Writing Your Own Rules: Living deliberately in Thoreau Walden
Henry David Thoreau once stated, “Why should we knock under and go with the stream? Let us not be upset and overwhelmed in that terrible rapid and whirlpool called a dinner, situated in the meridian shallows” (Thoreau 909). Thoreau has a very strong perspective on transcendentalism. Becoming a transcendentalist offers the right to trust one own intellect. Therefore, this quote demonstrates that Thoreau express to his audience the importance of being one’s self and not following society’s standards. Transcendentalism is referred to as society versus oneself. Henry David Thoreau believes learning to trust one’s individual intuitions and becoming a non-conformist allows individuals to live a more deliberately life.
Henry David Thoreau used his selection, “Where I Lived, and What I lived For” to demonstrate how the changes of society serve as a distraction to an individual. Although, Thoreau was a non-conformist, he never stated it he allowed his actions to speak for him through his work. Thoreau notes, “Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito’s wing that falls on the rails” (909). Due to the many changes of society, people always try …show more content…
Thoreau opens his chapter discussing how he has found happiness in nature. Many may think he is lonely, but he sees solitude as being peaceful. Thoreau expresses, “This is a delicious evening, when the whole body is one sense, and imbibes delight through every pore. I go and come with a strange liberty in Nature, a part of herself” (Thoreau 910). Thoreau may be physically alone but not mentally or emotionally lonely. Thoreau feels nature was a form of alleviation. This allowed him to reevaluate himself forcing him to become a better man. Thoreau found comfort in nature which allowed him to feel