Thoreau
"I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave so close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience and be able to give a true account of it"(Thoreau "Where I lived and What I Lived For"). Henry David Thoreau desired to live his life to the fullest. He planned to live so by living sparsely. When he says he wants to "put to rout all that is not life...and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms,"(Thoreau "Where I Lived and What I Lived For") he speaks as a gourmet chef preparing a steak. The chef cuts the fat from the edges and marinates it in the finest wine, the most pure wine life has to offer. When he puts it to flame- the "meanness" of life- he removes impurities and excess fat, making nourishment fit for the divine. Thoreau himself asserted, "Most men think differently than myself" (American Literature 172). Indeed, many men had sought wealth and fame in order to gain satisfaction. Thor
Henry David Thoreau's parents prepared him to live a life dedicated to science in its truest form: the search for truth. When the young man left home for his education at Harvard College, he learned, never liking, the ways of the World. The bond, and the breaking of that bond, with his brother John Jr. taught him a strong love and empathy for the World. His mentor, Ralph Waldo Emerson, imparted to him the views of the Transcendentalist Movement which he launched in the early 1800's. Thoreau became involved in the movement that swept the New England Region of the United States. His writings became popular only shortly after his death in the spring of 1862. At return home, he would spend many hours in the woods and fields. Thoreau's journal clearly indicates his purpose- to gain moral superiority and entertainment, rather than technical knowledge. The exert used from A Wider View of the Universe: Henry David Thoreau's Study of Nature by Robert Kahl McGregor, offered some insight into the relationship between Thoreau and his mentor, Ralph Waldo Emerson. It illustrates the shape that the relationship took as it grew, changed, and often underwent self-destruction. A Historical Guide to Henry David Thoreau, a collection of essays compiled by William E. Cain. Though it offers insight into the influences that shape his philosophy on life, it adds too much extra information about the history of Thoreau's world in the eighteen-hundreds. Elizabeth Hall Witherell's Thoreau: Collected Essays and Poems has an outstanding selection of works that dig deeply into Thoreau's values and beliefs. eau sought a life lived to the bare minimum in order to gain spiritual fulfillment. Born in the summer of 1817, David Henry Thoreau lived a quiet existence on his late, great aunt's farm in Concord, Massachusetts. His family and his peers always called him Henry, but he did not legally change it to Henry David Thoreau until the early 1830's. Though it seemed similar, Henry's childhood transpired differently than that of many of the boys' living in Concord at the same time. His father, John, made an honest living manufacturing pencils. Cynthia, a quick-witted, opinionated woman, brought Henry and his three siblings up to respect people of all races and stations in life. She despised the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 which demanded that Northerners, regardless of personal beliefs, to take part in the capture and redemption of fugitive slaves, using force if necessary. "She was unsparing in her denunciation of the Fugitive Slave Law (Cain 12)," said Jean Munro le Brun, a neighbor
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Approximate Word count = 1748
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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