Preview

Theme Of Simplicity In Walden

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
153 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Theme Of Simplicity In Walden
The theme of the value of simplicity is present in the first chapter, “Economy” of Henry David Thoreau’s memoir Walden. In this chapter, Thoreau discusses how people desire to acquire opulent possessions because they feel to do so would improve their welfare. To refute this belief, he expresses attempting to obtain luxury would not be beneficial towards one’s betterment, but serve as an impediment. Instead of striving to possess what is sumptuous, Thoreau feels people should be content with having the four necessities nature provides humans with which are food, clothing, shelter and fuel (Thoreau 10). According to him, living a non-complex lifestyle is much better, for if one were to live in such a way, they would be able to have a lot more
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis of “Where I Lived, and What I Lived for” by: Henry David Thoreau
    • 498 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis of “Where I Lived, and What I Lived for” by: Henry David Thoreau

    Through paragraphs 7 and 8, Henry David Thoreau utilizes certain rhetorical strategies to convey his attitude toward life, generally being that he dislikes the impostor way of life in which everyone lives now. His message through this writing of his is that he plans to actually “live” the ideal way of life, which is the way of life that has always been meant to be for everyone.…

    • 498 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Walden Two And Anthem: A Comparative Analysis
    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Walden Two And Anthem: A Comparative Analysis

    Lastly, both the City and Walden Two strive for self-sustenance. In Anthem, this is achieved through creating and maintaining a static labor system, which is rarely improved, as the Councils discourage the kind of the creative thinking that could conceive technological advances to lighten the workers’ loads. Walden Two, on the other hand, readily accepts advancements that “‘get rid of the work, not the worker’” (pg. 69), condensing the work day into four…

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Did Henry David Thoreau's Influence On Walden
    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Did Henry David Thoreau's Influence On Walden

    When people think of economy they think of the money and power as expressed by the government of a nation. Even though this is the opinion expressed by many people Henry David Thoreau explains the true meaning of the word. The management of the household. Thoreau cultivates his thoughts on living off of the basics that life has to offer by entering the wilderness and building a home that he may call his own. “Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them.” Thoreau believes in spending his time giving each part of life attention, whether it is observing humans or nature. Believing that the human body has few needs that are used to protect and preserve their temples or bodies: food, shelter, clothing, and fuel. Thoreau focused on these core values that allowed him to live life to its fullest potential while in his home surrounded by…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Walden Argument
    • 400 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Walden Argument

    In the excerpt from the second chapter of Walden titled “Where I Lived and What I Lived For,” Thoreau crafts an intricate argument which advocates for self-realization within every individual. The specific quote I chose from the excerpt struck me deeply as the rhetoric question that is produced at the beginning of it explains how I feel on most days as I give “so poor an account” of my day each night. Continually throughout my life, I have gone through the motions of a typical day with the structure presented by school and the homework that follows me after I leave. Furthermore, sports and volunteering are ingrained within the mix but still play a part in the structured daily cycle. As time has passed the cycle has stayed rather consistent,…

    • 400 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Free Adler Essays: Rhetorical Analysis
    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Free Adler Essays: Rhetorical Analysis

    Henry David Thoreau’s thesis is everyone can think, but not everyone can write their thoughts down. With that being said, some of us neglect our thoughts and feelings. Therefore, some of us have trouble forming our own minds. His conclusion reinforce the main idea by the belief that we must endeavour more to improve ourselves. In addition, if we do so we are able to weigh and…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Stuck At The Pier Analysis
    • 793 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Stuck At The Pier Analysis

    Nature, as an omnipotent entity, should be given respect from humanity. We rely on nature to sustain our own existence. During the time of your writing Walden, you, Thoreau, stated the standard to take from nature only necessities for survival. Throughout your stay in the cabin near the pond, you did not waste time gluttonously divulging in the many foods that could have been created from the nature in the vast farming area near your home. Many could argue that taking more than you need can help you in the long run; however, while spending time to gain a transcendentalist mindset on life, I have come to the conclusion that doing that will only result in a waste of time and effort. As a perfect example of this transcendentalist ideal, my mother’s garden is grown solely used for home cooking, a custom lost in many homes in our society instead of creating a profit through selling her fruits and vegetables, which would only cause her to put in more effort on her…

