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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
Welcome to the ruminations of a man so utterly detached from society and so ridiculously romantic that he lacks all empathy, common sense or logic, and instead sits on his own throne of self-righteousness bemoaning the state of the world.
I wanted to like this essay. I love nature, I love walking, and I love reading about both. (Think "Walking to Listen" by Andrew Forsthoefel). But this book was such utter bull that it made me laugh to think that people can take this man seriously. Pretentiousness leaks from his pores. Let's quote some of the best lines:
"I think I cannot preserve my health and spirits unless I spend four hours a day at least-and it is commonly more than that- sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements."
You do you Thoreau. I have no problem with you waltzing around smelling the daisies, but to preach this way of life as the only one worth living is ludicrous. Here's another quote that backs up my point:
"I am reminded that the mechanics and shopkeepers stay in their shops all day, sitting with crossed legs, so many of them; as if the legs were made to sit upon, and not to stand or walk upon; I think that they deserve some credit for not having all committed suicide long ago".
Wow. Just wow. To think that paragraph, then decide to write it, then decide to PUBLISH it??? Thoreau's separation from working class people is revolting. Oh, and since in the rest of the book he loves talking about how he loves mud and swamps, why don't you get down off your pedestal Henry, and go grovel in some mud, ok honey? Would do wonders for your ego.
"How womankind, who are confined to the house still more than men, stand it, I do not know: but I have ground to suspect they do not STAND it at all".
Thoreau then goes on to say they instead sleep all day. Insufferable.
Now, I'm not here to lambast the entire book. There were sections and sentiments I actually agreed with. As follows:
"The callous palms of the laborer are conversant with finer tissues of self-respect and heroism, whose touch thrills the heart, than the languid fingers of idleness. That is mere sentimentality that lies abed by day and thinks itself white, far from the tan and callus of experience."
I agree with this quote, but it is ironic to me that Thoreau can say this after he just lamented the "poor, purposeless people that have to work for a living! How demeaning!" Please tell me, how much "Callous of experience" do you have after mooning around looking at pine needles your whole life and feeling high and mighty because you only walk in a westward direction?
Later in the book, Thoreau goes on a pro-America rant that is exaggerated to the point of absurdity. Listen, I love America. But here is a paragraph Thoreau wrote in all seriousness....
"In the New World, Nature has not only outlined her works on a larger scale, but has painted the whole picture with brighter and more costly colors than she used in delineating and beautifying the Old World....the heavens of American appear infinitely higher, the sky is bluer, the air is fresher, the cold is intenser, the moon looks larger, the stars are brighter, the thunder is louder, the lightning is vivider, the wind is stronger, the rain is heavier, the mountains are higher, the rivers longer, the forest bigger, the plains broader".....
You shouldn't have to do all the work Henry, let me help. "The authors are stupider, the men are prouder, the women are sleepier, the shopowners are more suicidal..."
He then says that Americans as a whole will be more intelligent and think grander thoughts than every country because of this environment. Sigh.
Here's the sentence that sent me over the edge.
"As a true patriot, I should be ashamed to think that Adam in paradise was more favorably situated on the whole than the backwoodsmen in this country".
Go touch some grass Henry. Oh wait, that's all you do. Go get a 9-5 job Henry, and let me know what you think after you have to live a responsible life that is of some use to society instead of your incessant nattering.
He continues to talk about how much he loves swamps, specifically the "quaking sphagnum" which is an excellent insult. Here's another lovely quote from Henry:
"My spirits infallibly rise in proportion to the outward dreariness".
No they don't. Don't pretend they do. If you were working in a coal mine for the rest of your days, I somewhat doubt that you would be composing sonnets to the bleak darkness that surrounds you, softly scratching hieroglyphics into the cave walls, humming softly to yourself; "yes, yes, this is a life worth living".
Then the book begins to talk about WILDNESS. How everything that is good is WILD. FREE. picture a bearded mountain man, his hair flowing softly in the breeze, eating pinecones and having constipation; YES. WILDERNESS. Thoreau says it best: "Give me for my friends and neighbors wild men, not tame ones." You say that now Henry, but when Bob from across the street is sitting in his lawn shirtless rubbing mayonnaise on his chest and chanting nursery rhymes, let me know what you think.
After all of this: There were some actual good parts of the book, hence the two and not one stars. The last section of several paragraphs was my favorite part by far: a simple description and appreciation of nature. If only Henry had stuck to that instead of being a *quirky* writer who can subsist on sunshine alone and has no grasp of reality.
I wanted to like this essay. I love nature, I love walking, and I love reading about both. (Think "Walking to Listen" by Andrew Forsthoefel). But this book was such utter bull that it made me laugh to think that people can take this man seriously. Pretentiousness leaks from his pores. Let's quote some of the best lines:
"I think I cannot preserve my health and spirits unless I spend four hours a day at least-and it is commonly more than that- sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements."
