Exploring Thoreau’s Walden
1) Read the first paragraph of the essay, on page 380. Then turn the page and read the
paragraph near the top that begins “I went to the woods because I wished to live….”
2) Answer these questions:
1. What do you think Thoreau meant when he said he wanted to live “deliberately”? How is
Thoreau attempting to achieve this goal through his actions in Walden?
2. Do you think it is important to live “deliberately”? Why or why not? Is this something you
strive for in your own lives? What sorts of things can you do if you want to live a more
“deliberate” life?
3. When Thoreau says he wants “to front only the essential facts of life,” to what “facts of life”
is he referring? What does Thoreau consider to be the obstacles to achieving this? How has he
attempted to remove these obstacles from his life?
Read the next paragraph on page 382, the one that begins “Still we live meanly, like ants….”
Then answer these questions:
4. What is Thoreau talking about when he says “Our life is frittered away by detail”? Do you
think there might be some truth in this observation? Why or why not?
5. When Thoreau writes “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity” and “Simplify, simplify” in this
paragraph, what do you think he is talking about?
6. Will his experiment in simplifying his life be a noble one or is he misguided?
Read the next paragraph on page 382, the one that begins “Why should we live with such
hurry and waste of life.”
Answer these questions:
8. What is Thoreau talking about when he writes “As for work, we haven’t any of
consequence”?
9. He writes “Hardly a man takes a nap after dinner but he when he wakes…, asks ‘What’s the
news’?” What is Thoreau talking about in this part of the paragraph?
10. How do Thoreau’s comments on the need to know what is going on in his day compare with
our 21st Century Twitter feeds, Facebook posts, use of Snapchat, and 24 hour news channels on
TV?
11. Based on what you’ve read of Thoreau so far, what do you think his opinion would be of our
almost instantaneous connections to the global world with modern technology? In other words,
would he think technology complicates or simplifies our lives?
Read the paragraph on page 385 under the heading “from Conclusion.” Then turn the page and
read the paragraph that begins “Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed….”
Answer this question:
12. What is Thoreau talking about when he writes “If a man does not keep pace with his
companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music
which he hears, however measured or far away”?
Thinking about Thoreau’s Walden
Choose one of the activities below to summarize what you have learned about Thoreau after
reading the excerpts from Walden.
● Thoreau Tweets from Walden Pond: Pretend you’re Thoreau. Compose ten Tweets that he
might have written if Twitter had existed back in his time, using what you’ve read from Walden
as the content. Use the standard Twitter rules.
● My Walden: Based on the Thoreau quotes, “Simplify, simplify” and “our life is frittered away
by detail,” draw your own “cabin” or room. Then describe how you see yourself living out these
ideas from Thoreau. What would your room/cabin look like? What would it include? What
would your daily activities be like? What aspects of modern life/technology would you exclude
from your version of simple living and which ones would you keep?