Henry David Thoreau

The-Moor KellyJosh Gorczynski

Louis GeorgeChris Harper

Contents• Biography : Josh Gorczynski : Slides 3 – 7

• Summary of Writing : The-Moor Kelly : Slides 8 – 9

• Important Quotes : Louis George : Slides 10 – 12

• Transcendentalist Ideas : Chris Harper : Slides 13 – 14

Henry David Thoreau Early Life…

• Early Life:o Henry David Thoreau was born on July

12th, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts.o Thoreau had three siblings:• Helen (Older)• John Jr. (Older)• Sophia (Younger)

o He attended college at Harvard University.

Henry David Thoreau

Thoreau’s Life after College…

• Near the end of his senior year at college, Thoreau stated his lifelong theme:o “The end of life is education.”

• After he graduated he wrote many works.o His most famous work is Walden.

• He tried to be a writer but failed.• He also tried to be a lecturer but failed.• He was a teacher for several years.• Walden is a book on Thoreau’s life during the two

years, two months, and two days he spent at Walden Pond.

• He set out for Walden, ironically, on the Fourth of July.

Harvard University Logo

Thoreau’s Life at Walden

• Thoreau strived to live a simple life style during his time at Walden Pond.

• To help himself so this he stripped himself of all inessential things in life.

• One of Thoreau’s great influencers was his great friend Ralph Waldo Emerson. It’s kind of cool because Thoreau followed the way Emerson said to; to be a nonconformist and believe in oneself. Well, after Thoreau did his own work, Emerson suddenly admired Thoreau’s work also.

Walden Pond

Late Life…• Later in his life, Thoreau got tuberculosis.• Henry David Thoreau passed away on May

6th, 1862 at the age of 44, many years after his time at Walden.

• Thoreau is one of the most influential authors during his time and still is today!

Summary• In Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden, also

known as Life in the Woods in 1854, was a big story about how big of a tree hugger Thoreau was. Walden explains the life Henry had during 1845-1847. He spent time in a cabin with the bare necessity. He did this because he wanted to observe and understand nature in philosophical and religious way. He used his knowledge to answer the most general questions. He didn’t just stay in the cabin and woods all day though, he would interact with some people to actually find things out about himself.

Summary • Walden was a place for Thoreau to find his

inner self.• He was so in to detail that he remembered

songs that the birds sang and chirped.• He focused so much on every detail at

Walden. He focused on the four different seasons and how humans, along with himself, relate to each season.

• http://www.shmoop.com/walden-thoreau/ (Maybe)

Quote #1• “Money is not required to buy necessities of

the soul (Thoreau 241).”

• This goes along well with Thoreau's lifestyle - he lives a very simple life at Walden pond.

• This also is consistent with the transcendentalist idea of simplicity

• Thoreau is saying that you don't need to have money or much material things to satisfy your soul.

Quote #2• "There is more day to dawn. The sun is a morning star

(Thoreau 241)"

• This comes form the end od Thoreau's novel Walden. Thoreau is leaving the pond because he feels he is now satisfied with his experience and he is ready for the next part of his life.

• Thoreau says there is more to day than dawn - this means that this one experience in his life is only the beginning of many more.

• The sun is but a morning star - this may mean that there is more to life that what it appears, an experience may seem simple but there may be much to get out of it.

• What do you think Thoreau is trying to say here, and does this relate to the transcendentalist ideas.

Quote #3• “The coming of spring is like the creation of

the cosmos out of chaos and the realization of the golden age (Thoreau 239)"

• This comes after an observation Thoreau had of spring at Walden Pond. Spring is like creation, or the realization of something great - Thoreau seems to be amassed by the nature and the change of seasons.

• This plays into The Transcendental Power of Nature.

• What do you think this says about Thoreau?

Transcendental Ideas (Individualism)

• Thoreau was respected within this circle, but he was always a prickly individualist. He cared little for group activities, whether political or religious, and even avoided organized reform movements until the moral imperative of abolition commanded his attention. - individualism

Transcendental Ideas (Simplicity)

• Thoreau proposed to determine what was basic to human survival, and then to live as simply as possible. – simplicity