Why does walden leave the woods

This experience became the core of the ideas in the essay Resistance to Civil Government , commonly known as Civil Disobedience. This concept, along with others expressed in his later work Walden , were enormously radical for their time.

But decades and even centuries later, the impact of his words would be distinctly felt throughout society. Civil Disobedience , in particular, has been cited by leaders including Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King as an inspiration for their social movements. In Walden and elsewhere, many see the seeds of the modern environmentalist movement, years ahead of their time. After living simply at Walden Pond, Thoreau went on to travel widely as an amateur naturalist, writing prolifically.

It was made, in typically Thoreau-ian fashion, frugally. Henry walked into town regularly to visit family and friends, often joining them for dinner at their houses. He also entertained guests and conversed with passersby at his house at Walden Pond. He even threw parties! Henry went to Walden as an experiment in simple and deliberate living and to write his first book, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers , not as an exercise in complete solitude.

He felt that the distance from town helped eliminate some of the more frivolous visits he would otherwise receive while those people he most wanted to see would still make the effort to come out to his house. Henry was certainly a social critic, but he did not seek to cut himself off from society. By living at Walden Pond he was able to immerse himself in nature and distance himself from the bustle of everyday life in town, but he did not cut off contact with the rest of the world.

Henry highly valued community and maintained close friendships throughout his life. Myth: Thoreau was a freeloader. Thoreau goes to live in the woods because he wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life and learn what they had to teach and to discover if he had really lived.

You just studied 5 terms! He knew he had but one life to live and he wanted to make the most of it. Thoreau believed that to live life to its fullest, people needed to simplify, to get rid of unnecessary material possessions and even unnecessary socializing. This way, a person would be able to better connect with the universe around him and learn the secrets of existence. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel.

Skip to content Home Dissertation Why did Thoreau go into the woods and why did he leave the woods? Ben Davis May 2,