Written by Henry David Thoreau, Walden; or Life in the Woods, is an text that symbolizes the journey of the author himself whilst spending two years isolated in the forest discovering self relience and naturalism. This 1854 text has oftan been referred to as an American classic as most people first discovered or learned about it in their middle childhood. Although Thoreau originally wrote the journal without the intention of publishing it, his work was undeniably one of the greatest publications from the transcendentalist movement. Publically agreeing with Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thoreau used his experience with self isolation to advocate others on the important of self relience. In Walden, Thoreau famously quoted "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" (Dhalla). It is also within this text that Thoreau discussed his grasp between the literal world and the beauties taken so quickly for granted, and the metaphorical views that that separate human intellegience from other species.
Although conspiracies exist that Thoreau was engaging in a drug induced lifestyle while writing Walden, there is no proof that states whether the writer was influenced by any independent variables. What modern day people do know about Thoreau and his work Walden though is the importance of isolation throughout his journey at the pond (Mcnabuk). Without the discipline Thoreau established for himself, he would not have experienced the revelations that came to be Walden.
Works Cited
Buske, Erwin. “Journey to Your Own Walden Pond: Thoreau’s Legacy and Message to a Modern World.” Erwin Buske Photography Blog, 1 Apr. 2020, erwinbuske.photo.blog/2019/06/04/journey-to-walden-pond-thoreaus-legacy-and-message-to-a-modern-world/.
Dhalla, Adam. “The Right Philosophy for Our Times.” Medium, Curious, 27 Feb. 2021, medium.com/curious/the-right-philosophy-for-our-times-356b723b6ae4.
Mcnabuk, Iain. “Visiting Walden Pond.” Century Wood - Notes from a Shropshire Woodland, 14 Apr. 2019, centurywood.uk/2019/04/15/visiting-walden-pond/.
“Walden Pond.” Short Stories & Classic Literature for Readers & Teachers, 2022, americanliterature.com/author/henry-david-thoreau/book/walden-pond/summary.
“Walden.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2 May 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden#/media/File:Walden_Thoreau.jpg.