Analysis of Walden

Robert
Mr. B. Wilson
English II (2)
16 January 2013
Analysis of Walden Walden is a fictional journal about Henry David Thoreau’s two year experience in a log cabin in the woods. After building the small, plain cabin, Thoreau was typically free (apart from a little growing of beans, in which he sold at the market). He spent his time walking, reading, watching birds, writing, and just simply living. Thoreau was inspired to write Walden, because he believed individuals should be self-reliant, self-disciplined, and live a simple life; Thoreau believed in the concept of individualism. Henry David Thoreau was born and raised in Concord, Massachusetts. He had an older brother John, an older sister Helen, and a younger sister Sophia. Thoreau went to Harvard College, where he studied Greek and German. After college, Thoreau moved in with writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, where he became his caretaker. Emerson became Thoreau’s mentor; he supported many of Thoreau’s ideas, pieces, and views. Emerson opened many opportunities up to Thoreau; Emerson gave Thoreau access to his land near Walden Pond. In which Thoreau used to build a one room cabin, leading to the writing to one of his most famous works, Walden. Living in the woods for two years isolated, allowed Thoreau to look at life in a different way. A more simplistic way, living in the woods allowed Thoreau to develop unique views that were unlike many. Not always praised for his views, Thoreau encouraged people to differ themselves from one another. He wanted people to express their individuality, “Let him step to the music which he hears” (Walden 326). People talked about living in the woods for two years like Thoreau. Instead of being flattered he was angered. Thoreau was disgusted with the thought of these people emulating him, because of individualism. In conclusion, Walden is a reading about a man isolating himself from reality, a time in Thoreau’s life in which he spent observing rather than living. Thoreau lived a more simplistic life, trying to differ himself from one and all; he expressed the importance of individuals becoming their own.

Works Cited
"Henry David Thoreau." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jan 14 2013, 10:21 <http://www.biography.com/people/henry-david-thoreau-9506784>.
Witherell, Elizabeth. "The Writings of Henry David Thoreau." 1995. Thoreau Library. 14 January 2013 <http://thoreau.library.ucsb.edu/thoreau_life.html>.

Cited: "Henry David Thoreau." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jan 14 2013, 10:21 &lt;http://www.biography.com/people/henry-david-thoreau-9506784&gt;. Witherell, Elizabeth. "The Writings of Henry David Thoreau." 1995. Thoreau Library. 14 January 2013 &lt;http://thoreau.library.ucsb.edu/thoreau_life.html&gt;.