Evaluation of Thoreau
• An active transcendentalist who put into practice many of Emerson’s theories • A prophet of individualism in American literature • Ideas influenced Gandhi and Martin Luther King
Writing Style
• Style
– Full of epigrams and Proverbial Expressions – Tone: Conversational and humorous – Figure of speech
• Metaphors • Brief Tales, Fables and Allegories
– Born in a poor family in Concord, Massachusetts in 1817 – Father: an unsuccessful storekeeper and maker of pencils – Mother: ambitious, sent Thoreau to Harvard though he did not like the life and curriculum there
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
• esspher
• naturalist • Leader of American Transcendentalism
Biographical Introduction (1)
• Family Background
What transcendental ideas can you find in Walden?
Transcendental ideas in Walden
• The importance of seeking for personal spiritual perfection • The importance of Self-reliance • Nature exerts a genuine restorative, healthy influence on man’s spiritual wellbeing • Modern civilization degrades and enslaves human beings
Question to think about
• Compare Thoreau’s ideas with Chinese classical philosophical ideas , can you find out some similarities?
Question 6
• Which part of the extract give you the deepest impression and why?
Walden pond in winter
Reading Excerpts from Walden
• ―I went to the woods, because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life…‖ (p. 186)
• worked as the children’s tutor, editorial assistant, and gardener • absorbed many of Emerson’s ideas
Biographical Introduction (4)
– In 1845, went to build a cabin on a piece of Emerson’s property on Walden Pond and lived there for two years and two months – Returned to Concord and became a regular lecturer from 1848 – In 1850s, he worked as a land surveyor – In 1862, he died of tuberculosis at the age of 45 – Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1969
Walden Pond
• • • • located in Concord, Massachusetts 102-foot (31 m) deep 61 acres (250,000 m2) in area 1.7 miles (2.7 km) around
Walden pond in spring
– ―Civilized man is the slave of matter‖
What kind of book is Walden?
• Walden
– personal declaration of independence – social experiment – voyage of spiritual discovery – manual for self reliance
Lecture 12
Henry David Thoreau
By 张慧
hzhang8311@
Warm-up Questions
Question 1
• What’s the title of chapter 2 of Walden as excerpted in our textbook? • Where I Lived, and What I Lived for
Question 2
• What’s the main idea of this chapter?
Question 3
• On which day did Thoreau begin to stay in the woods? And why do you think he chose this day?
• If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. — Henry David Thoreau
Question 5
• According to Thoreau, what did he live for?
• Freedom, enjoyment and spiritual perfection
Contents
• • • • • Henry David Thoreau Biographical Introduction Major Works Reading Walden Evaluation of Thoreau
Reading Walden
• • • • A General Introduction Reading Excerpts Structure and Theme Writing Style
A General Introduction
• Walden
– first published as Walden; or, Life in the Woods in 1854 – details Thoreau's sojourn in a cabin near Walden Pond
Structure and Theme
• Structure
– 18 chapters
• Theme
– Regeneration
• Compressing 26 months into a single year, with the passage of four seasons to symbolize human development • framework of Walden: progress from summer and autumn to winter, and finally to spring
Memorable Quotes
• A man is rich in proportion to the number if things which he afforded to let alone. (P178)
• As long as possible live free and uncommitted. (P180) • Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!.....(P187)
Biographical Introduction (3)
• Career
– After graduation, helped his father making pencils – ran a private school for a while, and became a good friend of Emerson – Moved into Emerson’s house (1841-1844)
The Hall of Fame for Great Americans at Bronx Community College, in New York City.
Major Works
• ―The Seasons‖ (1827) • A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (1849) • Civil Disobedience (1849) • Walden; or, Life in the Woods (1854) • Excursions (1863) • The Maine Woods (1864) • Cape Cod (1865) • A Yankee in Canada (1866)