You do you Thoreau. I have no problem with you waltzing around smelling the daisies, but to preach this way of life as the only one worth living is ludicrous. Here's another quote that backs up my point:
"I am reminded that the mechanics and shopkeepers stay in their shops all day, sitting with crossed legs, so many of them; as if the legs were made to sit upon, and not to stand or walk upon; I think that they deserve some credit for not having all committed suicide long ago".
Wow. Just wow. To think that paragraph, then decide to write it, then decide to PUBLISH it??? Thoreau's separation from working class people is revolting. Oh, and since in the rest of the book he loves talking about how he loves mud and swamps, why don't you get down off your pedestal Henry, and go grovel in some mud, ok honey? Would do wonders for your ego.
"How womankind, who are confined to the house still more than men, stand it, I do not know: but I have ground to suspect they do not STAND it at all".
Thoreau then goes on to say they instead sleep all day. Insufferable.
Now, I'm not here to lambast the entire book. There were sections and sentiments I actually agreed with. As follows:
"The callous palms of the laborer are conversant with finer tissues of self-respect and heroism, whose touch thrills the heart, than the languid fingers of idleness. That is mere sentimentality that lies abed by day and thinks itself white, far from the tan and callus of experience."
I agree with this quote, but it is ironic to me that Thoreau can say this after he just lamented the "poor, purposeless people that have to work for a living! How demeaning!" Please tell me, how much "Callous of experience" do you have after mooning around looking at pine needles your whole life and feeling high and mighty because you only walk in a westward direction?
Later in the book, Thoreau goes on a pro-America rant that is exaggerated to the point of absurdity. Listen, I love America. But here is a paragraph Thoreau wrote in all seriousness....
"In the New World, Nature has not only outlined her works on a larger scale, but has painted the whole picture with brighter and more costly colors than she used in delineating and beautifying the Old World....the heavens of American appear infinitely higher, the sky is bluer, the air is fresher, the cold is intenser, the moon looks larger, the stars are brighter, the thunder is louder, the lightning is vivider, the wind is stronger, the rain is heavier, the mountains are higher, the rivers longer, the forest bigger, the plains broader".....
You shouldn't have to do all the work Henry, let me help. "The authors are stupider, the men are prouder, the women are sleepier, the shopowners are more suicidal..."
He then says that Americans as a whole will be more intelligent and think grander thoughts than every country because of this environment. Sigh.
Here's the sentence that sent me over the edge.
"As a true patriot, I should be ashamed to think that Adam in paradise was more favorably situated on the whole than the backwoodsmen in this country".
Go touch some grass Henry. Oh wait, that's all you do. Go get a 9-5 job Henry, and let me know what you think after you have to live a responsible life that is of some use to society instead of your incessant nattering.
He continues to talk about how much he loves swamps, specifically the "quaking sphagnum" which is an excellent insult. Here's another lovely quote from Henry:
"My spirits infallibly rise in proportion to the outward dreariness".
No they don't. Don't pretend they do. If you were working in a coal mine for the rest of your days, I somewhat doubt that you would be composing sonnets to the bleak darkness that surrounds you, softly scratching hieroglyphics into the cave walls, humming softly to yourself; "yes, yes, this is a life worth living".
Then the book begins to talk about WILDNESS. How everything that is good is WILD. FREE. picture a bearded mountain man, his hair flowing softly in the breeze, eating pinecones and having constipation; YES. WILDERNESS. Thoreau says it best: "Give me for my friends and neighbors wild men, not tame ones." You say that now Henry, but when Bob from across the street is sitting in his lawn shirtless rubbing mayonnaise on his chest and chanting nursery rhymes, let me know what you think.
After all of this: There were some actual good parts of the book, hence the two and not one stars. The last section of several paragraphs was my favorite part by far: a simple description and appreciation of nature. If only Henry had stuck to that instead of being a *quirky* writer who can subsist on sunshine alone and has no grasp of reality.
Beautiful language but maybe I wasn't in the mood. It's comforting to go back and walk through nature.
This is probably my favourite essay of his (although Walden is my fave of all his writing so far) I listened to this on librivox (could the team lmk if audiobooks count in our reading challenge??) It was beautiful to listen to at a time like this. Thoreau walked every single day around Concord- (sometimes for 30 miles) where he lived in the woods a couple of miles from the town.
This essay is a celebration of nature and the beauty of walking which in itself is a wonderful concept but it is also a (sometimes sarcastic) relevant commentary on society, materialism, environmentalism, solitude and the simple life.
