If someone was to offer you one billion dollars right now, what would you do with it? Would you buy every last pair of shoes known to man? Buy a private jet to take you where you want to go, or would you invest all of it and continue to live an inordinate lifestyle? With industrial and technological advances emerging, Henry David Thoreau sought a meaningful life not defined by the artificial things that society constantly advertised. To him, discovery was the most important part of life, and without this a person would become so consumed in the world that they lose sight of what is important. Thoreau’s accepted lifestyle brought so much insight and inner peace that he decided to share his ideas with the people of all backgrounds so that they …show more content…
If one were to study the living conditions that these individuals came to knew, they would be in amazement when they discovered that many residential areas of the cities that these philosophers resided in consisted of narrow, winding streets and small, poorly constructed houses. Introducing this idea in his text Mr.Thoreau states, “The ancient philosophers, Chinese,Hindoo, Persian, and Greek, were a class than which none has been poorer in outward riches, none so rich inward.” Besides acknowledging the meager lifestyle that many talented philosophers of varying background led, Thoreau points out the most important aspect of their lives, and that was the individualism that these talented men and women possessed. With everyday life continuing to become less meaningful, Henry David Thoreau yearned to grasp exactly how life was for these philosophers,artists, and dramatists and if the day and age in which he lived in really had an impact on the true meaning of life. Doing just this, Mr.Henry set out on one of the the most life changing experiences he would come to …show more content…
Adamant on building his house with the tools he had on hand and the natural resources available to him, Thoreau successfully built his house on a budget of no more than $28.12. After the completion of his house, he was able to lead a fulfilling life in his home while only working six weeks in a year and still meeting the expenses of living. Summers and winters were devoted to study and in return he found himself more knowledgeable than he was in the past. Considering the challenges faced throughout the process of secluding himself to the bare minimum, Mr.Henry concludes in saying, “In short, I am convinced both by faith and experience, that to maintain one’s self on this earth is not a hardship but a pastime, if we will live simply and wisely; as the pursuits of the simpler nations are still the sports of the more artificial.” After all he had been through and Thoreau suggests that life is far more than the worry and anxiety people continuously undergo because of their susceptibility to trends in society and it is through his conclusions as well as experiences that Mr. Henry David Thoreau successfully educates men and women everywhere about the true meaning of