Transcendentalism in Walden by H.D.Thoreau - Book Report/Review Example

Introduction Henry David Thoreau’s Walden a non-fiction work was first published in 1854 and is replete with themes of Transcendentalism.(Whicher, 1945, 11) Transcendentalism is founded on a principles of inner and spiritual self. (Gohdes, 2003, 3-16) Walden’s approach to Transcendentalism is evidenced in Thoreau’s emphasis on solitude, self-reliance, contemplation and connection to nature. (Whicher, 1945, 33-40) Solitude, self-reliance and closeness to nature, concurrent themes throughout Walden are represented as key elements for successful transcending current cultural and societal mores that are deeply rooted in materialism. (Whicher, 1945, 33-40) Setting Walden was first published as Life in the Woods (Thoreau, 2004, iv) and the title itself is an accurate reflection of Thoreau’s setting for this non-fiction narrative on Transcendentalism. Thoreau’s work Walden focuses on his hiatus from mainstream society in which he took up residence on a plot of land just outside of Concord, Massachusetts. The land was owned by Thoreau’s mentor and friend Ralph Waldo Emerson. Thoreau resided on the plot, near Walden Pond for just over two years and during that time he constructed a cabin and while he buys food, he supplements his budget by growing some of his food. Thoreau explains the setting for Walden in his opening chapter as follows: “When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had build myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only. I live there two years and two months.” (Thoreau, 2004, 1) The setting is not more than a prelude to simplicity. It is within this setting that Thoreau’s rhetoric thrives. The quasi-isolationist background and the simple lifestyle is thought provoking. Not only is Thoreau driven to contemplate, his reader is as well. Bickman puts Walden’s setting in its proper rhetorical perspective: “It embeds itself in the Western philosophical and religious tradition only to undermine its basic assumptions. And it engages all these complexities in the context of a plea for simplicity, simplicity. Its final wisdom is that there is no final wisdom, that all truths are mediate, volatile, and that what can be conveyed to a reader is not a teaching but an intensity of response to life.” (Bickman,1992, 121) This rhetoric is exposed in the manner in which Thoreau spends his time in his rustic setting. His mornings are consumed with cultivating his bean farm and his afternoons are left for contemplation. He devotes the latter half of the day to reading and taking in the country. Throughout his descriptions, Thoreau emphasises the satisfaction this simple, rustic lifestyle brings, particularly its departure from the stifling and suffocation life associated with materialism. In this rustic setting where Thoreau commits great attention to nature, noting the seasons during his break from civilization, Thoreau is unable to completely escape. He is reminded of technological advancements when the Fitchburg Railroad passes Walden Pond with the result that he is forced to break from his contemplative existence and reflect upon the power of advanced science. His isolation is also interspersed with social interaction with railway workers, farmers and on occasion a visitor to his cabin. Thoreau also makes a number of social visits of his own. Having lived in this manner for just over two years, Thoreau returns to society in September 1847. (Thoreau, 2004) He is revitalized by his rustic experience and can find the greatest pleasure from the simplest aspects of his life, an appreciation made possible by his communion with nature and thought. He has concluded that with simplicity comes freedom and expresses this revelation as follows: “...as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be...” (Thoreau, 2004, 306) Important Themes The most prominent themes throughout Thoreau’s Walden are self-reliance, simplicity and the fallacies of modernization. Thoreau takes the position that independence/self-reliance is necessary for human fulfilment. Thoreau’s isolation helps him to cultivate an aura of self-reliance. He finds he is able to entertain himself with the pleasantries and wonders associated with nature, for instance, the march of the ants occupy his time with no cost to him and entertains him as thoroughly as a night at the salon. (Thoreau, 2004) Thoreau’s emphasis on self-reliance is more poignantly manifested in his exploitation of himself. He makes his living by virtue of the fruit of his own labor and anything that he eats is derived either from his own labor. He either produces food or he earns income with which to buy food. However, Thoreau does not extol mere economic self-sufficiency. He also advances the notion of spiritual self-reliance. Although he does not advocate a total break from social connections he does not go out of his way to maintain these connections. He advances the ideology that self is central to humanity and the idea of individualism is a prominent feature of human satisfaction. Man must remain in harmony with nature in order to obtain self-reliance and human satisfaction as man is mere manifestation of nature. Thoreau explains this juxtaposition as follows: “A field of water betrays the spirit that is in the air. It is continually receiving new life and motion from above. It is intermediate in its nature between land and sky. On land only the grass and tress wave, but