    • 793 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Pumpkin: The Transcendentalist Ideas
    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Pumpkin: The Transcendentalist Ideas

    There’s no point in expressing uniqueness through living arts without living through them. But according to Thoreau food, clothes, and housing structures should be kept simple.…

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Critique of Walden Two
    • 1189 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Critique of Walden Two

    The behavioral practices shown in Walden Two produce a self reliant and efficient adult. The first topic that I felt strongly about was education. The way education is viewed in Frazier’s utopian world is brilliant. Compared to the Walden Two educational system I find the grade-based school system slightly barbaric. The second topic that interested me is adolescent reproduction, which was encouraged in Walden Two also. It interested me on how Frazier structured the educational system in the minds of adolescents and how they can handle the weight of parenthood.…

    • 1189 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Henry David Thoreau Analysis
    • 265 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Henry David Thoreau Analysis

    “Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are really after.” Henry David Thoreau. Many men go fishing for fish, but they actually go fishing to reminisce about their lives, all their hopes and dreams, and all that they have accomplished over the years. Some find what they need, and they aren’t even aware of it.…

    • 265 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Transcendendalist theories and beliefs, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thoreau, transcendentalism today
    • 430 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Transcendendalist theories and beliefs, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thoreau, transcendentalism today

    Simplicity is the state of being simple, uncomplicated, or uncompounded. Simplifying life cuts back on stress and worries. What's the point in owning 50 pairs of shoes, when all that is really needed is 1 good pair that can be worn every day? Simplifying life cuts back on unnecessary items, there fore cutting back on stress. Today people are more materialistic then ever. They need everything and will buy anything. People forget that man makes possessions, possessions don't make the man.…

    • 430 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Kant vs. Rousseau Essay Example
    • 1181 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Kant vs. Rousseau Essay Example

    “Nature seems to have taken delight in the greatest frugality and to have calculated her animal endowments so closely-so precisely to the most pressing needs of a primitive existence-that she seems to have…

    • 1181 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Reality of the Material Life
    • 979 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Reality of the Material Life

    Everyday people purchase thousands of objects and live in large houses and live the ideal material life, with material things, and lives based on what they own. However there are several people all over the world that have no homes and base their belongings on what they can carry with them. Lars Eighner was found homeless and through this, discovered his own lessons of life by scavenging and developing the understanding the difference between those who live through their possessions and those who do not. Thoreau learned his way of life through his exploration of nature, and his examination of the material world, which is something that Eighner did as well. “On Dumpster Diving” by Eighner and “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For” by Thoreau, they discover life lessons, and they criticize the 'rat race millions' but not similarly, which can be explained because of the way they approach life.…

    • 979 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Theme of Passion in Henry David Thoreau's, Walden
    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Theme of Passion in Henry David Thoreau's, Walden

    Why bother to pursue a passion? Henry David Thoreau’s Walden is a text about seeking a purposeful life by following your passions. When you focus on your passions, your life becomes meaningful.…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Henry David Thoreau
    • 3376 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Henry David Thoreau

    "Simplify! was Thoreau 's motto" in his life (Stanley 20). He showed people how to live simple life by living a simple life in Walden. Due to Thoreau 's efforts and works on nature people considers a nature an important part in their lives, as a result nature became one of the top topics in 21st century.…

    • 3376 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    In a Speech from the Early 1940s, the Poet Ezra Pound Dismissed Thoreau’s Project in Less Than Twenty-Five Words. Pound Viewed It as Thoreau’s: First Intellectual Reaction to Mere Approach of Industrialization: Thoreau
    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In a Speech from the Early 1940s, the Poet Ezra Pound Dismissed Thoreau’s Project in Less Than Twenty-Five Words. Pound Viewed It as Thoreau’s: First Intellectual Reaction to Mere Approach of Industrialization: Thoreau

    Henry David Thoreau decided to remove himself from his ordinary life in society, and relocated himself to an area outside the town Concord. His once typical life now became that of a forest dweller. He built himself a quaint little home near Walden Pond. He chose to approach a life of simplicity by building his own home, living in the forest gathering his own food and fending for himself in essentially all aspects of his life. Ezra Pond makes a claim that Thoreau is demonstrating his indifference to humans and traditional societies, but that is not the case. Thoreau was merely trying to demonstrate just how unnecessary most societal desires were to live a fulfilled life.…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics