Thoreau's Walden

Thoreau, as we all know, is a guy that was big on nature, and most of his writings were based on nature, and if they were not about nature they were social critics. He would compare nature with other things, like a metaphor, because that is what made the most since to him. "The interconnectedness between civilization and nature is as central to Thoreau's thought as the interconnectedness of mind and body, the ideal and the real" (Keck). The author of the analysis of Thoreau's Walden really summed up right in this quote. Thoreau was big on tying together things around us, civilization, to that of nature in ways that we would not all think would be normal, but that was the way that he liked to do things, and what clicked to him. In Thoreau's Walden Pond, he went well beyond self- sufficiency (Keck). Thoreau went for awhile at this pond, and got rid of all of his attachments. He did not just get rid of physical attachments, but also social and intellectual attachments. I think that something like this would be hard. In Keck's point of view he was trying to attempt to uncover his own path and purpose in life. I think that Keck had a good point here, and I think that that was definitely Thoreau's main point for his break from all. I think that he was trying to find out what he was really here for and what he was meant to be doing.

"By stripping away the complex, superfluous layers of nineteenth-century life and actively distancing himself from the expectations, conventions, and traditions of society and culture, Thoreau follows in the footsteps of the "ancient philosophers". He combines various cultural philosophies and mystic traditions into "a complex and bicultural concept" (Keck). I also think that Keck had another amazing point right here. He was trying to say that by doing this Thoreau was trying to be a real philosopher. He was studying his cultural philosophies, because he was so big on nature and how it ties to culture. I also agree with him because I think that Thoreau's ideas were a lot more complex than they needed to be, but I guess we understood them.

"As is fit for such a quest, Thoreau's stay at Walden Pond re-enacts the journey theme so typical of the American Dream. On the one hand, Thoreau's hermitage at Walden Pond is an integral tale in American literary history. On the other hand, scholars like to draw attention to the fact that while Thoreau, the self-proclaimed hermit, bathed in Walden Pond and kindled the hearth in his self-made hut, he was sustained by hearty meals at his family home. The author himself makes no secret of his whereabouts" (Keck). I think that here Keck kind of seemed like he was seeing Thoreau's journeys in different ways, and could justify all of them. He thought that his journey was like the American Dream, but then again he talked about all the attention he got from this. I agree with the attention one more. I think that he was able to keep going because of his family. I also like how Thoreau was not secretive about his whereabouts, and he was honest. I think that I liked that about him.

I think that Keck had a good analysis, and he had a lot of good things to say about it. I thought that he brought up things that really made you think about the kind of write Thoreau really was.

Keck, Michaela. "Thoreau's Walden and the American Dream: Challenge or Myth?" In Bloom, Harold, ed. The American Dream, Bloom's Literary Themes. New York: Chelsea Publishing House, 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BLTTAD021&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 17, 2010).