Thoreau – “Walden”
Thoreau
Did not like to cooperate with
institutions
Worked in a pencil factory until he
“created the perfect pencil” – then
he saw no more “point” to it
Non-Conformist
 Jailed for refusing to pay a small tax (the poll tax
was required for voting, so the poor were not
represented – it was abolished by the 24th
Amendment in 1964 and upheld by the Supreme
Court in 1966) & he was against the Mexican War
because he felt the U.S. was bullying a smaller
country just to expand the border
 “Civil Disobedience” (peaceful demonstration)
influenced Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. etc.
 Lived at Walden for two years in a cabin that he
had built with his own hands
Walden – from “Economy”
 Materialism and constant labor dull the
inner man
 Spiritualize – aim higher than the
materialistic values of society
 Many so called “necessities” are “luxuries”
that lead to spiritual and intellectual
stagnation (inactivity / motionlessness)
 Technological progress has not enhanced
quality of life
 Civilization has institutionalized life
Walden – from “Where I
Lived, and What I Lived for”
 He chose not to purchase farm land
 Moved to Walden on Independence Day
(ironically)
 To be awake – intellectually / spiritually
alert – is to be alive {rooster image – to
wake up (enlighten) his neighbors}
 Our existence forms a part of time that
flows into eternity, “time is but a stream I
go a-fishing in.”
 We should seek reality and higher truth –
“drink deeper” / “fish in the sky”
Walden – from “Conclusion”
Walk with the builder of the universe
Stand or sit thoughtfully while the
restless, trivial 19th century passes
by
Walden pond = divine expression
and / or human potential and / or
the mystery of the universe – (the
occult relationship w/ nature or the
“Oversoul”)
Walden – key ideas Overview
 Lives of quiet desperation – joyless, empty
– without complaint (accept); no choice
(because we are victims of our institutions)
 He goes to the woods to . . .
Live deliberately
Face only the essential facts of life
Learn from life (nature)
Avoid resignation (acceptance)
Reduce life to its lowest terms
Walden - Overview
 Life is “fritted away” by detail
 Stride for simplicity
 However mean your life is you should “meet it
and live it”
 Insect hatching (image) = faith in resurrection
and immortality
 “different drummer” = nonconformist
Walden - Overview
Theme
Live fully
Strip away encumbrances (burdens
and hindrances)
Be true to yourself