SUMMER 2008
WALDEN POND HENRY DAVID THOREAU
by Maria Elena Estrada
OATAH
CONCORD , MA
HOOO
Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science
crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. I think that there is nothing, not even crime,
more opposed to poetry, to philosophy, ay, to life itself than this incessant business.
Henry David Thoreau
Walden Pond was once the home of the prolific naturalist and writer, Henry David
Thoreau. By visiting the site today one can envision and value this multifaceted
individual whose ideas thrive in our society today. Walden Pond Reservation
encompasses 462 acres with nature trails for hikers, swimming, fishing, and canoeing and
skiing during the winter. All together, Walden Pond offers a “back to nature” experience
as Thoreau envisioned. There are perhaps a few too many people today, but one can still
imagine a pensive Thoreau walking through his beloved woods. As he stated so
eloquently, “In wildness is the preservation of the world”.
As a transcendentalist, Thoreau surrounded himself with well known
intellectuals and non-conformists of his day such as Bronson Alcott, Ellery Channing,
Margaret Fuller and Nathaniel Hawthorne, but no one impacted his life more than Ralph
Waldo Emerson. Thoreau greatly admired Emerson’s 1836 essay Nature for its unique
concept that individuals should seek a spiritual relationship with nature. Consequently,
Thoreau stayed at Walden Pond and lived there for two years at which time he kept a
journal of his observations of nature and society. In 1854, he wrote his classic Walden.
But no writing has been as compelling as his Resistance to Civil Government and his
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SUMMER 2008
WALDEN POND HENRY DAVID THOREAU
by Maria Elena Estrada
OATAH
CONCORD , MA
HOOO
opposition to the war the United States was waging against Mexico in order to extend
slavery into a vast new territory. Moreover, Thoreau lectured on the abolition of slavery
and wrote Slavery in Massachusetts. He went as far as to support John Brown and wrote
A Plea for Captain John Brown.
As stated before, Henry David Thoreau’s writing has had much
influence in society, but the essay that has had far reaching effects on the
implications of how unreasonable governments should be dealt with has been
his Resistance to Civil Government, in which Thoreau greets the reader with
the famous phrase, “government is best which governs least.” These anarchistic
ideas set him apart from other intellectuals of his era, but served to advance
the idea of man being in control of his destiny and being individualistic to
seek his own self gratification while living off nature. It is perhaps for this
reason that the “flower children of the 1960’s” sought to “do your own
thing,” while living in communes away from the “establishment.”
Furthermore, Thoreau’s idea that a government’s infringement on civil rights
must be disobeyed was read by none other than Mahatma Gandhi who in turn
used his ideas to seek independence from British imperialism. During the
1940’s the Danish resistance used his ideas against the Nazis, as well as
those who opposed McCarthyism in the 1950’s. During the 1960’s decade, his
strong influence was felt more so during the marches of the Civil Rights
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SUMMER 2008
WALDEN POND HENRY DAVID THOREAU
by Maria Elena Estrada
OATAH
CONCORD , MA
HOOO
movement under the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr., thus bringing
about the desegregation of southern society and the attempt to once and for
all bring about the end of social and economic inequality.
On this same note the anti-war demonstrations during the Vietnam
War, which was perceived by many as being an unjust war, created a flood of
student protests from major universities such as the University of California
at Berkley, Kent State, Columbia, University of Wisconsin, and many others.
Thoreau theorized that war was evil and thought people should not pay taxes
to support any war they thought wrong. According to Thoreau, imprisonment
was a much better alternative, since jail was considered much more
respectable than not following one’s conscience and consequently not fall
victims as “mass of men serve the state thus, not as men mainly, but as
machines, with their bodies.”
In retrospect, Henry David Thoreau’s Walden Pond offered a sense of
inner peace in knowing that the reverence for his transcendentalist’s ideas
towards nature and society will continue through the preservation of the pond
and park. The State of Massachusetts has made a concerted effort to help
preserve the natural beauty of the state as a whole by not allowing billboards
and the like to tarnish its landscape. It would be wise if other states, such as
Texas, were to follow this example. Thoreau’s everlasting literary and
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SUMMER 2008
WALDEN POND HENRY DAVID THOREAU
by Maria Elena Estrada
OATAH
CONCORD , MA
HOOO
philosophical contributions have unequivocally left a lasting legacy as he
“marched to the beat of a different drummer,” and thus secure a better society
for all.
The serene beauty of
Walden Pond is viewed here
from its shore amidst branches.
At a distance lie Thoreau’s
beloved woods. As many as
600,000 visitors come to Walden
Pond each year. As a result, park
officials created a “people
capacity” to ensure a positive visitor experience and curtail trail activities. The
park offers much recreation such as swimming, boating, hiking, and ice skating
during the winter months.
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SUMMER 2008
WALDEN POND HENRY DAVID THOREAU
by Maria Elena Estrada
OATAH
CONCORD , MA
HOOO
A sculpture of Henry David Thoreau
(notice the copy of his 1849 essay “Civil
Disobedience” in his hands) stands in front
of the replica of his one-room cabin. In
1847, Thoreau completed his experiment in
simplicity and returned to writing and
lecturing around Concord and elsewhere in
New England. As a Transcendentalist, he
often met with other writers who sought
social change and advocated for economic
equality and abolition of slavery.
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SUMMER 2008
WALDEN POND HENRY DAVID THOREAU
by Maria Elena Estrada
OATAH
CONCORD , MA
HOOO
Thoreau’s woods are
reflected in Walden Pond,
which was established as a
reserve in 1922, when the
Emerson, Forbes, and
Heywood families donated
approximately 80 acres. It is now part of the Massachusetts Forests and Parks
system.
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