Thoughts from Walden
Transcendentalist philosopher Henry David Thoreau lived two years nearby a pond surrounded by woodland and wrote his magnum opus, Walden; or, Life in the Woods. The book is a collection of essays consisting of his reflection on life and the condition of men and the virtues of living a simple life in the heart of nature.
I've been reading the book throughout the last month and wanted to discuss some of the chapters and ideas Thoreau puts forward, as I believe them to be worth pondering upon.
Economy
In Fellini's Amarcord, a delightful work of surrealism, a bunch of bricklayers gather around. An older man laughs with missing teeth and sings, "My grandfather laid bricks, my father laid bricks, I lay bricks, but where is my home?", hilarious dark comedy. We laugh. But such a reality was in Thoreau's time, it was in Fellini's time and it is still the same today in my time.
In this very first chapter, Thoreau speaks vehemently against working to the grave, specially when one of the major motivation behind such intensive work is to buy a house in order to own it and to inhabit. He argues that most people waste 15 to 20 years of their lives to buy their own house with modern conveniences (I think in my country the time is even more), while less civilized population build their own home, and live comfortably for next to nothing. Of course, he himself has done it, built him a cabin by the Walden pond all by himself, a fine, habitable one no less.
At first I thought Thoreau was in favor of stoicism and glorified poverty. Which is fine, but I don't like that philosophy, being a hedonist.
But that was not the case, his intention is to work less for your livelihood, i.e. food, garments, a roof over head and put as much time as you can in your passion. It doesn't have to be philosophy, or art, rather it can be any craft that brings value to you. I think I can get behind that. I'm of a similar idea, to be honest, even though I'm too much of a chicken to act on it. But imagine my joy when I saw him confirming what I believe!
There's another route to take of course, to become rich and forget about working or worrying to buy the house. But it's not an easy road and certainly not for everyone. Otherwise, people would stop slaving themselves away already. And I'm not talking about even the day laborers, bottom feeders, if you take a job in the private sector in a country like Bangladesh, your life is half ruined there and then.
However, Thoreau wrote that book in 1854, about 170 years ago. He also built the cabin on the land owned by his friend. Not many people can have a land of their own and start building a house and be self-sufficient. Population explosion made this almost impossible today. Also we are very much dependent on services and products rendered by others more than ever. True, some people are leaning towards such a life, but still, the percentage is very low.
Thoreau kept record of every single penny he spent on the cabin and yearly living expenses. Our course, in dollar values, the money would seem laughable now, but in that time, he managed to build that house with little money that was worth about what a student would pay for rent a whole year and for a shabby room with questionable neighbours. He only worked for a few weeks to fund year-round food consumption cost. Impressive!
What did he do with all the time he saved then? Yes, he enjoyed his solitary time in the embrace of the nature, the fresh fruits and veggies he grew himself, the prolonged leisure on the bank of the pond which had water so clear and pure, and he wrote, he philosophized, he became the Thoreau we know today. :)
I'm more than halfway through the book and I've been enjoying his transcendental ideas and individualism. I plan to write about them in future.
You can read more of my film and literature related articles on my hive blog page.
I was turned off by the first part of the book. So much so that I am yet to finish it. No it is not just about the difficult prose it’s the disagreement in the fundamental concept. I don’t like Thoreau‘s point about glorified poverty. I don’t agree that people shouldn’t buy a house. I am very American that way. I think people should borrow money and buy a house as soon as possible. This is the modern Keynesian Economy and Thoreau‘s Rooseveltian Socialism is proven to be wrong. There has been efforts in the modern time to resurrect it but it mostly fallen flat.
It seemed that way to me too at first and I can clearly understand why would it bother you and it did the same to me. If you had continued, you would have seen how much he disliked having more clothes as well!
I dislike poverty and anyone who has ever been disabled from getting their wouldn't glorify it. I also wish poverty to be non existent with implementations such as universal basic income and social democracy.
However, Thoreau was not glorifying poverty as I mentioned before in the article. He was in favor of spending time wisely, personal improvement and such, and not to waste it on lesser stuff, like possession.
I'm not au fait with Rooseveltian Socialism, but Thoreau is certainly not proposing any kind of socialism in Walden. He's actually a firm proponent of individual enterprise and individualism.
I think you should have stayed with the book a bit longer, it's dated sure and you'd disagree on many points as I do, but it offers high-value to anyone who wishes to go on.
Thoreau's brick-laying theory resonates well with today's bank officers. They count crores of money throughout the month but get a penny at the end.
However, I've never read the whole text except online summaries and I'm indebted to his works as Civil Disobedience helped me pass my Viva-voce.
I would see it resonates with many other professions as well. Such an irony!
Walden is a great read, with vivid descriptions of the nature he embraced.
I have not read Civil Disobedience yet, but someday perhaps.
Talking about nature; Wordsworth is the champ here (as critics say). But I always admired how others represented the vividness of nature and not willing to give all the credits to WW.
Civil Disobedience would be a good read if you want to ponder yourself with conflicting politics and being similar to Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy, you'll find it relatable.