Henry David Thoreau - Conservationist, Visionary, and Humanist
He spent his life in voluntary poverty, enthralled by the study of
nature. Two years, in the prime of his life, were spent living in a shack
in the woods near a pond. Who would choose a life like this? Henry David
Thoreau did, and he enjoyed it. Who was Henry David Thoreau, what did he
do, and what did others think of his work?
Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts on July 12,
1817 ("Thoreau" 96), on his grandmother's farm. Thoreau, who was of
French-Huguenot and Scottish-Quaker ancestry, was baptized as David Henry
Thoreau, but at the age of twenty he legally changed his name to Henry
David. Thoreau was raised with his older sister Helen, older brother John,
and younger sister Sophia (Derleth 1) in genteel poverty (The 1995 Grolier
Multimedia Encyclopedia 1). It quickly became evident that Thoreau was
interested in literature and writing. At a young age he began to show
interest writing, and he wrote his first essay, "The Seasons," at the
tender age of ten, while attending Concord Academy (Derleth 4).
In 1833, at the age of sixteen, Henry David was accepted to Harvard
University, but his parents could not afford the cost of tuition so his
sister, Helen, who had begun to teach, and his aunts offered to help. With
the assistance of his family and the beneficiary funds of Harvard he went
to Cambridge in August 1833 and entered Harvard on September first. "He
[Thoreau] stood close to the top of his class, but he went his own way too
much to reach the top" (5).
In December 1835, Thoreau decided to leave Harvard and attempt to
earn a living by teaching, but that only lasted about a month and a half
(8). He returned to college in the fall of 1836 and graduated on August 16,
1837 (12). Thoreau's years at Harvard University gave him one great gift,
an introduction to the world of books.
Upon his return from college, Thoreau's family found him to be less
likely to accept opinions as facts, more argumentative, and inordinately
prone to shock people with his own independent and unconventional opinions.
During this time he discovered his secret desire to be a poet (Derleth 14),
but most of all he wanted to live with freedom to think and act as he
wished.
Immediately after graduation from Harvard, Henry David applied for
a teaching position at the public school in Concord and was accepted.
However, he refused to flog children as punishment. He opted instead to
Henry David Thoreau, a Harvard graduate, did not exceed in his professions he studied. Thoreau studied the art of teaching and when he returned to teach in his home town of Concord he quit within the first two weeks because he would not conform to the
In Marcelo M. Suarez- Orozco and Carola Suarez- Orozco’s article “How Immigrants became “other” Marcelo and Carola reference the hardships and struggles of undocumented immigrants while at the same time argue that no human being should be discriminated as an immigrant. There are millions of undocumented people that risk their lives by coming to the United States all to try and make a better life for themselves. These immigrants are categorized and thought upon as terrorist, rapists, and overall a threat to Americans. When in reality they are just as hard working as American citizens. This article presents different cases in which immigrants have struggled to try and improve their life in America. It overall reflects on the things that immigrants go through. Immigrants come to the United States with a purpose and that is to escape poverty. It’s not simply crossing the border and suddenly having a great life. These people lose their families and go years without seeing them all to try and provide for them. They risk getting caught and not surviving trying to make it to the other side. Those that make it often don’t know where to go as they are unfamiliar. They all struggle and every story is different, but to them it’s worth the risk. To work the miserable jobs that Americans won’t. “I did not come to steal from anyone. I put my all in the jobs I take. And I don’t see any of the Americans wanting to do this work” (668). These
Odysseus was also an epic hero because he had human weaknesses. One of his weaknesses was that he was arrogant. Even after he defeated Polyphemos (the Cyclops) Odysseus stayed longer just so he could taunt him. He “…wanted to shout out again…although [his] comrades…tried to coax [him] not to do it'; (p.110). Odysseus, against his crew’s wishes, shouted, “…Cyclops! if ever a man asks you who put out your ugly eye, tell him your blinder was Odysseus!'; (p.110). Another human weakness of Odysseus was that he had a bad temper. When Eurylochos refused to go back to Circe’s mansion, Odysseus “…thought for a moment that [he] would draw [his] sword and cut off his head…';(p.121). If his men did not stop him, Odysseus probably would have killed Eurylochos and therefore lost a good man because of his short temper. Lust was another weakness of his. For Seven years Odysseus and Circe were lovers. Because he stayed with Circe, Odysseus prolonged his return home to Ithaca. Odysseus had many human weaknesses.
For five years, Gatsby was denied the one thing that he desired more than anything in the world: Daisy. While she was willing to wait for him until after the war, he did not want to return to her a poor man who would, in his eyes, be unworthy of her love. Gatsby did not want to force Daisy to choose between the comfortable lifestyle she was used to and his love. Before he would return to her, he was determined to make something of himself so that Daisy would not lose the affluence that she was accustomed to possessing. His desire for Daisy made Gatsby willing to do whatever was necessary to earn the money that would in turn lead to Daisy’s love, even if it meant participating in actions...
In many works of literature, authors often have a point they are trying to convey. This may be something about religion or politics, for example. In From Walden by Henry David Thoreau and Against Nature by Joyce Carol Oates, both authors are trying to make different claims regarding the topic of nature. Thoreau’s piece speaks more positively of nature whereas Oates’ piece contradicts the romantic views some writers have about nature. In making their claims, both authors utilize different structures to convey clear messages to the reader.
