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A review by oofym
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
3.25
Walden is an interesting book, throughout my reading I took alot of notes but as the book drew to a close I felt like the author had run out of profound things to say 150 pages ago. But nevertheless here's my thoughts on the more interesting parts.
•ECONOMY•
I like the discussion on clothes, particularly on how Thoreau wishes we'd place more importantance on the practical use of them, rather than on aesthetics.
Funny how little some things change; Thoreau goes on to discuss house prices and comes to several conclusions. First; that houses are built too large and with too much unnecessary architecture and ornaments, which drives up the cost and therefore most middle class or lower citizens cannot afford to own their own homes, being forced to rent instead. Second; he argues that due to the inflated cost of these houses and the incredibly long time it takes to pay them off, that it is not really a house anymore, but rather a prison to which that human is stuck in due to the financial debt. Thoreau's solution to this problem is to find a spot in nature and build your own log cabin, which during his time was genuinely a good idea. Unfortunately this doesn't apply to the modern era, now you not only have to purchase the land, but there are many government's that don't even allow this option at all.
Depressingly, Thoreau's criticism against suburban housing has doubled in severity in the modern era, I did some calculations and it would now take a middle class worker 2-3x as long to save up for a house as it would of in Thoreau's time
(Avg daily wage in 1850-$1. Avg house price in 1850-$800) (Avg daily wage in 2024-$175-$250. Average house price in 2024-$400,000-$600,000)
Here is a fun little bit of philosophising on Thoreau's part, he wishes humankind would spend less time on constructing grandiose and impressive monuments, and instead spend just a quarter of that effort on themselves, he believes human civilisation might be better off if we worked on our "internal monuments" rather than creating exterior ones. Here's a quote: "One piece of good sense would be more memorable than a monument as high as the moon."
Thoreau ends off the economy section of the book with a really weird rant, I'm calling it a rant because it felt completely unneeded. He spends the last few pages of this section talking about...how do I put this; how poor people suck, charity is bad and beggars want to be beggars. Oof, what a 180, not what I expected at all from this guy. I suppose a reclusive isolationist from the 1850's is gonna have some pretty problematic takes here and there, just didn't expect it to be: "Aghhrr!!!! Stop helping the poor!!! Grrrrr".
•WHERE I LIVED AND WHAT I LIVED FOR•
He's gotten very spiritual all of a sudden. Thoreau begins to contemplate the sun and the morning, going as far to say that the "Dawn" is the only part of life worth living for and that all artistic aspirations and meaningful moments happen in accordance with the sun. Thoreau goes on to expand this into the belief that the period of dawn is simply the period in which we are truly aware of the sun, the morning and nature; and that to live an awakened life, to be in perpetual dawn: is to be constantly aware of the medium in which we study life through our senses.
"To affect the quality of the day, that Is the highest of arts."
There seems to be a huge emphasis on living in the "present". I really like the logic and metaphors Thoreau uses here, it's all pretty sage advice and feels very influenced by Eastern Philosophy (Which Thoreau reads) and ancient Greek philosophy, particularly stoicism.
Thoreau goes on to describe how humans have this innate desire to seek the sublime in things which are outside the boundaries of what we live in; particularly he's talking about what there is before the universe was created, what there was before we were born and what happens after death.
Thoreau mentions how we are so distracted by questions of what comes before and after, that we fail to search for the sublime, the ethereal in the present, and that this is a grave error. He argues that if something divine or transcendent does exist after death, or before the universe began; it probably isn't any more impressive or important than what we exist in now, and it certainly also exists just as strongly in our physical world. Thoreau essentially urges readers to seek spirituality and a closeness to nature in the present, in our current environment and situation, in our material world; rather than hope for it in planes of existence which are yet to be or have already passed. I love it.
•READING•
Thoreau would certainly be called a pretentious elitist today for his opinions on reading. He thinks reading is one of the most important things a human can do, he mentions how literature has much more value than many think, but he's referring to a specific type of literature: Classics and ancient texts. In his opinion the human race would be much better off if we all spent a little more time working on our literacy skills, so that we can constantly be improving the density of that which we are able to read. In his opinion someone reading what a fourth grader might be able to read for the rest of his life, is a complete waste of time, he argues the reading should be a complex, difficult and insightful experience, not one that lulls the reader into relaxation and drowsiness.
I also totally emphasise with his little whine he has about how you might be able to read the Illiad but good luck finding anyone to talk to it about.
