Analysis Of Rebecca Solnit's Essay: The Thoreau Problem

Environmentalism is a big subject in today’s society from deforestation to the domestication of various animals that really don’t make household pets. In Rebecca Solnit’s essay “The Thoreau Problem” she talks about how Henry David Thoreau himself spoke about environmentalism. This position sits on a different pedestal than most “…he considered the conjunction of prisons and berry parties, of the landscape of incarceration and of pastoral pleasure, significant. But why?” This is a great question seeing as it pulls from more than just one direction of environments making the human element much more meaningful because, technically speaking, humans are part of the environment. In this essay Solnit references two famous works of Thoreau: “Civil Disobedience” and Walden because
Some say that her theme is lost in the stories about Henry David Thoreau. Yes she does speak a lot of him Solnit’s theme is not lost. She mentions multiple times how Thoreau’s work can directly or indirectly influence modern day environmentalism. Thoreau wrote about governmental disobedience and nature in a modern day language though he wrote almost 200 years. So while Solnit does talk about Thoreau the essay’s title is “The Thoreau Problem” so that would be a pretty big indication that Henry David Thoreau may be mentioned a bit. This essay is very effective in bringing the subject of environmentalism to larger attention. Solnit doesn’t blame the reader or get in the reader’s “face” so to speak. She seems very calm and collected as well as having her information well researched. Using some of Thoreau’s writing to enhance her own point was a very smart decision. Rebecca Solnit has made the society of readers a bit more informed that nature and the environment aren’t just the outdoors but everywhere. If society wants to preserve the environment they should worry about their own well being