A Reflection on the Novel “Walden”.

I think the purpose of this book, with its theme of "finding truth about oneself," is meant to inspire and motivate the reader to reach for a

higher level of existence. Thoreau's descriptions of the natural world in which he is living is rich with images, metaphors, symbols, and comparisons. He seeks to capture the spirit of Nature in its completeness. Since the chapters are somewhat chronological, he structures the book around the cyclical pattern of the seasons. Arriving in the fullness of summer, he watches autumn color the trees, winter blanket the landscape in white, and

spring burst forth in vibrant hues of green.

In his "Conclusion" chapter of Walden, Thoreau says, "I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws will be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings." That is what I think freedom really is. He concludes the paragraph: "If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." This summarized, is the main theme of the book; if you advance in the direction of how you imagine your life, not how convention dictates that it should be, then you will find success on a scale undreamed through reasonable expectations.

Jordan Palmer, October 08, 2001