Honestly i think Thoreau's argument that reading, (especially difficult texts)
Is important, is something I totally agree with. But I think his emphasis on wanting people to read classics and philosophy is purely because the poor guy has no reading buddies to discuss these books with, I feel ya Henry.
•Sounds•
A couple little things of note. I really enjoyed how Thoreau talks about the new steam locomotives as a sort of grand mythological beast which breathes fire and snorts out clouds. It's a fun visual picture, and I'm sure there were people at the time who found that new method of travel entirely off-putting.
Thoreau has spent a fair bit of this section not actually talking about sounds at all but he seems to be getting into it now. He mentions how very far off sounds have an almost magical and unique quality to them, comparing it to seeing a landscape at an incredibly far away distance. Then the way he goes on to describe the certain bird calls and owl hoots he hears is really vivid; comparing certain night time noises he hears to those of lamenting lost souls, wailing and crying as if "They'd wished they'd never been born." But while comparing other bird calls to the most serene and youthful sounding melodies a human could ever hear, questioning of how of our music derives from nature's music.
•SOLITUDE•
"I have, as it were, my own sun and moon and stars, and a little world all to myself."
When Thoreau starts to talk about his desire for solitude, there begins an interesting dichotomy. Although much of the point of "Walden" is to become more connected to nature, Thoreau in this section seems to place emphasis on the necessity of a certain level of disconnect to achieve a connection, which again, feels like a dichotomy that might cause some friction. I understand his point however, Thoreau is saying that to truly be a part of nature you have to be willing to realise your insignificance within it, aswell as realise how often we make the choice to let things affect us. To Thoreau, a rainstorm or a misfortune is not bad, that's a selfish point of view and in reality, its often so that these "Bad" events serve a purpose in nature. If you can realise when it is useful to disconnect from the happenings of the world, you might in turn become more of a cohesive part of it.
Thoreau makes an interesting point that humans should not be categorised as lonely by how far away they are from others, or by how often they talk to others, but instead by how healthy and whole their mental state is. Thoreau uses the comparison of a college student and a farmer; The student is most likely surrounded by others and lives in a very populated building, but can often feel incredibly alien and alone. Whereas as a farmer might spend his whole day toiling in a field by himself and yet not for one second feel lonely. Thoreau also argues that if you truly view yourself as a part of nature, then you cannot feel lonely, as the stars, the moon, the sun or the trees never feel lonely, so why should you.
•VISITORS•
I agree with Thoreau so hard throughout this section, he jumps from explaining how humans need ample distance between each other to talk properly (The original social distancing master), then on to how extravagant and convulated dinner parties are incredibly annoying and pretentious, making him want to never see that person again. Plus then talking about how during social gatherings, you can tell when it's going really well because everyone will stop caring about food and drink; as he puts it: "The waste and decay of physical life which so often needs repair, seemed miraculously retarded in such a case, and the vital vigour stood its ground."
•THE VILLAGE•
The little passage in this section about getting lost in the woods is so interesting to me as a human from the twenty-first century. Sometimes we forget that for many many years our species didn't have phones, gps, maps or street lights. The only navigation at night was to be found in the stars. When Thoreau talks about emerging from a woodland onto a dirt road and having absolutely no clue which way leads to the nearest village; I'll admit I was slightly jealous at never having experienced that feeling of being completely lost. His point on how sometimes one needs to get completely lost to truly realise the vastness of nature, and to understand how much we rely on our senses, it was a point I'm envious I haven't experienced.
"Not till we are completely lost or turned around - do we appreciate the vastness and strangeness of nature. Not till we are lost, in other words not till we have lost the world, do we begin to find ourselves, and realise where we are and the infinite extent of our relations."
•THE PONDS•
Maybe I need to go fishing?
This section of the book is a bit boring I'll admit, although there's some beautiful description of nature (The way Thoreau compares a lake to a human eye being the biggest standout), overall it's a slog, I don't need to know every single detail of this lake sir.
"How can you expect the birds to sing when their groves are cut down?"
•BAKER FARM•
I'm stealing "Cone-headed infant" as a description.
Thoreau comes across as such an ignorant douche in this section, he does his absolute best to showcase to the reader how he doesn't understand the poverty cycle at all.
He comes across this family at a place called "Baker Farm" who very politely allow him to shelter in their house and wait out a storm. Thoreau takes this opportunity to annoy them with his preachiness. He starts by telling the man all about how he shouldn't eat meat, milk or butter and that's why he's poor. He then explains that the man should wear cheaper clothes (even though Thoreau admits the clothes probably wouldn't suit the type of work the man does), and then finally tells the man to just fish all day and then buy a house; all while ignoring the fact that the man has two children and a wife to support and has rent to pay. Henry David Thoreau; the original anachronistic boomer.
•HIGHER LAWS•
"No humane being, past the thoughtless age of boyhood, will wantonly murder any creature which holds its life by the same tenure that he does."
Some interesting juxtaposing thoughts in this section. Firstly, there's Thoreau talking about how he simultaneously loves his higher, more educated and spiritual side of himself, while also loving his primitive and more animalistic compulsions. Its a unique position to hold; to recognise your conflicting nature and internal contradictions and yet to be content with it.
Secondly, Thoreau seems to be quite split on the idea of hunting. On one hand he says it's incredibly necessary to any young man's natural education, while on the otherhand lamenting the unnecessary loss of life and cruelty in killing living things.
I genuinely enjoy Thoreau's stand on how important it is to treat your body the right way, to abstain from too many indulgences and constantly seek to improve your "spirit"
Maybe I'm just a boring prude, but yeah pleasure for the sake of pleasure isn't always the best thing.
"Every man is the builder of a temple called his body, to the God he worships, after a style purely his own. We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones."
•BRUTE NEIGHBOURS•
Thoreau decides to spend 5 pages describing ant warfare.
•END THOUGHTS•
So, gonna be honest, this book started to bore me alot. Although Thoreau had some really interesting things to say in the first half, I feel like the further the book went on the more he's just mindlessly rambling; A professional yapper you might say. Alot of the end half of Walden is spent describing nature , animals and his neighbours in excruciatingly excessive detail, putting me to sleep before I can get through a few pages.
But, one saving grace to this Is the conclusion, the conclusion is excellent, it sums up everything Thoreau is trying to say in a brief and understandable manner. I honestly wish the whole book was more like the conclusion, or that the conclusion simply was the book. If I met anyone interested in reading Walden, I'd tell them to just read this section.
I'd give the first half of this book a 4 and the end half a 2 and the conclusion a 5. So I guess this gets a 3.25
•ECONOMY•
I like the discussion on clothes, particularly on how Thoreau wishes we'd place more importantance on the practical use of them, rather than on aesthetics.
Funny how little some things change; Thoreau goes on to discuss house prices and comes to several conclusions. First; that houses are built too large and with too much unnecessary architecture and ornaments, which drives up the cost and therefore most middle class or lower citizens cannot afford to own their own homes, being forced to rent instead. Second; he argues that due to the inflated cost of these houses and the incredibly long time it takes to pay them off, that it is not really a house anymore, but rather a prison to which that human is stuck in due to the financial debt. Thoreau's solution to this problem is to find a spot in nature and build your own log cabin, which during his time was genuinely a good idea. Unfortunately this doesn't apply to the modern era, now you not only have to purchase the land, but there are many government's that don't even allow this option at all.
Depressingly, Thoreau's criticism against suburban housing has doubled in severity in the modern era, I did some calculations and it would now take a middle class worker 2-3x as long to save up for a house as it would of in Thoreau's time
(Avg daily wage in 1850-$1. Avg house price in 1850-$800) (Avg daily wage in 2024-$175-$250. Average house price in 2024-$400,000-$600,000)
Here is a fun little bit of philosophising on Thoreau's part, he wishes humankind would spend less time on constructing grandiose and impressive monuments, and instead spend just a quarter of that effort on themselves, he believes human civilisation might be better off if we worked on our "internal monuments" rather than creating exterior ones. Here's a quote: "One piece of good sense would be more memorable than a monument as high as the moon."
Thoreau ends off the economy section of the book with a really weird rant, I'm calling it a rant because it felt completely unneeded. He spends the last few pages of this section talking about...how do I put this; how poor people suck, charity is bad and beggars want to be beggars. Oof, what a 180, not what I expected at all from this guy. I suppose a reclusive isolationist from the 1850's is gonna have some pretty problematic takes here and there, just didn't expect it to be: "Aghhrr!!!! Stop helping the poor!!! Grrrrr".
