days in the lap of nature by walking through the woods, watching the cows, ducks, frogs, and observing the praying mantis pod which is evident when she talks about her spending time by sitting “on a fallen trunk in the shade and watch the squirrels in the sun” (Dillard, 6). She spends her life amidst the nature, “A couple of summers ago I was walking along the edge of the island to see what I could see in the water, and mainly to scare frogs” (Dillard, 7). The writing reveals her alternate revelation of the natural beauty and the philosophical muse. Through the book the author makes an attempt to explore the true characteristics of nature that surrounds the living world. The author pens down her thoughts as she observes the harmony of nature at the eponymous Tinker Creek during her stay at the place. The book is a work of chronicle, science, anthropology, myths, and way of life, divinity, and environmentalism. The book reveals the existence of the mixture of sublime character and a horrific character in the Nature. (Dillard) However despite the similar themes in the works, there are some differences in their approaches. Walden is a work of Henry Thoreau that mainly revolves around his stay at the woods by the side of the Walden Pond, where he went for the quest of self discovery, as he feels that human beings spent their time in “mere ignorance and mistakes” (Thoreau). On the contrary Anna Dillard’s stay in the forest has been mainly to understand the true character of the Mother Nature and discern her natural world. It is a book that navigates between the paradox of celebrating and mourning, “I used to have a cat, an old fighting tom, who would jump through the open window by my bed in the middle of the night and land on my chest……Some nights he kneaded my bare chest with his front paws, powerfully, arching his back, …… And some mornings I’d wake in daylight to find my body covered with paw prints in blood; I looked as though I’d been painted with roses.” (Dillard, 3) Dillard’s writing explores between the true nature of the red stains- was it the bloodstain or the roses painted. She makes an effort to know the answer of whether nature is that harmonious and unified system that operates according to the principles of co-dependence and compassion or it is the force, which is hardhearted and unthinking and has an eerie mystery and obscurity in it. (Dillard) Thoreau’s book is more about renouncing the worldly pleasures an idea of “get away from all” whereas, Dillard’s stay is more about finding the true aspect of Nature and to discover the mysticism in it. While Walden reveals that Thoreau was not living the life of a hermit, which is evident from the chapter “Visitors” when he says “I have had twenty five or thirty souls with their bodies, at once under my roof”, Dillard’s writing reveals that there was no connection with the community. Thoreau withdrew from the community to lead a life, which is prophetically outside the society, but the writing of Dillard reveals the escapist nature of the author when she says, “I shy away from the arts, from the emotional human stew…and I drive myself deeper and deeper into exile from my own kind.” (Dillard, 181) The very lines of the text is self explanatory that the author tries escaping the human world and prefers being in the nature in amid serenity and tranquility. Both Walden and Pilgrim at Tinker Creek reveal transcendentalism. Thoreau’s transcendentalism is revealed through his description of the nature beautifully - “the sand cherry with its delicate flowers” (Thoreau). On the other hand, Dillard’s transcendentalism is more ornamented with illustrations from quantum physics and biochemistry. Both the books harp on understanding of one’s inner self, that is, the self-discovery. Thoreau’s quest is in self-discovery and experimenting personal independence and self-reliance. Similarly Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is about understanding one own self and their place in the world by the honest confrontation of the paradoxes of nature. As a “pilgrim” Dillard seeks enlightenment, which is related to the mysterious presence of God amidst nature. It is evident after reading both the books that Thoreau as well as Dillard believes in self-discovery in the presence of harmony and symphony of nature. Both the works of literature makes an effort to approach the human problem in the world as the human species with the advancement of technology is getting separated from God. As both Dillard and Thoreau reside in relatively solitary lives where they are in close proximity with nature they come across common. Their encounters include phenomena like sandbanks, dead frogs and likes. These phenomena have been used in the literary work to use as metaphors to articulate the deeper universal truths. At the end both of them accomplish that man should take out time from his busy schedule to realize their status and where they stand in the vast nature. In this context, Thoreau says, “I do not say that John and Jonathan will realize all this; but such is the character of that tomorrow which lapse of time can never make to dawn. The light, which puts out eyes, is darkness to us. Only that dawns to which we are awake.” (Thoreau) Thoreau is of the opinion that every individual will not realize the importance of self-discovery but at the same time sooner or later man will realize the need of the self-discovery and self-realization. He will realize that the light that shines so bright will distance him from the nature’s association. Walden by Thoreau has inspired many writers to follow the league and Annie Dillard has been one of them. The work Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is largely inspired by Walden. Both the works reveal the writers’ self discovery after distancing them from the modern urbane world. They both inhabit in a transitional landscapes. Both the places, the Walden Pond and the Tinker Creek, are neither town nor complete wilderness. It is these works of sojourns that make the readers realize the need of discovering their own self and thereby understand the place where human being stands in the world. But in reality it is the love and kindness of the association and community, which makes one, understands one’s own place in the world and the purpose for their very existence. References: 1. Dillard, Annie, “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek”, Harper Perennial Modern Classics; First Edition, 1998. 2. Thoreau, Henry, Economy, Walden, June 7, 2011 from: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/walden/hdt01.html Read More