The Influence of Nature in Early Literature: Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau was an American writer and naturalist. He is best known for his book, Walden, which is the story of Thoreau’s experiences in a cabin he built near Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts. In 1845, Thoreau embarked on a two-year experiment; he moved to a small house in the woods surrounding a place called Walden Pond. Walden is considered part social experiment and part personal spiritual discovery; it is the story of how Thoreau went to “live in the woods”. Thoreau searched for deeper meanings in nature, more than pure beauty, he was looking for spiritual discovery, "My profession is to be always on the alert to find God in nature" (Homan 25).

"The woods were an escape from social corruption, or, more to the point, people" (Weiner 65). 

Walden was written during the middle 19^th century, during the Industrial Revolution. "At roughly the time that Thoreau went to Walden, some 60 percent of the New England landscape had been converted from forest into open woods" (Weiner 53). Through this work, Thoreau was attempting to get society to re-connect with nature and break away from our busy way of living Thoreau went to Walden Pond for a few reasons: he wanted to isolate himself from society so he could gain a more objective understanding of it, and he wanted to be self-sufficient and live in a simpler way; this was inspired by the Transcendentalism philosophy. His intention was to experiment: to live in drastically reduced conditions. Walden emphasized the importance of solitude, contemplation, and closeness to nature; Thoreau aimed to teach a moral lesson through his work.

Thoreau did not fully embrace nature; he did not completely disregard civilization. He was not fully secluded from society during his time at Walden, he frequently received visitors. Also, he cabin was not in the middle of the woods, it was only about two miles from his house.

"Most of the luxuries, and many of the so called comforts of life, are not only indispensable, but positive hinderances to the elevation of mankind" (McQuade 608)

Like Emerson, Thoreau believed that humans and nature must co-exist. "The issue was balance, when we save nature, he thought, we save ourselves" (Weiner 11).  Walden was a place to dwell and to find oneself. Thoreau was a naturalist, and he understood that the way to understand our lives and their meanings, we must understand the world we live in. "Thoreau believed that each individual must forge a life in harmony with nature- his or her own individual "Walden"- that would lead to self-growth and personal fulfillment" (Weiner 30).