As a different quest to find a utopia within nature, in Thoreau’s Walden, Thoreau retreats into nature in an effort to separate himself from society and to find a greater sense of truth within himself by living simply and ethically. Unlike Hawthorne’s attempt at building a utopia, Thoreau’s Walden has grounds in reality. Although a sense of mysticism still works through in his search for God within nature, the experiment at Walden finds more success than Blithedale but still ultimately ends in failure. Overall, Walden is an experiment on self-reliance and a look into the simplicity of all things in nature and individualism. Believing that society has come to institutionalize life and absorb the individual, Thoreau believes that each man must
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Man has come to lack an appreciation for what life has to offer, making them slaves to labor and stunted their potential. Life no longer contains meaning in the endless toiling of the land. They cannot see that there are other means of living. Since life in it of itself exists as an experiment, the narrator points out that it makes sense to try different ways of living in order to connect with a personal intuition and identity that gets lost in the typical means of life. Additionally, he points out that in order to connect with our own meaning of life, one must live simply and reject the hindrances that come with the many luxuries that man believes are necessary. He says, “Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind” (Thoreau 6). There is no need to accept the previously traditional ways of living. In an effort to connect to a spiritually rich life and to show the shortcomings of a common life, Thoreau moves a mile outside of the nearest neighbor and builds his home away from society at Walden Pond in an experiment of self-reliance. However, when digging deeper, the hypocrisy of Thoreau begins to emerge. In his quest to be within nature, he only moves a mile from his nearest neighbor with a connection to society still looming. Additionally, in multiple places within the novel, he travels back into town in order to connect with the people and hear the goings on within the community. Ultimately proving that one must strike a balance of independence and connection to a
Man has come to lack an appreciation for what life has to offer, making them slaves to labor and stunted their potential. Life no longer contains meaning in the endless toiling of the land. They cannot see that there are other means of living. Since life in it of itself exists as an experiment, the narrator points out that it makes sense to try different ways of living in order to connect with a personal intuition and identity that gets lost in the typical means of life. Additionally, he points out that in order to connect with our own meaning of life, one must live simply and reject the hindrances that come with the many luxuries that man believes are necessary. He says, “Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind” (Thoreau 6). There is no need to accept the previously traditional ways of living. In an effort to connect to a spiritually rich life and to show the shortcomings of a common life, Thoreau moves a mile outside of the nearest neighbor and builds his home away from society at Walden Pond in an experiment of self-reliance. However, when digging deeper, the hypocrisy of Thoreau begins to emerge. In his quest to be within nature, he only moves a mile from his nearest neighbor with a connection to society still looming. Additionally, in multiple places within the novel, he travels back into town in order to connect with the people and hear the goings on within the community. Ultimately proving that one must strike a balance of independence and connection to a