The thought of not doing something or living a different way because of the perceived consequences could be a difficult thing to push aside, even more so for a slave. Thoreau surmises that the American work ethic is in many ways a form of self-imposed slavery and more detrimental than the life of a slave. With that in mind, Douglass, a slave who became free, could possibly give some context and disprove such a claim. The life of a slave is substandard of a free white man, which makes their life more controlled and their way of thinking of themselves is forced upon by the masters; thus, their release is prolonged and hindered which leads to a more trying life -- by being trapped and even when trying to escape being held back.
Have you ever woke up in the morning and asked yourself, “Why am I living this life?” Throughout the book of Walden, Henry David Thoreau questions the lifestyles that people choose; he makes his readers wonder if they have chosen the kind of lifestyle that give them the greatest amount of happiness. Thoreau stated, “Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them().” This quote is important because most of society these days are so caught up in work and trying to make ends meet that they lose the values in life. Thoreau was forced to change his life when he found himself unhappy after a purchase for a farm fell through. On Thoreau’s journey he moves to Walden and builds a house and life from nothing but hard work, symbolizes many different objects.
An influential literary movement in the nineteenth century, transcendentalism placed an emphasis on the wonder of nature and its deep connection to the divine. As the two most prominent figures in the transcendentalist movement, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau whole-heartedly embraced these principles. In their essays “Self-Reliance” and “Civil Disobedience”, Emerson and Thoreau, respectively, argue for individuality and personal expression in different manners. In “Self-Reliance”, Emerson calls for individuals to speak their minds and resist societal conformity, while in “Civil Disobedience” Thoreau urged Americans to publicly state their opinions in order to improve their own government.
In “Civil Disobedience” Thoreau emphasizes the need for self-reliance (“Clendenning”). This statement is fitting because Thoreau was one of the most self-reliant men of his time period. He was an individual and enjoyed nature. Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) is closely related to the Transcendentalism movement, which lasted a mere ten years in the 1830s and 1840s. Transcendentalism is the belief of self-reliance, individuality, social reform, and relying on reason. Henry David Thoreau’s love of nature, languages, and contemporary English, as well as the growth of Transcendentalism greatly influenced the life of this great American Author.
By the year 1840 the concept of Independence had been forever embedded in American tradition and American government. The value of freedom had yet to be accepted nor granted peacefully. The Revolution released America from the grasp of Britain and it would take yet another war to release the black man from the shackles of slavery. America was still in its infancy; the West was not yet settled, the South was still a confederacy and unity was just a dream. The country was torn by slavery. And some men began to question the integrity of their government. Henry David Thoreau was one such man.
When thinking about nature, Hans Christian Andersen wrote, “Just living is not enough... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” John Muir and William Wordsworth both expressed through their writings that nature brought them great joy and satisfaction, as it did Andersen. Each author’s text conveyed very similar messages and represented similar experiences but, the writing style and wording used were significantly different. Wordsworth and Muir express their positive and emotional relationships with nature using diction and imagery.
There are numerous heroes throughout “The Odyssey,” but none of them are as significant as Odysseus. “The Odyssey” is a narrative poem written by Homer (around 800 and 600 BCE) to show the numerous adventures and experiences Odysseus goes through. Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus a prominent Greek epic hero is on a quest to return back to his home in Ithaca; to his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. Just like real life, not all heroes are picture-perfect; they all have imperfections. In this case, Odysseus is sometimes insolent, and discourteous; but he is still considered an epic hero because of the many heroic qualities he endures. Odysseus proves himself to be an outstanding hero in various ways such as showing loyalty, intelligence, bravery, strength, and courage which are all some of the most momentous qualities found in a hero. If a true hero can prove they are a true hero, makes them a true hero.
Picture this: a hero of great legends who travels to the underworld and back to get directions to his home from a blind prophet. It sounds like quite an impossible journey, but that is exactly what makes Odysseus all the more fascinating. The Odyssey, an epic poem orally transmitted by Homer, a Greek poet who wrote The Iliad, had to contain some variety of attributes that Greeks valued in a person. That one embodiment of what the Greeks found intriguing in a character is Odysseus. Odysseus is known as what is called an epic hero. An epic hero is a protagonist of a story that represents the most important attributes of a civilization. Odysseus, being based in ancient Greece, is the embodiment of intelligence, loyalty, and strength.
Henry David Thoreau, an American born author and philosopher, was born in Concord, Massachusetts in the hot, bright summer of 1817. He survived from July 12, 1817 through May 6, 1862 and died in the late spring due to a severe case of tuberculosis that he battled since his college days at Harvard College. Thoreau had a very normal childhood, and it was not until his later years that he actually came to know his true self and how he wanted to live. He attended college at Harvard College. There, he studied many different languages. He was a very bright man and did not do what others would have expected a guy like him to do after college. Thoreau is considered one of the best authors in American literature and his works are
Owen’s poem uses symbolism to bring home the harsh reality of war the speaker has experienced and forces the reader to think about the reality presented in romanticized poetry that treats war gently. He utilizes language that imparts the speakers experiences, as well as what he, his companions, and the dying man feels. People really die and suffer and live through nightmares during a war; Owen forcefully demonstrates this in “Dulce et Decorum Est”. He examines the horrific quality of World War I and transports the reader into the intense imagery of the emotion and experience of the speaker.