3.5 #transcendentalism

Book ReviewWalden, an American classic...few of us have likely read all 350+ pages, unless you were an English major. For most, perhaps 10-15 pages in high school or a college literature course introduced you to Thoreau and Walden. Famed philosopher and thinker, it's a book that transports you to nature and the simplicities of life... helping to discover who you are, what you want and where things are going. A bit of an existential crisis, so to speak. It's a good book. I have nothing against it, but it didn't resonate with me as much as I'd have liked.I tend to be character and plot-based, when it comes to literature I enjoy. The main character, besides Thoreau, was passion/life/searching... it's not a work of fiction, tho some may take it that way. Perhaps a collection of essays, early journal writing. Blogging?All in all, beautiful language. Great images. Lots to think about. Worth reading those 10 to 15 pages. But unless you are into philosophy, it'll be a hard read. I'm a thinker, but not in this way. I'm glad I read the full text... and a few pages several times for comparative purposes in different courses. Take a little on for yourself.About MeFor those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.[polldaddy poll=9729544][polldaddy poll=9719251]

Reading Walden was kind of like eating bran flakes: You know it's good for you, and to some degree you enjoy the wholesomeness of it, but it's not always particularly exciting. The parts of this book that I loved (the philosophy, which always held my interest even though I sometimes didn't agree with Thoreau), I really loved, and the parts that I hated (the ten pages where he waxes poetic about his bean fields, for instance), I really hated. I also got the impression that Thoreau was the kind of guy I could never be friends with. In Into the Wild (which I read at the same time during intervals when Walden became too much to bear), Jon Krakauer describes Thoreau as "staid and prissy." I agree, and I'd also add "holier than thou." At many points in the book, his attitude seems to be, "If you're not living your life exactly like me, then you're just stupid." Which aggravated me because, while I can see the merit of his way of life, I don't necessarily think one has to take it to the extremes he did to reap the same benefits. That said, there were parts of his philosophy that I want to try to carry out in my own life, and I know that this is a book that I'll refer to again and again throughout my life. But will I ever read the whole thing through again? Doubtful.

Woefully overwritten to the point where most modern readers who might be moved by Thoreaus transcendentalism will be put off by the prose alone. If that doesnt get them, his elitist attitude probably will. Thoreau took Ralph Waldo Emersons ideals of choosing for yourself and added, but youre an idiot if you dont choose mine. Too many of his asides are condescending views of society or normal people, evidencing that Thoreau was stuck on other people even if he claimed to be independent or above them. Every few years Ill fool myself into thinking this book isnt as bad as I remember, but even last month when I helped a girl with her paper on it, I was reminded that it truly is a dreadful love affair between a writer and his own thoughts. For a clearer, shorter, nearly crystallized version of Thoreau's thoughts in his own words and illustrated by some firmer anecdotes, see his "Civil Disobedience."

I've read Walden many times now since that first time in high school. I will always love this book, and it reveals itself anew with each reading. When I first encountered Thoreau in high school, his words rang in my soul like a prophet's manifesto. I admired what seemed to be his unique courage and absolute integrity. He inspired me to want to "live deliberately," but I knew that a solitary life in a cabin was beyond my abilities. His will seemed so much more resolute than anything I could ever be capable of.That was a couple of decades ago. What struck on this latest recent reading is just how much this is a young man's book. The voice is that of an idealist, a passionate and lonely misfit who longs for a better way to live and for more authentic relationships with others as well as with himself. I know now that Thoreau lived more like an energetic slacker than a true renunciate. He was too principled to work as a schoolmaster (he refused to beat his charges), and there wasn't much he cared to do apart from reading, writing, and observing nature closely. He didn't have a family to take care of, and his parents were indulgent of his wishes. His life at Walden was bracing, but it wasn't filled with hardships. His cabin was just a short walk from Concord, and Thoreau went home for Sunday dinners and stayed at the Emersons' place when it got too cold. His folks took care of his laundry. His life of simplicity was strictly voluntary, and he had numerous safety nets. While these facts make Henry David a bit less intimidating, they also make him more recognizable as a human being. I like this young man, with his snobbery and his idealism, but I know that as a flesh-and-blood person he would have been hard to get to know, and even harder to love. He was probably afraid of intimacy, and even more afraid of failing to live up to his exacting standards. Thoreau was fascinated with purity. His disgust for "brute" appetites is something that we now think we understand as related to a fear of sexuality. He was deeply interested in Hindu dietary laws, and had an aversion to all forms of consumption. For him, the ideal was to become so pure that a few drops of nectar would be sufficient sustenance. Like Thoreau, I'm an ethical vegetarian, so I understand somewhat that urge toward purity. But my appetites are huge, and my life is in many ways a big, sloppy, comfortable mess. In contrast, Thoreau wanted to be free of all social constraints, free of the taint of commerce, free to be "wild." But his vision of wildness was of a clean, solitary life. He didn't want to merge or mingle with anything or anyone. The descriptions of Walden and the surrounding landscapes are sublime. They will never get stale, and I enjoy them even more now that I live a few miles from Concord and have visited the pond in different seasons. I look forward to reading this beautiful book again in a few years. I wonder what I'll notice next time?