1/25/2016
Background
Henry David Thoreau
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Born in Concord, Massachusetts in 1817
Didn’t follow rules as a child
Independent and strong-willed
Went to Harvard
– Dress code black coat, he wore a green one
From Walden
From “Civil Disobedience”
• Was a teacher but quit because he was
against corporal punishment
• Lived in Emerson’s house for 2 years, did odd
jobs
From Walden
From “Where I Lived, and What
I Lived For” (Walden)
What he did:
• built a cabin and lived by Walden Pond
for two years
• seven years after his experience, he
published a book from his journals
• the book presents his
views on society and his
philosophy on life
• “I went to the woods because I wished to live
deliberately…I did not wish to live what was not
life”
– he wants to live life more fully
• “Our life is frittered away by detail…Simplify,
simplify.”
– he suspects that a simple life will lead to a
happy life
Thoughts on Society
From “Conclusion” (Walden)
• “The nation itself, with all its so-called internal
improvements, which, by the way, are all external
and superficial, is just such an unwieldy and
overgrown establishment”
- feels society is worried about details and not
individuals
• “We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon
us…”
– people are controlled by the technology
they create rather than controlling their
creations
• Leaves Walden because he wishes to move on
to other experiences
• “I fear that others may have fallen
into [the path that I had left when I lived
there],and so helped to keep it open”
– conveys that humans fall into
dull routines too easily
• “Only that day dawns to which we are awake.”
-should leave readers feeling inspired to
experience life
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Writing Style
• Uses first-person narration because his
opinions are more credible (believable)
because he has tested them
• Repeats his main ideas to reinforce his theme
• Begins a paragraph with a specific event and
builds to a general truth (expands on his
personal experiences)
Author’s purpose
• To persuade people to follow their individual
consciences
Paradox (a statement that contradicts itself, seems impossible)
• “That government is best which governs not
at all”
How does “Civil Disobedience” reflect ideas of
Transcendentalism?
• It stress the individual’s ability to judge the
actions of government
From “Civil Disobedience”
What did he do and why?
• Refused to pay his poll tax
• He objected to the Mexican War
The consequences
• Spent 1 night in jail (aunt paid his tax for him
even though he didn’t ask her to)
• Wrote this essay to say there needs to be a better
government
Thoreau Overview
• Tested Emerson’s ideas – went to live in woods
and expressed his individuality by not paying
taxes to support something he was against
• Appreciates nature, experiences, and
individualism
• Believes most people give up their individual
lives by doing what society tells them to do
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