•WHERE I LIVED AND WHAT I LIVED FOR•
He's gotten very spiritual all of a sudden. Thoreau begins to contemplate the sun and the morning, going as far to say that the "Dawn" is the only part of life worth living for and that all artistic aspirations and meaningful moments happen in accordance with the sun. Thoreau goes on to expand this into the belief that the period of dawn is simply the period in which we are truly aware of the sun, the morning and nature; and that to live an awakened life, to be in perpetual dawn: is to be constantly aware of the medium in which we study life through our senses.
"To affect the quality of the day, that Is the highest of arts."
There seems to be a huge emphasis on living in the "present". I really like the logic and metaphors Thoreau uses here, it's all pretty sage advice and feels very influenced by Eastern Philosophy (Which Thoreau reads) and ancient Greek philosophy, particularly stoicism.
Thoreau goes on to describe how humans have this innate desire to seek the sublime in things which are outside the boundaries of what we live in; particularly he's talking about what there is before the universe was created, what there was before we were born and what happens after death.
Thoreau mentions how we are so distracted by questions of what comes before and after, that we fail to search for the sublime, the ethereal in the present, and that this is a grave error. He argues that if something divine or transcendent does exist after death, or before the universe began; it probably isn't any more impressive or important than what we exist in now, and it certainly also exists just as strongly in our physical world. Thoreau essentially urges readers to seek spirituality and a closeness to nature in the present, in our current environment and situation, in our material world; rather than hope for it in planes of existence which are yet to be or have already passed. I love it.
•READING•
Thoreau would certainly be called a pretentious elitist today for his opinions on reading. He thinks reading is one of the most important things a human can do, he mentions how literature has much more value than many think, but he's referring to a specific type of literature: Classics and ancient texts. In his opinion the human race would be much better off if we all spent a little more time working on our literacy skills, so that we can constantly be improving the density of that which we are able to read. In his opinion someone reading what a fourth grader might be able to read for the rest of his life, is a complete waste of time, he argues the reading should be a complex, difficult and insightful experience, not one that lulls the reader into relaxation and drowsiness.
I also totally emphasise with his little whine he has about how you might be able to read the Illiad but good luck finding anyone to talk to it about.
Honestly i think Thoreau's argument that reading, (especially difficult texts)
Is important, is something I totally agree with. But I think his emphasis on wanting people to read classics and philosophy is purely because the poor guy has no reading buddies to discuss these books with, I feel ya Henry.
•Sounds•
A couple little things of note. I really enjoyed how Thoreau talks about the new steam locomotives as a sort of grand mythological beast which breathes fire and snorts out clouds. It's a fun visual picture, and I'm sure there were people at the time who found that new method of travel entirely off-putting.
Thoreau has spent a fair bit of this section not actually talking about sounds at all but he seems to be getting into it now. He mentions how very far off sounds have an almost magical and unique quality to them, comparing it to seeing a landscape at an incredibly far away distance. Then the way he goes on to describe the certain bird calls and owl hoots he hears is really vivid; comparing certain night time noises he hears to those of lamenting lost souls, wailing and crying as if "They'd wished they'd never been born." But while comparing other bird calls to the most serene and youthful sounding melodies a human could ever hear, questioning of how of our music derives from nature's music.
•SOLITUDE•
"I have, as it were, my own sun and moon and stars, and a little world all to myself."
When Thoreau starts to talk about his desire for solitude, there begins an interesting dichotomy. Although much of the point of "Walden" is to become more connected to nature, Thoreau in this section seems to place emphasis on the necessity of a certain level of disconnect to achieve a connection, which again, feels like a dichotomy that might cause some friction. I understand his point however, Thoreau is saying that to truly be a part of nature you have to be willing to realise your insignificance within it, aswell as realise how often we make the choice to let things affect us. To Thoreau, a rainstorm or a misfortune is not bad, that's a selfish point of view and in reality, its often so that these "Bad" events serve a purpose in nature. If you can realise when it is useful to disconnect from the happenings of the world, you might in turn become more of a cohesive part of it.
Thoreau makes an interesting point that humans should not be categorised as lonely by how far away they are from others, or by how often they talk to others, but instead by how healthy and whole their mental state is. Thoreau uses the comparison of a college student and a farmer; The student is most likely surrounded by others and lives in a very populated building, but can often feel incredibly alien and alone. Whereas as a farmer might spend his whole day toiling in a field by himself and yet not for one second feel lonely. Thoreau also argues that if you truly view yourself as a part of nature, then you cannot feel lonely, as the stars, the moon, the sun or the trees never feel lonely, so why should you.
