Walden Question. Thoreau?

Question

Why did Thoreau leave the woods. I don't think he left out of loneliness becuase he said that solitude was his friend. Also what does he hope to gain by living in the woods. My reaspn would be to completely simplify his life. Can you give me some addtional info?

1) Why did Thoreau leave the woods. I don't think he left out of loneliness becuase he said that solitude was his friend.

2)Also what does he hope to gain by living in the woods. My reason would be to completely simplify his life.

Answer 1

Thoreau left the woods because he felt like he spent too much time lamenting the world's problems and not enough fixing them.

Background info: Emerson was Thoureau's hero. Emerson taught everything that Thoreau believed (mainly Transcendentalism and a mix b/w anarchy and true communism-not Chinese communism). However, Thoureau discovered that Emerson was a hipocrite- he didn't practice what he preached- and he (Thoreau) decided that he didn't want to be known as a hipocrite. Unfortunately, Thoureau's circle of influence was much smaller than Emerson's, so he didn't do a whole lot to change the world.

Thoreou wanted to live in the woods because he wanted to live "deliberately" and simply. Here is a quote from his essay "Where I Lived and What I Lived For" :
"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 hope this helped- I'm studying Thoreau right now too- so I'm not exactly an expert, you should try reading "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail"- it will either make things clearer for you, or confuse you even more.

Answer 2

He says that he went to the woods because he "wished to live deliberately" (check out the whole famous quote) and after two years he left "I left the woods for as good a reason as why I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live, and could not spare any more time for that one . . . "

He was not a hermit while he was at the pond... it is only a mile or two from the center of Concord and he had many visitors.

You can go to Walden pond today. It is a state park and they have a replica of his cabin and a cairn (rock pile) at the site of his cabin... when you go to visit you should bring a rock from your home garden and place it on the cairn. Thousands of people from all over the world have done this. :)

Answer 3

I must disagree with Lita.

As it turns out, Thoreau had a big impact on the world. It was his concept of Civil Disobedience that inspired Gandhi, who in turn inspired Martin Luther King, Jr.

(Interesting, isn't it, that that idea boomeranged to India then back here.)

But otherwise, she seems to know her stuff.

Thoreau wanted to have effect, which he couldn't have in quiete contemplation.

His views and writings influenced more than those two people, too. A lot of people have been effected by Thoreau's ideas.

"If you see a man coming at you with the deliberate intention of doing you good; head for the hills."

"Beware all enterprises that require new clothes."

"Most men live lives of quiet desperation."

not to mention the "different drummer" line ...

Answer 4

Your question merits an entire paper for an answer. even with the undeniable fact that, in a nutshell, Thoreau became into attempting to chop back guy right down to the animal he extremely is and attempting practice that the human animal is able to living with nature and not striving to flee it. He became into attempting to coach that we don't prefer the worldwide we've created and that we are merchandising out by domesticating ourselves. He took this thought to a spiritual point, which Thoreau observed as Transcendentalism. Transcendentalism became right into a spiritual concept in accordance with Ralph Waldo Emerson's concepts. you will possibly desire to understand Transcendentalism to fully understand what Thoreau became into attempting to end, for it actually is religious in nature. while i became into taking Masters point English classes, I became enthralled with Thoreau, with the aid of fact the way he thinks is pleasing to the human recommendations. Thoreau became into attempting to bare what Wordsworth suggested the full time: "the worldwide is only too plenty with us." we prefer too many ingredients with the intention to stay our lives. Thoreau became into attempting to chop back guy right down to a trifling animal and practice that we are actually not above nor under the different creature… that we without being tarnished by the worldwide might desire to be the greater effective for it. contained in the tip, he tried to discover genuine solitude. yet, he missed something, i think of. He missed that no count number what we do, we are able to constantly fall short. Our basically wish is in Christ Jesus. needless to say, Thoreau did no longer understand this fact mutually as writing Walden. If he had, he did no longer practice it in any respect.

Answer 5

He felt peaceful there where he could think or contemplate or write without being disturbed. He was alone with nature.