Metaphors in Walden
Although on the surface Walden seems to be a description of the external, natural world, it is more importantly a search for spiritual perfection. From beginning to end, Thoreau uses aspects of the natural as metaphors for the struggles of the self. As a Transcendentalist, Thoreau believed that man is not limited to learning about God. Rather, he believed that man's mind can create, independent of the senses, a consciousness of God. For Thoreau, Walden is a possibility to realize one's divinity or ideal existence. Knowing this, the reader is both able to enjoy the narrator's experiences knowing the natural world and able to enjoy the narrator's experiences knowing himself. Thoreau uses rebirth metaphors to symbolize the beginning of a spiritual journey. At Walden Pond the narrator begins the construction of his cabin and home for the 26 months. The aim for the cabin is not aesthetic beauty or comfort. Instead the narrator wants simplicity. As he builds this new cabin, Thoreau is metaphorically building a new self. The narrator explores the importance of the inner self, and, looking to nature, notices three animals in particular, the snake, the caterpillar/butterfly, and the loon. Each discards its old self for an im
proved internally produced self. When the snake's skin becomes old and worn it is shed and replaced with a brand new skin that the snake has created. Similarly, the loon grows new feathers to replace old ones. The caterpillar also improves itself by creating a cocoon and gradually changing itself into a more beautiful butterfly. Thoreau uses the rebirth metaphors to show that a better animal, or self, is achieved through internal growth, the casting off of imperfections and replacing them something more perfect. The narrator's bathing is also a rebirth metaphor; washing away the dirt and dead skin, he reveals a clean, new self. As the season changes from winter to spring, like the "dry sticks which had seemed to be dead, developed . . . into green and tender boughs" (93), the narrator comes to life from a sort of spiritual death. The narrator feels that, "as the willow stands near the water and sends its roots in that direction," so should man turn his mind toward the spiritual. "Visitors" is the first chapter of Walden without the metaphors of rebirth in nature and self. It can be interpreted that this is the result of the distractions of other people. The harmony with nature that the narrator had relished nearly vanishes when engaged with visitors. "Visitors" marks a change in the focus. Now that the narrator has been reborn, Thoreau uses metaphors representing inner cultivation and refinement. The bean-field is one such metaphor, undoubtedly signifying the narrator's self. The narrator has ventured to Walden Pond to "cultivate" himself. As the cultivated, well-tended, garden results in the growth of beans rather than weeds and brush, his
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Approximate Word count = 1125
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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