Of Wanderings & Such

Walden,Thoreau

First of all, I need to apologize for the tardiness of this post. I didn't get lazy...just overwhlemed.

Moving on. I've talked to people about Thoreau earlier, and I've always heard that he's either extremely boring or extremely dry. I couldn't disagree more. Just to begin with a quote that was discussed in class today:

"Occasionally I climbed and shook the trees. They grew also behind my house, and one large tree, which almost overshadowed it, was, when in flower, a bouquet which scented the whole neighborhood, but the squirrels and the jays got most of its fruit; [...] These nuts, as far as they went, were a good substitute for bread" (13.1).

A major theme in "nature literature" is the discovery of a balance of order and chaos. Just to go by the discussion in class today, it seems as though most people would be repulsed by the idea of leaving their comfort zones in civilized society. Yet the innate sense of order driven by instinct is what Thoreau seems to be directing our attention towards. Strangely enough, we find order where we would least expect it.

There's also an indication of the adaptability of human nature in that excerpt. Seemingly, the nuts were "a good substitute for bread. "

As far as the density of detail is concerned with Walden, I'd also like to reiterate that writing involves a dedicated process. In effect, arriving at the end of a written work involves living through a journey where one picks up little flashes of inspiration and stores them away for life. Thoreau's writing is about the process of enlightenment - hardships need to be faced, significant change must occur and people must beyond the complacency that binds them to their lives. If the details were absent, then the process could not have been charted.

My favorite section was Thoreau's description of winter.

"it is so much pleasanter and wholesomer to be warmed by the sun while you can be, than by an artificial fire. I thus warmed myself by the still glowing embers which the summer, like a departed hunter, had left."

It's amazing that any text or visual that triggers a childhood memory can instantly make you happy and take you back through time. The excerpt above reminds me of my winter vacations in Delhi where I spend endless days warming myself under rays of sun that felt as warm as gold. My grandfather and I would pull out wicker chairs into the verandah and pass our time shucking peas for my mom. Which is a great segue into talking about work.

Thoreau definitely did not live the life of a hermit or an ascetic. All he did was learn to survive on his own. Between building chimneys, planting gardens and shaking trees, there's an awful lot of work learned and accomplished in the space of two years.

When I came to build my chimney I studies masonry. My brick, being second-hand ones, required to be cleaned with a trowel, so that I learned more than usual of the qualities of bricks and trowels" (13.5).

There's also an element of self discovery in this section. Sans the influence of Eastern mysticism as a fashion, self-discovery can also mean discovering how much you're capable of learning in your lifetime. If you're willing to push yourself beyond your comfort levels, there's no saying what you might achieve. Worth trying out for at least a day, no?

Posted by NehaBawa at October 6, 2005 02:28 PM | TrackBack