Thoreau's "Walden"

Henry David Thoreau's Walden is a very complex work. Walden describes a time in Thoreau's life where he went to the woods and lived by himself in a shack that he built, for two years, two months, and two days (Thoreau). He was trying to show everyone what it was like to live away from society and be in touch with nature constantly (Thoreau). Walden is a long work, that includes a number of different pieces that he wrote, which are all about different things, even if the topics are similar (Thoreau). He is trying to show his opinions on a number of things, including society, government, and nature, and their effects on people (Life). His book did not sell very well in the beginning, and there could be many reasons for that (Life). Many critics of that time did not really know what to do with the book, or what to think of it, so some were against the book, while others really enjoyed it (Life). Thoreau has been praised for his intelligence and his creativity, while he has also been frowned upon for the complexity of the his work when it was supposed to be about simplicity, and other hypocritical things that he had done while living in the wild and had written in his works (Life). A number of people also only look at a portion of his work, while completely ignoring the other parts, and it is generally based on the topics involved (Life). Some people only pay attention to the parts of Walden that are about the nature and the simplicity of it all and how it will help them check out from society and relax, while others only pay attention to the portions that involve society and government and his opinions on those things, which he did not get rid of while he was out in the wild (Life). Many people have noticed that Thoreau could not stick to one topic, and many people think he was hypocritical in the way that he did things (Life). He did not always stay in his cabin, and he often went to visit his sister and have supper with her. He went into town to get his groceries, so he did not really need to worry about killing things or collecting any food or supplies, so he was not necessarily completely living out by himself. Many people will not read his book or listen to his teachings because of the fact that he did not necessarily completely check out from society like he tries to say in his book (Life). He leaves some misconceptions in there and does not try to correct them, which make many people ignore his work and throw it all away completely. Thoreau made his work Walden stretch out and become incredibly long, so while many people do not like his book at all, it also makes people able to see different ideas about nature, society, and other things that may not be said today (Life). His work and his ideas are very intriguing, while they also are controversial and spark a lot of debate (Life). Thoreau was a good author, but many people do not agree with what he did in writing Walden or how he did it.

"Thoreau's Walden - an Annotated Edition." The Thoreau Reader. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. .

"Life in the Woods Henry David Thoreau Walden; or Criticism." ENotes - Literature Study Guides, Lesson Plans, and More. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. .