The author of the analysis starts out by talking about how Henry David Thoreau showed the true principles of Transcendentalism through his works, specifically his most noted work, Walden.
I agreed with the author's point of view that through the account of his stay at Walden Thoreau set an example for other Transcendentalism believers through his display of self-reliance, frugality, economy, a personal relationship with nature that lives in every human, and environmentalism. The author points out that through his journey to Walden he sought to separate himself from society, because one of his core beliefs was that society was destroying the world because it was taking away people's individuality.
The author makes a good point in the second paragraph when he talks about the way Thoreau worked to eliminate excess in his life and not waste anything. The author points out that he built his cabin for a mere $28.12 1/2, but that the point of this endeavor was not to preach the idea of hard labor, since Thoreau did in fact build the cabin himself. But rather the idea of what Thoreau went through was that if you do not live in excess and spend a lot of money daily, there is no reason why you should even have to work hard on a daily basis. You could simply work a little bit each day and never worry about your money running out or having to work too hard to finish it. I think the fact that the author caught this is very important because many people might think that his purpose was to show that hard labor is important, not to teach that living without excess is key.
The author points out a lot of symbolism that he found in Thoreau's writings in the third paragraph. He discusses the way that some of his writings in which he described journeys that he took were not only acccounts of journeys through areas and guides to where beautiful things are, but rather they were also guides through his own spiritual journeys to find enlightenment by being in the midst of natural, beautiful things.
Thoreau also uses the seasons and times of year that pass by at Walden as symbols of journeys taken by the individual throughout his or her life. They go through the journey of spring and new birth and life all the way to winter when everything dies, and then back to spring where everything is alive anew. The author does a good job of proving how much Thoreau really reflected Transcendentalism and the beauty of nature through his works.
The author also discusses the difference between Thoreau and other Transcendentalists by showing that Thoreau truly wanted to commune and live within nature in order to better understand it. Other Transcendentalists, however, such as Emerson, were interested in exploring the subject but not by physically placing themselves wholly within nature itself.
I thought it was a very good analysis with many valid points that proved that Thoreau was a true Transcendentalist and also explored many of his theories and ideas about life.
Works Cited
Wayne, Tiffany K. "Walden." Encyclopedia of Transcendentalism. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=1&iPin=ETRA402&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 15, 2010).
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