Thoreau's Proposed Solution in Walden and Civil Disobedience

1834 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Thoreau's belief

Thoreau's Proposed Solution in Walden and Civil Disobedience

In Henry David Thoreau's Walden and Civil Disobedience, a problem is presented in the way in which we live our lives. Thoreau sees this problem and goes to Walden Pond to find the solution. Yet his solution is controversial in that it seems to propose actions that go against human nature. Thoreau's prescription for American desperation cannot be accepted by the masses for it is rooted in anti-socialism when humans are essentially social in nature. However, this conclusion is not entirely accurate, as one needs to explore Thoreau's entire solution and the intent of what he is saying in this work.

First, the problem needs to be defined as Thoreau sees it. And he sees this problem in Concord, the city in which he lives, as such a threat to his very survival and mental well being that he actually leaves this town to go live in semi-seclusion. The problems he observes within the town and people around him are actually numerous and yet all-encompassing. He observes some character traits inherent in the people of Concord as flawed and leading to the deconstruction of their humanity. These traits include desperation, materialism, commercialism, industriousness, and insincerity.

Desperation was like a combination of blinders and a weight tied to the ankle of every person. These 'desperate' men choose menial jobs and work long hours because "they honestly think there is no choice left" (Thoreau 50). They are caught in this continuous cycle of pursuing empty dreams and putting faith into the teachings of the old. Yet the old "have no very important advice to give the young", says Thoreau, "their own experience has been so partial, and their own lives have been suc...

... middle of paper ...

...n. It's not necessarily misanthropic or anti-social, it's his solution to a problem. This solution, however, is hard to understand and even more difficult to execute. Thoreau does offer us with a viable, if cryptic, solution.

Works Cited and Consulted

Botkin, Daniel B. "The Depth of Walden Pond: Thoreau as a Guide to Solving Twenty-First Century Problems." The Concord Saunterer, 9 (2001), 5-14.

Cafaro, Philip. "Thoreau's Virtue Ethics in Walden." The Concord Saunterer, 8 (2000), 23-47.

Richardson, Robert D. Jr. "The Social Ethics of Walden." In Myerson, 1988, 235-248.

Thoreau, Henry David. "Walden." Norton Anthology of American Literature. Shorter Fourth Edition. New York: W.W. Norton, 1995.

Thoreau, Henry. "Civil Disobedience." Elements of Argument: A text and Reader. Ed. Annette T. Rottenberg. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000.

Show More
Related

  • Powerful Imagery and Themes in The Killer Angels

    2334 Words  | 5 Pages

    Thoreau, Henry David. "Walden." The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. 2107-2141.

    Read More

  • Douglass and King: Advice They Might Have Accepted from Thoreau

    562 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thoreau talks about the politics, power and civil disobedience in his works. He believed that when many thought alike, the power was stronger within that minority. I think that Thoreau's intention was to point out that those people who dare to go against what seems to be unjust and go against the majority, and stand erect, are the people who transform society as a whole.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience To The Mexican War

    1646 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 1848, David Thoreau addressed and lectured civil disobedience to the Concord Lyceum in response to his jail time related to his protest of slavery and the Mexican War. In his lecture, Thoreau expresses in the beginning “That government is best which governs least,” which sets the topic for the rest of the lecture, and is arguably the overall theme of his speech. He chastises American institutions and policies, attempting to expand his views to others. In addition, he advances his views to his audience by way of urgency, analyzing the misdeeds of the government while stressing the time-critical importance of civil disobedience. Thoreau addresses civil disobedience to apprise the people the need for a civil protest to the unjust laws created

    Read More

  • Thoreau's Civil Disobedience and Walden

    1527 Words  | 4 Pages

    To conclude, Thoreau believed that people should be ruled by conscience and that people should fight against injustice through non-violence according to “Civil Disobedience.” Besides, he believed that we should simplify our lives and take some time to learn our essence in the nature. Moreover, he deemed that tradition and money were unimportant as he demonstrated in his book, Walden. I suggested that people should learn from Thoreau to live deliberately and spend more time to go to the nature instead of watching television, playing computer games, and among other things, such that we could discover who we were and be endeavored to build foundations on our dreams.