the water itself is rippled by the wind.” (Thoreau, 2004, 155) In many ways Thoreau is explaining as he does throughout Walden, that just as the pond reflects all that is around it, the human soul is a reflection of the self and the world that influences it. By remaining in close proximity with nature and adhering to a strict policy of self-reliance the human soul is at peace and that which is reflected is pure self-satisfaction. This journey to self-reliance is important to Thoreau who views mainstream America as entirely replete with a “mass of men” who “lead lives of quiet desperation.” (Thoreau, 2004, 1) Man’s propensity to find happiness by virtue of an accumulation of wealth and material possession leads to nothing but conflict and discontent. (Thoreau, 2004) Happiness is within and by coming into harmony with nature as a means of developing self-reliance man can escape the despair and desperation with which he pursues ideals of happiness measured by material possessions. Thoreau theorizes that: “You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours even in a poor-house. The setting sun in reflected from the windows of the alms-house as brightly as from the rich man’s abode; the snow melts before its door as early in the spring. I do not see but a quiet main may live as contentedly there, and have as cheering thoughts, as in a palace.” (Thoreau, 2004, 305) The theme of self-reliance is intricately tied to Thoreau’s concept of the virtues of simplicity. By adhering to a simple lifestyle as Thoreau did in Walden not only does man find satisfaction from cultivating his own self-reliance, but he finds that he can depart from the complexities of materialism. By doing so he finds just as many pleasure in simplicity as he finds in socializing in mainstream America. In fact, he can gain pleasure by virtue of simplicity without the anxieties the pervade mainstream America. Moreover, the drive to accumulate wealth is futile since at the end of the day man and his wealth will part ways. Thoreau writes: “But men labor under a mistake. The better part of the man is soon plowed into the soil for compost. By a seeming fate, commonly called necessity, they are employed...laying up treasures with moth and rust will corrupt and thieves break through and steal. It is fool’s life, as they will find when they get to the end of it, if not before.” (Thoreau, 2004, 5) In other words, man should strive to live in the simplest of fashions, aspiring to acquire only that which is necessary for comfort and sustenance. Anything else is wasteful and of no real consequence, except of course to increase immense pressure, an unnecessary barrier to human satisfaction and peace. Technological advancements are largely viewed by Thoreau throughout Walden as another barrier to simplicity and self-reliance. It cuts man off from nature and by doing so cuts man off from his inner-self. The overall result is the cultivation of dependence. In his chapter titled Sounds, Thoreau is unappreciative of the intrusive nature of modern technology as he finds his solitude invaded by the sounds of the Fitchburg train. He describes the disruptive nature of the train when it breaks through the peace and silence of his rustic dwelling as follows: “And hark! Here comes the cattle-train bearing the cattle of a thousand hills, sheepcots, stables, and cow-yards in the air, drovers with their sticks, and shepherd boys in the midst of their flocks, all but the mountain pastures, whirled along like leaves blown from the mountains by the September gales.” (Thoreau, 2004, 99) More importantly, advances in technology to not only disrupt and upset the balance of nature, it generates a false sense of progress. (Thoreau, 2004) Certainly the train facilitates the speed with which man can get from one point to another and by doing so offers up economy of time with the result that man obtains a greater measure of freedom. That may be so, but while the train gives with one hand it takes away with the other. Far from allowing man economy of time it functions to place constraints on man’s time by tying him to train schedules and their travel routes. Moreover, Thoreau questions the need for man to travel to far off places when he can just as easily obtain the same satisfaction he desires abroad right at home. (Thoreau, 2004) Conclusion Although disjointed in its layout, Walden is consistent in its message. Mainstream America is fast becoming disillusioned by social mores which promote happiness built upon accumulation of wealth when there is so much more to life. By directing their lives toward accumulation of wealth the reliance on modern technology is misplaced. If man were to look inward and somehow close the gap between himself and nature he could find happiness and pleasure with little effort. This happiness is derived from self-reliance and the inner peace associated with a close communion with nature. Close connections with nature dispenses with the need for extravagance, the catalyst for man’s obsession with material possession and the disruptive consequences of modern technology. Bibliography Bickman, Martin. Walden: Volatile Truths. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1992 Gohdes, Clarence. Periodicals in American Transcendentalism. Kessinger Publishing, 2003 Thoreau, Henry, David. Walden. Boston: Beacon Press, 2004 Whicher, George, F. Walden Revisited: A Centennial Tribute to Henry David Thoreau. New York: Packard, 1945 Read More