Within the first couple of pages of Henry David Thoreau's Walden, the narrator comes off as a little rambling and a bit self serving. Nevertheless, it is precisely these aspects of his personality which bring him to the solitary shores of Walden Pond and, ultimately, to write a book relevant beyond his time.
The premise centers around Thoreau's building of a house on the shore of Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts. For two years and two months, he lives as far outside mainstream life as possible, growing most of his own food and generally being self-sufficient. This, however, is only the framework for the philosophical meanderings which take up much of the book. He readily admits that what he presents is his own perspective on life and no one else's, and it is clear that he believes in his own correctness. While this has an initial taste of narcissism about it, he so quickly moves himself into a secondary position, in favor of the lifestyle he preaches, that it is easy to forgive.
Almost immediately, Thoreau's writing takes on a wayward style, which mirrors the wandering motivation that took him to Walden in the first place. He is fond of quoting other authors and telling stories about things he read, usually involving other countries or cultures. I found the quotations a little ironic, albeit inadvertanly so, since Walden is one of the more referenced works I've come across. "Our life is frittered away by detail," "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately," "Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in." I felt like I had read a good part of the book before I ever picked it up. As with most things, however, the quotes lose something when taken out of context. In fact, I don't think Thoreau would take kindly to being so often quoted. From the beginning, the philosophy of careful deliberation is inherent in everything he does and says. So, in that sense, I think the rambling quality of his writing may reflect an effort to help the reader achieve a level of patience. We must calmly wade past anecdotes of Chinese and "Hindoos" in order to arrive prepared at the profound heart of the book.
Article comments
1 - ostrova
Ralphie had the women of his immediate family dropping by the pond on a regular basis with his laundry and some snacks. Once I knew that, it was hard to take some of his talk about the simple life.
2 - ostrova
Sorry, not Ralphie. Did I say Ralphie? I meant Hank.
3 - bliffle
Ostrova apparently thinks his leaden words are worth repeating over and over. Not I, alas.
4 - Mark Saleski
i thought hank was famous for hanging around in bars.
5 - ostrova
Bliffle, explain yourself, please. Also, Ostrova is a "she".
6 - Kevin Eagan
Ostrova, that's an interesting perspective on Walden, and one that everyone should consider when reading this novel. Thoreau was kind of phony, but his words are still meaningful. Thoreau's personal flaws shouldn't be the deciding factor in reading Walden.
There have been a lot of great phonies in the history of literature. Should we pass off Kerouac because we discover that he didn't actually write On The Road as spontaneously as the press portrayed or that he fabricated and self-edited? Or should we pass off Shakespeare's historical plays because he wasn't a historian and used fabricated texts (and made up a lot) as his sources?
Essentially, the only way we're ever going to understand our surroundings and appreciate great works of literature like Walden is if we look past the character flaws of the authors and immerse ourselves in their words instead of their actions.
7 - ostrova
Egan,
Willie the Shakes was just telling a good story and not being a historian (great language is neither here nor there for the moment). I was pretty let down when I found out Mr. "Simplify!" actually had a lot of his housework done for him, and considering that this was a lot more labor-intensive @ the time, it figures in. I'm probably gonna be dismissed as just another whiny feminist but it's the guys who think this is trivial, right? Well, throughout history it's usually been the guys who got to think their thoughts @ the pond, carve the sculpture, write the plays, and for that matter, go on the stage, be in the gov't, and the women did the laundry and the cooking and the diapering---ummm, any of this sounding familiar? So yeah, it is a big deal that "Walden" was written by a guy who didn't have to do his own housework. Think it would've been written by a Henrietta? Just saying.