•VISITORS•
I agree with Thoreau so hard throughout this section, he jumps from explaining how humans need ample distance between each other to talk properly (The original social distancing master), then on to how extravagant and convulated dinner parties are incredibly annoying and pretentious, making him want to never see that person again. Plus then talking about how during social gatherings, you can tell when it's going really well because everyone will stop caring about food and drink; as he puts it: "The waste and decay of physical life which so often needs repair, seemed miraculously retarded in such a case, and the vital vigour stood its ground."
•THE VILLAGE•
The little passage in this section about getting lost in the woods is so interesting to me as a human from the twenty-first century. Sometimes we forget that for many many years our species didn't have phones, gps, maps or street lights. The only navigation at night was to be found in the stars. When Thoreau talks about emerging from a woodland onto a dirt road and having absolutely no clue which way leads to the nearest village; I'll admit I was slightly jealous at never having experienced that feeling of being completely lost. His point on how sometimes one needs to get completely lost to truly realise the vastness of nature, and to understand how much we rely on our senses, it was a point I'm envious I haven't experienced.
"Not till we are completely lost or turned around - do we appreciate the vastness and strangeness of nature. Not till we are lost, in other words not till we have lost the world, do we begin to find ourselves, and realise where we are and the infinite extent of our relations."
•THE PONDS•
Maybe I need to go fishing?
This section of the book is a bit boring I'll admit, although there's some beautiful description of nature (The way Thoreau compares a lake to a human eye being the biggest standout), overall it's a slog, I don't need to know every single detail of this lake sir.
"How can you expect the birds to sing when their groves are cut down?"
•BAKER FARM•
I'm stealing "Cone-headed infant" as a description.
Thoreau comes across as such an ignorant douche in this section, he does his absolute best to showcase to the reader how he doesn't understand the poverty cycle at all.
He comes across this family at a place called "Baker Farm" who very politely allow him to shelter in their house and wait out a storm. Thoreau takes this opportunity to annoy them with his preachiness. He starts by telling the man all about how he shouldn't eat meat, milk or butter and that's why he's poor. He then explains that the man should wear cheaper clothes (even though Thoreau admits the clothes probably wouldn't suit the type of work the man does), and then finally tells the man to just fish all day and then buy a house; all while ignoring the fact that the man has two children and a wife to support and has rent to pay. Henry David Thoreau; the original anachronistic boomer.
•HIGHER LAWS•
"No humane being, past the thoughtless age of boyhood, will wantonly murder any creature which holds its life by the same tenure that he does."
Some interesting juxtaposing thoughts in this section. Firstly, there's Thoreau talking about how he simultaneously loves his higher, more educated and spiritual side of himself, while also loving his primitive and more animalistic compulsions. Its a unique position to hold; to recognise your conflicting nature and internal contradictions and yet to be content with it.
Secondly, Thoreau seems to be quite split on the idea of hunting. On one hand he says it's incredibly necessary to any young man's natural education, while on the otherhand lamenting the unnecessary loss of life and cruelty in killing living things.
I genuinely enjoy Thoreau's stand on how important it is to treat your body the right way, to abstain from too many indulgences and constantly seek to improve your "spirit"
Maybe I'm just a boring prude, but yeah pleasure for the sake of pleasure isn't always the best thing.
"Every man is the builder of a temple called his body, to the God he worships, after a style purely his own. We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones."
•BRUTE NEIGHBOURS•
Thoreau decides to spend 5 pages describing ant warfare.
•END THOUGHTS•
So, gonna be honest, this book started to bore me alot. Although Thoreau had some really interesting things to say in the first half, I feel like the further the book went on the more he's just mindlessly rambling; A professional yapper you might say. Alot of the end half of Walden is spent describing nature , animals and his neighbours in excruciatingly excessive detail, putting me to sleep before I can get through a few pages.
But, one saving grace to this Is the conclusion, the conclusion is excellent, it sums up everything Thoreau is trying to say in a brief and understandable manner. I honestly wish the whole book was more like the conclusion, or that the conclusion simply was the book. If I met anyone interested in reading Walden, I'd tell them to just read this section.
I'd give the first half of this book a 4 and the end half a 2 and the conclusion a 5. So I guess this gets a 3.25