Pros

and Cons of Thoreaus Philosophy

Kim 2 Table of Contents First Paragraph.............................................................................................................................................. 4 Second Paragraph ....................................................................................................................................... 4 Third Paragraph............................................................................................................................................ 5 Fourth Paragraph ........................................................................................................................................ 5 Fifth Paragraph ............................................................................................................................................ 6

Kim 3 Outline I. Introduction II. Body A. Simplicity B. Individuality C. Cultivating Poverty III. Conclusion

Kim 4 Andrew Kim Mr. Dixon American Literature 6 June 2011 Pros and Cons of Thoreaus Philosophy First Paragraph How should we exist in this more rapidly developing society? What agenda are we supposed to attach more emphasis on in order to lead a more efficient and positive life? Henry David Thoreau, as a Transcendentalist, holds a unique perspective toward the society and the way of living life. In Walden, Thoreau goes into the woods to cast away from the society and live freely with only the essentials of life. Thoreau says I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartanlike as to put to rout all that was not life to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms (Pg. 410). This evidently demonstrates that he desires to live as simply as possible in accordance with nature and acquire the true meaning of life. Throughout his essay, Thoreau emphasizes three key concepts: simplicity, individuality, and cultivating poverty. These are the core issues that he wants to emphasize in the process of maintaining his life. Second Paragraph First of all, Thoreau emphasizes power of simplicity many times throughout the essay by asserting Simplicity, Simplicity, Simplicity (Pg. 410). He lives in the forest, because he wants to live a life as it is, without any unnecessary attachments that society forms upon life. I agree with his idea, because many people nowadays tend to spend a lot of money on their possessions to enjoy unnecessary comfort, which clouds their vision and disturbs them from realizing what life really is. However, when he says that we should live a life to its bare minimum, he infers that we can survive only with essentials of life, such as water, food, shelter, and etc. However, would only these fulfill our lives? I believe that if we spend our money frugally, not greedily, then we can still follow simplicity in our lives. Therefore, he only sees simplicity with mere visible things; I question if emotions would also affect it.
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Kim 5 Third Paragraph Secondly, he asserts the concept of individuality with freedom and serenity. He places a bigger importance in nature rather than society. He finds a farm very attractive because it is complete retirement (Pg. 408) from the next village, separate from the highway and it is in ruinous state of the house and barn (Pg. 408). This demonstrates that he is not impressed by his complex and crowded society and decides to interact more with nature, becoming independent. He also accounts for individuality by saying If a man does not keep his pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer (Pg. 412). In this quote, he criticizes peoples conformity and insists that we should go on our own way, not following the crowd. He seems to connote that in our daily lives, it is futile to comply blindly with what others do without any judgment. However, becoming independent may intensify our self-reliance. Some may say that it is essential to build up individual identity in accordance with ones commitment. On the contrary, it must be more significant to know that we are outcast from the society and we wouldnt have anyone to socialize and enjoy our lives. Fourth Paragraph Furthermore, Thoreau implies throughout his essay that one could be rich or be poor; it really makes no difference. Rich people have more possessions to lose than the poor people. Therefore, being rich does not determine that we will live in happiness. In addition, he states that being poverty is but the most significant and vital experience (Pg. 413) in our life and that it is [L]ife near the bone where it is sweetest (Pg. 413). This illustrates that we should live our life in the simplest way, getting rid of all the unessential possessions to be happy. This can be better understood through his following assertion; However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names (Pg. 413) that no matter how terrible our life may be, we should not hesitate to face it and never blame others and never give up. It seems that although Thoreau is viewing poverty as being good, he ignores the fact that being poverty might deter us from what we aspire to do. There are many ways that we can substantiate the consequences of the poverty. For example, poor people living and fighting in the third world only in the pursuit of money and food. 5
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Kim 6 Fifth Paragraph

Walden clearly explains Thoreaus perspectives toward society and nature. Thoreau desires to cut out all the unnecessary areas of life and believes that life must be reduced to its simplest elements. Under unnecessary areas of life, he includes society as well and wishes to become one with nature rather than being involved in society. Moreover, he views that being wealthy will not always guarantee happiness and that we should live as simple as possible by taking out of all the unessential objects. Thoreaus philosophy encourages us to live our life to the fullest and realize the true meaning of life.

Kim 7 Reference Kifer, Ken. "Analysis and Notes on Walden -- Henry Thoreau's Text with Adjacent Thoreauvian Commentary." Welcome to KenKifer.com. Ken Kifer, 7 Oct. 2003. Web. 08 June 2011. <http://www.kenkifer.com/Thoreau/>.