The Role Of Technology In Henry David Thoreau's Walden

During the 1840s, Henry David Thoreau set off into the woods to live alone for the purpose of finding himself. He was very concerned about growing old without experiencing everything he could. Thoreau famously puts “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived” (271). He found himself displeased with the way he was living and wanted a change in scenery. His definition of deliberately would mean outside of society and on his own, away from the burdens of city life. I believe that technology helps and interferes with Thoreau living deliberately and self-reliant. He would argue that each new technology has positive and negative benefits.

A common theme from Thoreau in Walden is to escape from society. …show more content…
He takes these long walks and observes everything in his environment and surroundings further. He strides to understand everything and observe in a natural state. Some technology would, however, affect him from living this way. Thoreau calls for us to slow down and appreciate what is in front of us. He would not be someone who would sit inside on the couch watching TV; this kind of behavior would be uncalled for in Thoreau world. It would directly affect him live in deliberately and alone with nature. He states that “Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life? We are determined to be starved before we are hungry”(273). Technology would also often times waste our lives away, as seen today was so many entertainment devices. I think Thoreau argue some technology has its place in modern life but the majority of technology needs to be looked at both ways. As in what does that accomplish but also what does it diminish? Does your quality-of-life go down? If so, then Thoreau would be against