    Read More

  • Justice in Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience

    934 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Thoreau’s view, he felt that the government was insufficient. He didn’t need the laws to be just, he used his conscious and morality. He was compelled to do what morally was right, rather than it being based on government issued laws such as the complacent society there is today. People seem to care about justice, yet are immoral. This was the message Thoreau was trying to get across.

    Read More

  • Problems in Society in Walden by Henry David Thoreau

    345 Words  | 1 Pages

    Many people who happen to fall into the cultural norms find Thoreau's statement to be intimidating. The way they view the world is extremely sheltered they do not choose this, it is jus t the way they are. They have always viewed the world through a screen that filters what they see. This screen is different for each individual depending on his or her cultural background and/or home environment. These factors along with many others create the screen by which they see the world.

    Read More

  • Civil Disobedience In Thoreau's Occupy Wall Street Movement

    1293 Words  | 3 Pages

    Thoreau believed that labor was not only the activity that could bring material profits, but also a play which made man complete and developed simultaneously” (Ma 384). Thoreau's work was experiencing nature and living transcendentally in order to share the quality of life that nature provides. We see Thoreau in many aspects of today’s society, whether it’s Lisa from The Simpsons, a means of transportation, or political protests, they all follow a Thoreauvian idea of looking at the bigger picture and seeing what really matters. This way of thinking was created because one man decided that society was too mainstream and he moved off to the edge of town and reflected; people these days that do that are referred to as “hipsters” but the influence had to come from somewhere, and that was Henry David Thoreau.

    Read More

  • Henry David Thoreau's Views

    1203 Words  | 3 Pages

    An American Author, Transcendentalist and tax resister, Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord Massachusetts, and lived there most of his life.  He was opposed to many of the things that went on in our society and debated many issues in his life. Two of these major issues are , the Mexican American War and the implement of Slavery in our society. This was the reason for many of his writings include “Slavery in Massachusetts” and “Civil Disobedience” where he wrote about his principles and views against the U.S government and their involvement in the Mexican American War and the evil of Slavery. Thoreau opposed to these because they promote unjust government practices which he was strongly against.

    Read More

  • Women's Suffrage

    1068 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jane Addams, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. These women lived at the turn of the century, and fought vehemently for a cause they believed in. They knew that they were being discriminated against because of their gender, and they refused to take it. These pioneers of feminism paved the road for further reform, and changed the very fabric of our society.

    Read More

  • Feminism: The Women's Suffrage Movement

    1567 Words  | 4 Pages

    This movement was the flagship of progressivism in future feminist waves. This time in history was known as the Progressive Era. Women in this time-period began to demand to be recognized as people rather than property or secondary citizens. During the 1820’s and 1830’s, average married females gave birth to multiple children. Higher education was off-limits. Wealthier women could exercise limited authority on the home front, but possessed no property rights or economic autonomy. Lower-class women labored alongside men, but the same social and legal restrictions applied to this division of society as well. The suffrage movement gained prominence with the first women’s rights convention in the world: the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. This convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. After Two Days of discussion, sixty-eight women and thirty-two men signed a Declaration of Sentiments, which outlined the grievances and set the agenda for the women’s rights movement. A set of twelve solutions was adapted, calling for equal treatment of women and men under the law. It also prompted for women to have voting rights. The convention was organized by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. In 1851, Stanton was introduced to Susan B. Anthony, who was active in the Temperance Movement at the time. The collaboration between these two was quintessential in the fight for obtaining suffrage. They formed the Women’s National Loyal League in 1863 to support the 13th Amendment in the United States Constitution. This Amendment was to abolish slavery and campaigned for full citizenship for African American’s and

    Read More

  • Civil Disobedience: Henry David Thoreau

    781 Words  | 2 Pages

    Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was a philosopher and writer who is well known for his criticism of the American government during the time. During Thoreau’s life, there were two major issues being debated in the United States: slavery and the Mexican-American War. Both issues greatly influenced his essay, as he actually practiced civil disobedience in his own life by refusing to pay taxes in protest of the Mexican War. He states that the government should be based on conscience and that citizens should refuse to follow the law and have the duty not to participate and stay as a member of an unjust institution like the government. I argue that the notion of individualism and skepticism toward government is essential to the basis of many important reform movements in the modern society.

