Book Review

Walden
By Henry David Thoreau

Sebin Antony

7/12/12

Content
Walden is an American classic written by

Henry David Thoreau and first published in 1854. of spiritual discovery and a manual for self reliance

It is part biography, social experiment, voyage

The book consists of 17 chapters (Economy,

where I lived what I lived for, reading, sounds, solitude, visitors, the bean field, the village, the pond, baker farm, higher laws, brute neighbors, house warming, winter visitors, winter animals, pond in winter, spring, 7/12/12 conclusion) and covers Thoreaus life in the

 You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find

your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this. Henry David Thoreau

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Style of writing
The author has used several forms of writing styles in this books such as:
Satires Allegorical metaphors Personification Irony Sarcasm Allusions

The author has also used long and complex 7/12/12 paragraphs and described vivid details of his

Theme
Criticism of materialistic, consumerist world

and exemplification of the life in close relation with nature is a strong theme of the book and meaningful life and ways to get out of the cycle of facetious labors of life in life

A transcendentalists view of living a sincere

Simple living is the essence for true happiness

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Characters
The main character in the book the author

Henry David Thoreau himself

Other important characters are :

Ralph Waldo Emerson Alex Therein John Field Amos Bronson Alcott William Ellery Channing Henry Clay Lidian Emerson
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Summary
In one book. he surpasses everything we have had in America - Robert Frost
Walden details Henry David Thoreaus

experiment over the course of two years in a cabin near a pond called Walden owned by his close friend and mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson near concord Massachusetts.
In the course of time the author by self

introspection and surviving only on the natural surroundings wanted to gain more objective understanding of the 7/12/12 society.

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away 7/12/12 Henry David Thoreau

Criticism
As the name suggests the author does not

lives in the woods, he stays in a cabin near Walden pond which was a private property owned by his friend (3 Km from town). The experiment would have failed in a different situation. sophisticated works of Greek and Latin literature and bemoans the lack of sophistication in concord. On the contrary he was strong proponent of simple living
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The author used to read and praise the

Learning
Self Reliance and continuous self

improvement

Living in the present Wealth is not everything in the world Importance of Learning and gaining

knowledge

Truth, honesty and virtue. Inquisitive mind and freedom Simplicity

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Thank You

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/eflon Modified by Leah Rabe 7/12/12