Transcendentalism Essay on Thoreau's 'Walden'

Walden, written by Henry David Thoreau, introduction and annotations by Bill McKibben, follows the life and observations of Thoreau as he lived apart from civilization for two years and two months near Concord, Massachusetts. During this time, he encounters many different individuals who assist him in forming his ideas of life and society. Thoreau argues that by living a life of simplicity, one can unearth the necessities of life. He does this successfully, by employing ethos, pathos, and logos to uphold this argument.

Walden follows Thoreau's transactions whilst living in solitary in a cabin in Concord, Massachusetts. He does this as a “personal experiment” and to prove that he, as well as other humans, can live on their own from the beauties of nature. Thoreau is completely self-sustainable at the pond; as he constructs his cabin, creates his clothing, and grows his vegetables. During this time, he also faces mystical and spiritual encounters with nature that aid in his main arguments. During his isolation, Thoreau ponders the essence of nature as well as the qualities of humans. He often thinks of how man is so taken with materialistic items, which he refers to as distractions, that one could be lost whilst discovering their true self. He also concludes that materialistic objects can lead to desensitization of the lives of humans. During his experiment, he meets a variety of people including settlers, laborers, a poet, philosopher. This variety of characters people enables him to ponder the desire of humankind, as well as the surrounding area. He finds that all one needs to be content is shelter, clothing, fuel, and food.

Thoreau utilizes Pathos in his observations, he relies on his faith in Transcendentalism to connect to his reader's emotions. He applies the rhetorical device of Pathos to aid in his successful argument for the simplification of life and the effects it has. In “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For,” Thoreau applies the idea of the simplification of nature, which in return leads to a joyful life, to connect with the reader’s emotions. He states, “Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself. I have been as sincere a worshipper of Aurora as the Greeks. I got up early and bathed in the pond; that was a religious exercise, and one of the best things that I did” (Thoreau 83). By using this quote, he attempts to connect pathos to transcendentalism. He does this by addressing religion, which can be regarded as a very sensitive topic for many, especially during his era, when open-minded thinking was not permitted. For Thoreau, moving to Walden Pond was an attempt to live spiritually in nature in regards to Transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is the notion that truth lies in the spiritual realm, and for people to feel better, they must release their feelings to nature. Using his faith, as well as discussing others, he successfully brings evidence to his claim that living simply can lead to a more joyful life. Thoreau worries about the effect that materialism has on people, as he believes its effect can be very numbing to society. By using his religion of Transcendentalism to support his argument, he encourages people to worry less about objects and or people who can hurt one’s prosperity.

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Thoreau also applies Logos to accomplish his argument that living simply can lead to the knowledge of what is necessary to live a content and happy life. In the chapter “Solitude,” Thoreau argues that living near someone does not bring emotional attachments. He discusses the definition of isolation and quickly relates that creating distance physically does not relate to the isolation of an individual. He states, “The farmer can work alone in the field or the woods all day, hoeing or chopping, and not feel lonesome, because he is employed; but when he comes home at night he cannot sit down in a room alone, at the mercy of his thoughts, but must be where he can “see the folks,” and recreate….”(Thoreau 128). Thoreau sees solitude as an idea or a notion but does not define it as the physical spaciousness between society or an individual. He then uses the idea of solitude to make society see that materialistic things or ideas do not bring people closer together and only bring stress to an individual. These objects do not correlate with happiness, as he states he has more living simply, as one might with many more materialistic items. Ridding oneself of these ideas would lead to a simpler, more cheerful existence. By keeping oneself occupied, he argues, society thinks that one can forget loneliness through physical work, which he does not believe to be a logical argument. He states that in fact, we feel more lonely among others than we do in our solitude. One can feel the loneliest in a room crowded full of people. In “Conclusion” he argues, “In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness” (Thoreau 303). Here, he reinforces his idea that living simply will make one’s life easier, and more joyful. If one can change their viewpoints to more simpler notions, they will have better well-being.

Thoreau also exercises ethos, which gives his choices to live in isolation credibility. He is successful in his argument because he uses his own experiences of living in solitude at Walden Pond, as well as building his cabin, foraging for food, and fashioning clothing as evidence. He argues that he is credible in his arguments because they are his own true experiences. He is convinced that by living in the beauty and simplicity of nature, he is more informed about life, and its necessities. In “The Village” he returns to the company of those living in the town to observe their actions and gossip. He notices how people waste an abundant amount of time talking about their neighbors as well as their materialistic desires. He states, “Besides, there was a still more terrible standing invitation to call at every one of these houses, and the company expected about the times. For the most part, I escaped wonderfully from these dangers…”(Thoreau 159-160). As he goes to the village, the stores often tempt him to buy to improve, or to” better his life”, but he easily walks past them. He opposes how others are so tempted by society's materialistic things, that claim to better their lives. They spend a large majority of their time participating in gossip and purchasing new styles. He favors a more simple life and does not believe that a person can be morally judged by the brand of their clothes. He believes that he is more informed about the simple necessities of life because he has resided in nature, which has allowed him to be aware of its plentiful benefits. He utilizes his experiences in nature to argue that humans simply need nature to be content.

Simplicity is a prominent notation throughout Thoreau’s experiences at Walden Pond. In “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For” Thoreau states, “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb nail”(Thoreau 86). In this chapter, as well as in “Economy”, his main claims are that the discontentment of one’s belongings can be solved either by gaining more things, which he says will never make someone content because they’ll always be desiring the next best or new thing, or lessening wants. He argues that individuals need to keep a simple life; and minimize their wants and worries. Doing this will eventually create satisfaction with oneself. Thoreau repairs his garments, instead of purchasing the latest clothing. He sees his old neighbors side with the first, while he sides with the second argument. For Thoreau, anything beyond what is functional is just not needed and puts an individual at a drawback. Thoreau argues that living simply brings individuals closer to their roots, and in reality, people do not need the newest object. He believes living simply, with little, and being able to see the beauty of his lifestyle is almost primitive. In “Economy”, Thoreau states, “ Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are not only indispensable but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind”(Thoreau 12). Thoreau proves this to the reader as he builds his own home instead of purchasing one, instead of spending money on unnecessary items, he spends time observing the beauty of nature. From his observations, he realizes that those who claim to have more belongings than he has fewer. By performing these manual labors, he proves that through living a life of simplicity, one finds the necessities of life. In chapters such as “Baker Farm” and “Higher Laws,” Thoreau discusses that he misses the time when farming was not just done for a profit, and people worked hard for the things they wanted to learn the importance of. Thoreau uses the concept of simplicity as a basis for all other sub-arguments. He does successfully prove that one can discover the necessities of life when living simply.

Thoreau successfully argues that by living a life of simplicity, one can unearth the necessities of life. He accomplishes this by using ethos, pathos, and logos to uphold this argument. He applies his experiences of his time of solitude at Walden Pond and his observations of society to create these arguments. By purging the grandeurs of society during his “personal experiment” he can uphold that simplicity is the foundation for contentment. In “Conclusion” he states, “Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts”(Thoreau 307). In this quote, he explains that one should not be concerned with society's expectations. One must not be concerned with the newest object, expecting it to bring you happiness. You must discover happiness within yourself, and the best way to do this is to strip yourself of all materialistic things and live simply.