Introduction about Walden:

In Walden, Thoreau condensed events of his twenty-six-month break into one year, for literary
purposes. He began and ended his narrative in spring. The eighteen chapters celebrate the unity of
nature, humanity, and divinity—a central idea of transcendentalism—and portray Thoreau’s life at
Walden Pond as an ideal model for enjoying that unity. In solitude, simplicity, and living close to nature,
Thoreau had found what he believed to be a better life. In Walden, he enthusiastically shares his
discoveries so that others, too, may abandon conventional ways and live more sanely and happily.

Walden was the second and final book by Thoreau to be published in his lifetime. It was not until the
1900s that Thoreau and Walden found a large, appreciative audience. The book was especially popular
during the enforced simplicity of the Great Depression of the 1930s.

In fact, Thoreau's purpose in Why I Went to the Woods is solely to explain why he chose to escape
civilization and move to the wilderness. He makes this very apparent in his introduction. He says, "I
went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if
I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived"
(Thoreau 1).

Thoreau also highlights the central idea that everyone, not only himself, should live simplistically with
only the bare necessities. He urges his readers, "Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs
be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep
your accounts on your thumbnail" (Thoreau 1). Additionally, Thoreau incorporates a certain manner of
writing and rhetorical strategies to emphasize the lesson of simplicity to his readers and to develop a
genuine enthusiasm for the basic necessities.

In a quick glance, Thoreau's tone stands as very distinct. His words are all said with the utmost
confidence and care as he chooses ones that convey the exact meaning and implications. For example,
he says, "And we are enabled to apprehend at all what is sublime and noble only by the perpetual
instilling and drenching of the reality that surrounds us" (Thoreau 4) rather than "We understand unique
stuff by looking at what is real". His word choice pinpoints exactly what he wants to express.

Thoreau adds a personal touch by interjecting with his personal opinion. The syntax accentuates the
power of his voice speaking out. "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately" (Thoreau 1)

These types of interruptions call back the reader’s attention to a very attentive and focused state. It also
shows that there is no coerciveness in Thoreau's opinion: while he suggests that life should be
simplistic, he explains that these are the steps he personal believes and he is following. It develops
more support because no one feels like they are forced to follow this path.
Some major parts of Thoreau's Why I Went to the Woods consisted of imagery and metaphors. Both of
these categories added to the meaning and the development of his viewpoint. He refers to life as the
"chopping sea of civilized life" (Thoreau 1). this metaphor represents the toils of life. It also inherently
advocates simplification to avoid the hardships that most people will face if they chose to continue
driving straight down the path.

The importance of this specific metaphor is that it adds to the entire canvas of his central idea. It
encompasses the precise principle of learning concepts and not wasting precious time doing
superfluous activities.

While the majority of Why I Went to the Woods text is full of metaphors and imagery to reflect Thoreau's
idea of a peaceful and simple life without waste, he also includes some other key rhetorical devices that
add significantly to his ideas.

The first type is rhetorical questions. Thoreau writes, "Why should we live with such hurry and waste of
life?" (Thoreau 2). The message in this single line is so direct that it immediately calls attention to the
real problem; humans would be blatantly stupid to choose to waste away their lives. Its presents the
facts to the audience and adds more incentive to follow Thoreau's suggested lifestyle.

Second, he creates large metaphors to give each and every example a deeper meaning. Each part
builds on each other to create a strong argument in his favor.

First-Person Narration
Thoreau wrote Walden in the first person. He explains on the first page that, although ‘‘I’’ is omitted from
most books, ‘‘it is, after all, always the first person that is speaking.’’ In addition, he explains that the
book is all about Thoreau himself.
Walden by Henry David Thoreau 

    Walden, by Henry David Thoreau is written in first person about the events and ideas that came to
the author during his time living at Walden Pond in the eighteen hundreds.  Henry David Thoreau was a
poet and a philosopher who lived a life of simplicity in order to make a direct connection between
people, God, and nature. 

His writing in Walden focused on many different themes, including: the relationship between light and
dark, and importance of nature, the meaning of progress, and the relationship between the mind and
body.  He also developed many philosophical ideas concerning knowing yourself, living simply and
deliberately, and seeking truth. 

  
    In the first section of Walden entitled "Economy," Thoreau develops his ideas of living simply
and deliberately.  He believed that "it is best to want less," and that "there is no point of living if
it is not deliberate."  By living deliberately he meant giving each part of life attention, whether in
observing humans or nature, and living during "all moments of life."  He believed that humans
had only four basic necessities: food, shelter, clothing, and fuel.  The object of each of these
necessities is to "conserve an individual’s energy."  He also believed that "gluttony is bad," and
so we should "only content ourselves with possessions that we need."  Thoreau focused on
living deliberately, and stated "to settle, and to feel reality in its fullness, is the point." 

Thoreau uses to conclude the book; he stresses the importance of knowing yourself.  He stated that
"truth means more than love, than money, than fame.  He also advised that if you want to travel, you
should explore yourself.  He stated that "the world of nature is but a means of inspiration for us to know
ourselves." 

The Works of Henry David Thoreau:

The works of Henry David Thoreau clearly show his belief in transcendentalism. The dictionary defines
transcendentalism as any system of philosophy emphasizing the natural and spiritual above the
empirical and material. "Walden", a story that describes Thoreau's experiences while living on Walden
Pond, emphasizes the importance of individuality and self-reliance.
 In the phrase "to live deliberately," I think Thoreau is saying that he should be able to choose his own
path in life with no one else's input. He wanted to make sure that when it was his time to die, he had
lived life to the fullest.  So Thoreau went into the woods on purpose and gave up all material goods
and lived from the "fruits" of the land in order to understand what life and nature was really about.  He
wanted to live life , to make decisions about what path he should take and what he should use to get to
where he wanted to go.

Analysis

The title of this chapter combines a practical topic of residence (“Where I Lived… the meaning of life
(“What I Lived For”).

Man as part of nature

Thoreau demonstrates that man can live successfully in the midst of nature. The animals
give him companionship and accept him as a familiar part of their environment.

Nature as reflection of human emotions

The idea of nature reflecting human emotion supports Thoreau's belief in man as a part
of nature.

Discovery of the essential through a life of simplicity

he says that he "went to the woods to live deliberately" so that when he died he would
not find that he had never really lived. For Thoreau, this is a happy discovery, Thoreau
insists, "Simplicity! Simplicity! Simplicity!"

Exploring the interior of oneself

Thoreau in his final chapter, he urges his reader, to explore within himself.

Walden Where I Lived, and What I lived For Summary

 He explains that he chose this place because he "wished to live deliberately," to simplify
everything in his life so that he could really live.
 Nowadays, the world moves too quickly; he wants to slow down and really enjoy life.
 Newspapers never tell us anything new, according to Thoreau. He wants to dig "through
the mud and slush of opinion, and prejudice, and tradition, and delusion, and appearance" and get to
reality.
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods

“It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.” 
― Henry David Thoreau

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and
see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I
did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it
was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and
Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into
a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms.” 
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods

“Never look back unless you are planning to go that way.” 

― Henry David Thoreau

“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.” 

― Henry David Thoreau

“Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.” 

― Henry David Thoreau

“All good things are wild and free.” 

― Henry David Thoreau

“If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment.” 
― Henry David Thoreau