In this week's reading, we were assigned to read Thoreau's "Walden". The first chapter "Economy" really touched on this idea of the philosophical aspect of life and how society shapes people. He repeatedly speaks about being simple and having a simple life by getting rid of all unnecessary, materialistic, and inessential things that will just clutter your lifestyle. In the second chapter, "Where I lived and What I lived for", he literally goes on telling us about the places he almost lived in before settling in Walden. He is forced to simplify his life and to "live free and uncommitted" (69). The title combines the topic of residence and the philosophical topic of the meaning of life. He doesn't list the bookkeeping and details that we saw in "Economy", instead, he tells us how it all matters.
In "Economy", Thoreau insinuates that instead of getting things and cluttering your life, he thinks it's more logical to focus on what nature can give you, "lay up treasures which moth and rust" (7). He also talks about change, "So thoroughly and sincerely are we compelled to live, reverencing our life, and denying the possibility of change. This is the only way, we say; but there are as many ways as there can be drawn radii from one centre. All change is a miracle to contemplate..." (11). Is he resistant to change? it seems like he's saying a change is everlasting but that it's also the only constant in life. He tells us that the Walden experiment was intended to tell hard-working men who "labor under a mistake" (7) is killing them and chaining them to society's needs and standards. Thoreau's main argument is that men labor so much and end up causing problems for themselves by becoming prisoners to their jobs and in the end damaging their spirit. He argues that we only need these 4 basic necessities "Food, Shelter, Clothing, and Fuel"(11) and that we need these to be prepared.
In "Where I lived and What I lived for", Thoreau is seen from a more personal level. I found it interesting when he uses this analogy of his house on Walden Pond being a re-enactment of the way God created the world. Another connection that stood out to me was in this passage "Every child begins the world again" and it made me think of the rebirth that Christian reference to when you are born again in Christ, "Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new" (KJV, 2 Corinthians 5:17). He has a weird way of showing his beliefs (religion) and I find it confusing where he stands in religion because he makes references to Greek (mythology?) and other religions.
By the time I finished reading both chapters I was irritated by his character and strong opinions. I conclude that Thoreau was a very ignorant, arrogant, self-centered, and self-determined man. I think he was very hard to get along with and that he genuinely believed strongly in his opinions/arguments. Without a doubt, It seems as if this book is a way for him to justify his thoughts and actions. I'm very curious to see what else he's going to be blabbing about.
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