I'll be blunt:
Walden is officially my favorite book ever written. I've never had a piece of literature inspire me as it did, and I have never seen such fantastic writing in any other work I have ever read. Henry David Thoreau is a genius, and is, hands down, my favorite writer. This post is in conclusion to my reading of the book, and I will try to be detailed in my review of it.
The only main character in
Walden was Henry Thoreau himself. It's something of an autobiography. Of course, he goes into some detail about general groups of people throughout the book. These include farmers, citizens of the area and the broad spectrum of people that blindly follow social norms and do not search for enlightenment. Aside from those people, Thoreau is the only main character. I thought that was nice. Usually, the "I" or first person is omitted in literature, but it was a nice change to read about what life was actually like in the 1850's.
To summarize the plot, it does not suffice to simply say that it's about a man who journeyed to the woods for two years and two months. It isn't so simple. Thoreau seemed fed up with the mundane norms of civilization. He began by elaborating upon his opinions of humanity in general, and used some quotes that changed my way of seeing things (as I'm sure I mentioned in a previous post). After explaining his opinions, he wrote about the way he moved to a cabin that he built by himself using only as much money as an average man of his time would earn in a week or month. In this place, he was rather solitary and lived off the work of his own hands. The book goes into great detail about the the things he learned before he returned to civilization as an enlightened being of sorts. Overall, it was incredibly interesting and insightful and inspiring.
The significance of the things he writes are undeniable. Though they were written in the early 1850's, they are still relevant. On a social level, this shines through most brilliantly. The first chapter is still the most inspirational to me in that it describes society very honestly. The chapter is called "Economy". It goes into detail about how people are forced to live certain ways. As he said, a man who was raised by wolves and came into the world to look for work would have more options than a man who inherits a farm and equipment. It almost preaches about the importance of choice in the work-life of a man. It goes further into detail about the way people seem to judge others by social class and income. A valuable quote from this chapter is as follows:
"Often times, if an accident happens involving a man's legs, it can be mended.
Yet, if a similar accident were to happen involving the legs of his pantaloons,
there would be no fixing it. For he looks not at what it truly respectable,
but at what is respected."
The quote is a great example of how the book seems to focus on the nature of man just as much as how Thoreau attempted to deviate from it.
If I were asked to rate this book on a scale of 1 to 5 I would certainly give it a 6. No book has ever been so inspiring or honest in my not-so-humble opinion. I would certainly recommend this book to anybody and everybody who is looking for some food for thought. It's simply the best piece of society-based literature ever conceived.
On the topic of what this blog is actually supposed to be about; I have no update on individual reading. Walden is done and I have no book to speak of. I suppose I could talk about my next reading venture..
