Walden Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Thoreau, among the most heralded writers of the North American continent, may have lived on his little as possible, but the grandeur of his writing style suggest quite the opposite. This does coincide with a key part of Transcendentalism - putting matters of the mind and spirit far above any materialistic preference. Chapter 5 of Thoreau’s memoir Walden explains his reasonings for isolation through several rhetorical strategies that emphasize the splendor of aloneness and nature.
The opening paragraph is an incredibly vivid account of nights spent by “the stony shore” of Walden Pond. His description of the animals around the pond, the cool temperature, and the gentle sounds of lapping waves and rustling leaves all serve to remove the idea that nature is a wild and unkempt world of its own, and instead makes it seem much more serene and graceful. Any who thought of Thoreau as an insane outdoorsmen may have even found themselves repulsed by the monotony and constant bustle of city life and longing for the serenity felt by Thoreau. This

opening paragraph is almost enough to explain why someone would want to go off and live surrounded by nature simply due to its description of the ‘wild’ world so many humans are repulsed by. His personification of the wind also serves to make the area seem much less lonely, because it makes it seem as though someone else is there, “blow[ing] and roar[ing]” in the distance.
In the fifth paragraph, Thoreau relies on the use of rhetorical questions to make himself seem much less lonely.

In an odd twist, he even challenges the fact that is isolated with the quote “What sort of space is that which separates a man from his fellows and makes him solitary?” By challenging the distance required to call someone “solitary,” Thoreau argues that he is not all on his own but is instead slightly distanced from the rest of the world. He states that physical proximity does not equate to mental proximity. “ No exertion of the legs can bring two minds much nearer to one another” is how he states it, and so he believed that his books and papers were just as effective as face-to-face communication in spreading his message. Though that idea may be debatable, by refuting the space between his cabin on Walden Pond and the rest of society Thoreau puts himself closer to the audience than they may have previously thought he

was.
His closing paragraph (18) compares nature to a pill. This comparison expands Thoreau’s claim that nature is able to heal, though often he talks about how a connection to nature could heal a society rather than a person. The praise of nature’s medicinal qualities is also supported by the fact that actual medicines are found in the “universal, vegetable, [and] botanic.” The amalgamation of nature’s literal and figurative healing abilities not only serve to show society what it should be grateful to nature for providing, but also what it could do if society formed a stronger bond with it. Thoreau specifically focuses on the “Morning Air!” in this paragraph, because air gives us life and morning represents a sort of new beginning. The combination of the two gives nature a feeling of a fresh start away from the bustling crowded cities, and into the sparsely populated rural areas where the morning air and healing properties of nature can allow you to reflect upon society as Thoreau did.
Though this chapter could have simply been summed up to “nature is cool, society is bad, and I don’t enjoy having lots of things,” Thoreau embellished this chapter with all sorts of rhetorical strategies to emphasize the beauty and importance of nature. Addressing the fallacious view of solitude and nature, Thoreau promotes his view through description and personification of all aspects of nature.