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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 4 page research paper/essay that analyzes the second chapter of Henry David Thoreau's Walden, "Where I lived and what I lived for." The writer argues that the critical evaluation of Walden that sees it as a pastoral fantasy does not take into account the social criticism inherent in this text. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khthowal.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
American literature" (Miller 613). The second chapter of Henry David Thoreaus book Walden is entitled "Where I Lived and What I Lived For." In this chapter, Thoreau offers a
deeply philosophical orientation towards life that rejects materialism and argues eloquently for a life lived on ones own terms, rather than the terms dictated by society. Demonstrating the influence
of Ralph Waldo Emerson on his thinking, Thoreau presents a perspective on reality that is predicated on individualism and raises that quality to a degree previously unimagined by other transcendentalists.
In so doing, he demonstrates a way of relating to reality that honors both the individual and establishes an intimate connection with the natural world. It is a perspective on
life that is desperately needed in todays world, as it holds a possible antidote to the materialism that has taken over modern lives. It is interesting to note that not
all critics are as enthusiastic as Buell towards Thoreaus writing and perspective. Other critics, such as Leo Marx, picture pastoral works, such as Walden, as "bucolic daydreaming" (Miller 613). According
to Marx, Walden neither successfully confronts the ills of society nor does it accurately portray the natural world (Miller 613). Walker substantiates that there is a school of criticism
that regards Walden as the "story of a person who traded a flawed reality for an idealistic, isolated sanctuary" (845). A close reading of Walden, focusing on chapter 2, shows
that these critical assessments do not take into account the philosophical complexity of this work. As pointed out by PrudHomme, Thoreau addresses the basic philosophical foundations of modern life,
that is, what we consider to be "economy" -- what enterprises are valued by society and which are not (107). This perspective is immediately evident in chapter 2 as Thoreau
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