walden-tone

A detailed Summary of walden-tone

In Walden, Henry David Thoreau's tone , his attitude towards the subject, has two aspects. His attitude towards nature was a positive one of respect and amazement. His attitude towards the reader, the general public, or the average citizen changes through the course of the work from pitying to criticizing to reassuring and advising.

Thoreau viewed nature as a teacher; he did, after all, journey to Walden pond to "front only the essential facts of life and learn what (nature) had to teach."(66) This attitude that nature is the teacher and we are the students continued throughout Thoreau's tale. Thoreau explained that men go into the world "at first as a hunter, a fisher until at last...he distinguishes his proper objects, as a poet or naturalist... The mass of men are still and always young in this respect" (149).

He depicted nature in a positive tone; he had good things to say about both the phases of the day and the seasons of the year. He describe the morning, "the most memorable season of the day"(64) and the "delicious evening" (90). He depicted the "gentle rain" that "watered his plants"(92) and some of his "most enjoyable hours", occurring "during the long rainstorms in spring or fall"(93). In the winter he "weathered

Thoreau depicted nature with a tone of wonder and amazement. He felt that nobody could fully comprehend nature's role in life. He said that we know only "a few of nature's laws" (194), and that, with regards to the wonders of nature, "nobody knows, but many pretend to know."(124) He approached nature as a divine presence on earth, comparing various trees to "temples" and "round tables of the gods". He compared berries to "wild forbidden fruits, too fair for mortal tastes." Thoreau said that these were the "shrines he visited both in the summer and in the winter"(137) He truly believed that the earth we tread is as promising as heaven itself, proclaiming that "heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads"(189). Thoreau stressed that

One of Thoreau's intentions when writing this philosophical work was to present his philosophy to others. This would explain why his attitude towards the reader varied more significantly than his attitude towards nature. Thoreau felt nature was a divine presence on Earth. He believed that people could grow closer to this by simplifying their lives. To get this message across Thoreau first told the reader what they couldn't control, where they were not the ones at fault. He then explained to them the faults that they were responsible for. Finally, he explained to them the possibilities, what could be.

"we can never have enough nature. We must be refreshed by the sight of inexhaustible vigor, vast and titanic features, the sea-coast with i

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Approximate Word count = 1001
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English