Henry David Thoreau

Lecturer: Hu Lingli

Foreign Languages Department

That man is the richest whose pleasure is the cheapest. —Henry David Thoreau

The beautiful Walden (Picture 1)

The beautiful Walden (Picture 2)

Walden (Picture 3)

Walden (Picture 4)

Teaching Contents Biographical Introduction His Major Works His Influence in the World Appreciating “Where I lived, and What I Lived f

or” from Walden Comparative Studies: a. Thoreau & Emerson b. Thoreau & Tao yuanming c. Thoreau’s Idea & Chinese Traditional Ideas

Biographical Introduction

Birth place: Born in Concord, Massachusetts in 1817 Education Experience: studied at Harvard University(1

833 and 1837). His relationship with Emerson: Emerson’s truest discip

le and friends. Residence at Walden Pond: in 1845, he began to take

a two-year-residence at Walden Pond

Thoreau was a protester as well. Disapproved of the government’s conduct of the Mexican War by refusing to pay his poll tax （人头税 . (was sent to jail 1 night).

In 1835, he contracted Tuberculosis and suffered from it afterwards. He died in 1862 and was buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

Continuing…

Major Works

Most famous essay: Walden(1854) 18 parts EconomyWhere I Lived, and What I Lived for.ReadingSoundsSolitutude Visitors …Spring Conclusion

Civil Disobedience (1849) Another famous essay: Civil Disobedience (1849) 论公民的不服从 this is from his staying in Concord jail for a night because he disapproved of slavery and the government’s conduct of the Mexican War

Throeau’s Influence in the World

Thoreau's writings influenced many public figures.

Political leaders and reformers like Mahatma Gandhi, President John F. Kennedy, civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr.

Russian author Leo Tolstoy William Butler Yeats, Ernest Hemingway,

Critical Responses American poet Robert Frost wrote of Th

oreau, "In one book ... he surpasses everything we have had in America."

Poet John Greenleaf Whittier criticized what he perceived as the message in Walden that man should lower himself to the level of a woodchuck（美洲旱獭） and walk on four legs. He said: "Thoreau's Walden is a capital reading, but very wicked and heathenish... After all, for me, I prefer walking on two legs

From Mr Lin Yutang

林雨堂先生在《论生活的重要性》中写道：“就其整个人生观来说 ,梭罗在美国作家中最具中国情趣 .作为中国人，我感觉与梭罗心心 相通。我可以将梭罗的文字译成中文，把它们当作中国诗人的诗作向国人展示。没有人会产生怀疑。”

Introduction to Walden It came out of Thoreau’s two-year-experiment at Wald

en Pond. It stresses the importance of thought over material circumstance. He believed that there was the possibility for and importance of change in one’s spiritual life which is in harmony with nature.

Walden emphasizes the importance of solitude, contemplation, and closeness to nature in transcending the "desperate" existence.

Staying at Walden Pond— an experiment with a threefold purpose

First, he was escaping the dehumanizing effects of the Industrial Revolution by returning to a simpler, agrarian lifestyle.

Second, he was simplifying his life and reducing his expenditures, increasing the amount of leisure time in which he could work on his writings.

Third, he was putting into practice the Transcendentalist belief that one can best "transcend" normality and experience the Ideal, or the Divine, through nature.

A Textual Study of “Where I lived and What I Lived For”

Pay attention to the narrative point of view Identify the features of Thoreau’s language. Analyze the main ideas and the theme.

Questions for Discussion 1.Had Thoreau ever bought a farm? Why did he enjoy

the act of buying? 2. Is it significant that Thoreau mentioned the Fourth

of July as the day on which he began to stay in the woods?

3. How do you understand “I am Monarch of all survey, My right there is none to dispute.”?

4. Do you think that Thoreau is a prophet of environmental crisis?

Narrative Point of View

The book is not a traditional autobiography, but combines autobiography with a social critique of contemporary Western culture's consumerist and materialist attitudes and its distance from and destruction of nature.

That the book is not simply a criticism of society, but also an attempt to engage creatively with the better aspects of contemporary culture, is suggested both by Thoreau's proximity to Concord society and by his admiration for classical literature.

Life Experience from Thoreau

Enjoy the pleasure of talking A man is rich in proportion to the number of thi

ngs which he affords to let alone A stitch in time saves nine Simplify, simplify. Instead of three meals a day,

if it be necessary eat but one…

Comparative Study

Compare Emerson and Thoreau

(advocator, practitioner) Compare Thoreau and Taoyuanming Chinese Culture upon Thoreau (Confucianism

儒家思想 , Taoism 道家思想 desireless ）

《归田园居》其一 少无适俗韵，性本爱丘山。

误落尘网中，一去三十年。羁鸟恋旧林，池鱼思故渊。开荒南野际，守拙归田园。方宅十余亩，草屋八九间。榆柳荫后椋，桃李罗堂前。暧暧远人村，依依墟里烟。狗吠深巷中，鸡鸣桑树颠。户庭无尘杂，虚室有余闲。久在樊笼里，复得返自然。

My Response

Show respect for nature. Follow nature’s law Keep ecological balance Live a simple life, but not as simple as Thoreau insis

ts on Seek for the physical life and spiritual life as well