    Read More

  • The Women's Suffrage Movement

    1257 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...r equality of women whose only representation at the time was through husbands. The brave few who courageously fought in the movement reformed our country and society today. Women such as Alice Paul and Susan B Anthony not only brought on equality for women today these women also brought on a new way women thought towards themselves. Today women think of themselves as independent smart citizens who can be whoever they want to be, politicians, doctors, scientists, etc. In addition women today can wear what they choose. Along with the right of equality and the ability for women to vote there is a responsibility, women should be informed of the political candidates before they vote. All of the freedom we have is a privilege we often take for granted as we don’t think about those women who suffered, abused, and ridiculed for these rights that we have today.

    Read More

  • The Women’s Rights Movement

    1484 Words  | 3 Pages

    Social movements refer to informal groups of people who focus on either political or social issues. The goal of the social movement is to change things in society, to refuse to go along with the norm, and to undo a social change. For example, the Women’s Rights Movement that began in the 1840s was geared towards getting women more equality in relation to political, social, and economic status in society (Foner). Along with this, women gained a louder voice to speak out about what they wanted to change and implemented the change. Prior to the Women’s Rights Movement, women were often timid, compliant, obedient, and mistreated. After the 1920s, a movement towards more equality was shifted in society views, however not all were convinced or changed by the new ideas of women. Although women began to get increased rights, the typical gender roles, which they were expected to follow did not loosely lesson. Women still found themselves doing the same gender roles, house roles, and family roles even after the 1920s. It was not until the 1960s when the Feminist movement began (Foner). The literary piece is “Why I Want a Wife” by Judy Brady and the goal of the Feminist Movement was to create new meanings and realities for women in terms of education, empowerment, occupation, sexual identity, art, and societal roles. In short, the Feminist Movement was aimed to gain women freedom, equal opportunity and be in control over their own life.

    Read More

  • Women's Suffrage

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    Once the Civil War was over, women wasted no time beginning their fight for their rights again. To bring together the people of their cause, the National American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was created in 1887 (McGill, Elizabeth Cady Stanton). Elizabeth Cady Stanton became the first acting president (Loveday, Women’s Suffrage). To gain more people to support their cause, the NAWSA teamed up with the newly freed slaves (Loveday, Women’s Suffrage). Together, they hoped to further their causes and lend support when it was needed. In the mid-1890’s, Stanton also created the first Women’s Bible(McGill, Elizabeth Cady Stanton). It wasn’t accepted into the NAWSA, though, because the members feared the controversy around (McGill, Elizabeth Cady Stanton).

    Read More

  • Personal Freedom and Independence: The Works of Benjamin Franklin and Henry David Thoreau

    1787 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is an undisputable fact that the contribution of such prominent philosophers, writers, political and social activists as Benjamin Franklin and Henry David Thoreau in developing American statehood is tremendous. The literary works of both men can serve as a manifesto of national and personal liberation, a call for building a better society, where each citizen can live and work freely. Indeed, both Henry Thoreau and Benjamin Franklin emphasize the independence and freedom of an individual, but they do so in significantly different ways. These differences can be linked to their different worldview, life positions, philosophies, or interests. Nevertheless, this fact cannot detract from the obvious uniqueness and importance of Thoreau’s and Franklin’s literary heritage.

    Read More

More about Thoreau's Proposed Solution in Walden and Civil Disobedience

Open Document