'Think of a man’s swinging dumb-bells for his health, when those springs are bubbling up in far-off pastures unsought by him!'
I think if I disagreed with his views, I'd hate his writing because he is very self-assured and judgemental at times (this is true for all his wiritings.) Here he meanders through his thoughts as if wandering the paths of a forest.
"In my afternoon walk I would fain forget all my morning occupations and my obligations to Society. But it sometimes happens that I cannot easily shake off the village. The thought of some work will run in my head and I am not where my body is--I am out of my senses. In my walks I would fain return to my senses. What business have I in the woods, if I am thinking of something out of the woods?"
His ideas are very remiciscent of mindfulness- not the commercialised type but the ability to engage completely with nature, which for Thoreau is surely the truest thing to exist.
Would give a lot to be walking through a wilderness now with hills and deer and green-no city for miles around. Would recommend listening to this whilst on a walk in nature if at all possible :)
This essay is a celebration of nature and the beauty of walking which in itself is a wonderful concept but it is also a (sometimes sarcastic) relevant commentary on society, materialism, environmentalism, solitude and the simple life.
'Think of a man’s swinging dumb-bells for his health, when those springs are bubbling up in far-off pastures unsought by him!'
I think if I disagreed with his views, I'd hate his writing because he is very self-assured and judgemental at times (this is true for all his wiritings.) Here he meanders through his thoughts as if wandering the paths of a forest.
"In my afternoon walk I would fain forget all my morning occupations and my obligations to Society. But it sometimes happens that I cannot easily shake off the village. The thought of some work will run in my head and I am not where my body is--I am out of my senses. In my walks I would fain return to my senses. What business have I in the woods, if I am thinking of something out of the woods?"
His ideas are very remiciscent of mindfulness- not the commercialised type but the ability to engage completely with nature, which for Thoreau is surely the truest thing to exist.
Would give a lot to be walking through a wilderness now with hills and deer and green-no city for miles around. Would recommend listening to this whilst on a walk in nature if at all possible :)
“Give me a wildness whose glance no civilization can endure”
As someone who loves to walk, this book has been on my TBR for years... And I was not disappointed by it.
This was beautifuly written, I will be reading other Thoreau work for sure. And the theme was very interesting. I love the idea of being able to walk 4-5 hours a day, in our society it's not exactly possible (and it was not possible for everyone in Thoreau's society either) but it's a nice dream (like the dream of walking alone in deep forest as a woman I guess).
Thoreau loved America, and there are many pages on how America is so perfect compared to the old continent. What really was funny is that I kinda agreed with his arguments... And knew they don't apply anymore. It made me a little sad, imagining what Thoreau would say about the contemporary USA.
This was beautifuly written, I will be reading other Thoreau work for sure. And the theme was very interesting. I love the idea of being able to walk 4-5 hours a day, in our society it's not exactly possible (and it was not possible for everyone in Thoreau's society either) but it's a nice dream (like the dream of walking alone in deep forest as a woman I guess).
Thoreau loved America, and there are many pages on how America is so perfect compared to the old continent. What really was funny is that I kinda agreed with his arguments... And knew they don't apply anymore. It made me a little sad, imagining what Thoreau would say about the contemporary USA.
Sounds like a pompous ass, but gets away with it, being Thoreau!
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Vaikutti aika ristiriitaiselta, etenkin nykylukijalle. Minulle tuttuun Thoreaun tapaan sekava.
Koostuu lyhyistä pätkistä vähän ja vaikka mistä, myös siitä Kävelemisestä, eli poluttomassa luonnossa liikkumisessa.
Kuten aina: kun Thoreau kirjoittaa luonnosta, se on kaunista. Lopun auringonlasku oli käsinkosketeltava, sieluni silmät näkivät ja tunnistivat sen.
Koostuu lyhyistä pätkistä vähän ja vaikka mistä, myös siitä Kävelemisestä, eli poluttomassa luonnossa liikkumisessa.
Kuten aina: kun Thoreau kirjoittaa luonnosta, se on kaunista. Lopun auringonlasku oli käsinkosketeltava, sieluni silmät näkivät ja tunnistivat sen.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
I have mixed feelings about Walking. On one hand, there were good points made with regard to appreciation of and interaction with nature, as well as various bits of food for thought that I think readers would find both interesting and useful. On the hand, the surface features of Walking are key reasons that I have heard people complain (and I agree with them, here) why they do not like classic literature: the diction and examples are dated, and the writing can get boring because they author has gotten caught up in describing the details of interactions or bits of scenery (a style that cycled in and out of fashion for various reasons). While I think those complaints apply to Walking, I also think it is worth the read, especially for how short it is. Though I will probably never read Walking again in its entirety, I certainly will reread the several sections that spoke to me and made the essay worth reading overall.