Walden ; And, Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau

When one types “walden- genre?” into a search engine, the computed guess reveals wonders; “Best guess for Walden-Genre is Autobiography, Philosophy, Fiction, Nature”.Walden is less a novel and more an account of an unusual scholarly life with flourishes. Above all, its didactic tone imparts Thoureau’s view better than any straight manifesto could ever. The most emphasized Transcendental view in the book is the harmony of nature with human world views. Walden emphasizes nature’s ability to transform and impart wisdom and sprituality, much like its writer.

Walden holds nature up as divine, and asserts that man can most easily see real divinity through nature itself. “Talk ye of heaven! Disgrace earth” (Thoureau 207). Thoureau treats nature as if it were a religion, and subtly implies its importance over conventional religious practices that do not have as much effect on the immediate world. Though he often utilized Christian symbolism, the religion he creates is one closer to Asian religions, mentioning Brahman in “Economy” early on. He often refers to Confucius and Mencius for references as opposed to any western figures of wisdom from his Harvard education. Like other Asian religions, nature discards materialist attitudes. This is clearly seen when the Irish Icemen from Cambridge come to harvest the ice from Walden Pond in Winter (Thoreau 331). For the villagers, ice is the most tangible and material resource available from the pond, but to Thoreau it is not near the most important. Society is not only destroying nature, but also attempting to crack away the benefits of divinity. This suggests Thoreau’s view that the majority of people’s relationship with the Church is for the societal benefits, which are tangible, instead of s...

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...I never had been bor-r-r-r-rn!” (Thoreau 117). His unequal reverence for men and beasts are indicative of a religion that still needs to be reworked, and adapted to the central characters- for one individual it may work, but for a society a religion that cannot account for people with the regard it gives to other animals will almost certainly fail.

Walden represents a religion of nature not yet fully formed. While Thoreau tries to immerse himself in poverty, he becomes ineffectual when he is hypocritical. Barring the contradictions, Thoreau emphasizes the beauty of nature that the less observant miss. With observing eyes, Thoreau captures the parallels of man and beast that can inspire, if not divinity, more humanity in viewing nature.

Works Cited

Thoreau, Henry David, and Henry David Thoreau. Walden ; And, Civil Disobedience. New York: Penguin, 1983. Print.