Walden by Thoreau
Summary of the plot:
Walden is the autobiographical, non-fiction retelling of Henry David Thoreau's stay at Walden Pond, every event in the text is essentially factual rather than imagined or created. The plot is simply comprised of the events that happen to Thoreau during the two years that he spends in the woods.
Thoreau decides to move to the woods, where he builds a small cabin. He plants a garden and lives off of what he can produce or capture. He is isolated from other people, although he does have occasional visitors. He spends his time observing wildlife, nature, , and the seasons and contemplating the nature of man and the universe.
Thoreau also reflects on the differences and similarities between nature and society. At the end of two years, he returns to society. He writes factually about his experience of his time in the woods, along with his interpretation of the events that occurred. Walden is a work as encouragement and motivation in the hope that society will purify itself.
Character list: Author and narrator, Henry David Thoreau.
Summary/Analysis of the Characters
During the two years that Thoreau spends in the woods, he feels that society has strayed too far from the pursuit of excellence and purity. He claims that mankind has become too greedy and ambitious, enslaved by his own desire to own and possess. People have strayed away from simple lives offered by Nature's example.
General Themes: Self-realization and self-fulfillment are Walden’s themes. Self-actualization is attained through human unity with Nature. Every aspect of Walden is focused on this idea. Because the piece is a collection of essays, individual Themes are discussed in each of the chapter summaries.
Important Symbols:
Walden Pond has various meanings, and by the end of the work this small body of water comes to symbolize almost everything that Thoreau holds dear , philosophically, personally, and spiritually. The pond symbolizes an alternative to social conventions and obligations. In addition the pond also symbolizes the vitality and tranquility of nature. A clue to the symbolic meaning of the pond lies in two of its aspects which fascinate Thoreau: its depth, rumored to be infinite, and its pure and reflective quality
l
Author Information:
An American author, philosopher, and naturalist who was part of the Transcendentalist movement. He is best known for his "Civil Disobedience" essay, which he wrote after spending a night in jail for not paying the poll tax; and for his two-year retreat to Walden Pond, detailed in his second book,Walden, or Life in the Woods.
Key Facts
full title·Originally published asWalden; or, Life in the Woods.Thoreau requested that the title be abbreviated simply toWaldenupon the preparation of a second edition in1862.
author·Henry David Thoreau
type of work·Essay
genre·Autobiography; moral philosophy; natural history; social criticism
language·English
time and place written·1845–1854, Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts
date of first publication·1854
publisher·Ticknor and Fields, Boston
narrator·Henry David Thoreau
Important quotes:
"Let us first be as simple and well as Nature ourselves, dispel the clouds which hang over our brows, and take up a little life into our pores. Do not stay to be an overseer of the poor, but endeavor to become one of the worthies of the world.
"To be awake is to be alive."
Website: www.bestnotes.com , www.biography.com
Lynn Demetrakis[Type text]Page 2