Broadly discuss the Eco-human cohesion in Walden by Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was a lover of nature.He spent his entire life in search of the relationship between man and nature.It was true that Thoreau was deeply concerned with some social issues of his times and he hoped how he would be able to find the solutions.Walden is one of his masterpieces.It appealed to readers for his prophetic vision of a harmonious world with the rise of global environmental problems.In Walden, Thoreau suggests that people should restrain their desires and live a simple life.Besides Thoreau takes the small pond as a symbol of the whole ecosystem where he can freely set up a relationship with nature.Walden is made up of 18 chapters and every chapter has its own title and theme.What Thoreau advocates is a diverse and harmonious life with nature, with humans and other living organism.The diversity of animals is one essential aspect of a diverse life.Thoreau himself would not live only one mood of life So he left the wood in the end.Hence a diversity of life would promote the achievement of self-culture,and the modes of life should and could be as diverse as possible.
In Walden , Thoreau often describes the similarities between animals and people he comes across.In Thoreau's eyes, human is just a "plain citizen" in nature, not a master over the creatures. Animals are equal with human beings as well as other non-human organisms. Human should not make interruptions and destructions to animals , plants and other organisms. As an equal member of the ecosystem, human should have respect for other organisms and live in harmony with them as their neighbor. Thoreau views the birds and animals as equivalents to human beings. Man is "part and parcel of nature". Fishes, frogs and water birds like ducks and geese, are equal inhabitants of Walden just as he is. He regards these non-human lives as his neighbors and endows them with human characteristics. In his writings, these animals are referred to with human pronouns, "he" or "she" rather than "it".
Thoreau's realistic ideas of harmonious coexistence of mankind and animals are of great importance to the modern readers. As an indispensable part of nature, animals have their intrinsic values which should not be judged from their economic interests to human beings.Thoreau gives a vivid description of beauty and loveliness of animals. The existence of animals adds color and vigor to the earth. Thoreau enjoys being with animals, and animals provide him with happiness and sweet remedy for a soul. The animals come and go give him "much entertainment by their manoeuvres ". He " was amused by watching the motions of the various animals which were baited by " the ears of sweet corn he threw out of his house.
In Walden , Thoreau pleads for the rights of animals. He suggests that it is a savage thing for humans to eat their own species. He equals man's eating animals with man's eating each other . In his opinoio, people should stop eating animals to develop from brutes to civilized mankind. However, they are not made for mankind, and their values cannot be measured by their usefulness to human purposes. They should be respected as parts of the whole ecosystem.
Thoreau regards himself as a neighbor to the animals rather than cage animals to be his neighbors. He realizes through his own experiences that animals have feelings, souls and minds. They are conscious and able to suffer or even to feel pain. Once he said that a rabbit would make a cry as woeful as a child. He shares his house and bean field with forests animals, like mice, squirrels, robins etcetera. He enjoys observing their activities and living with them. However, he considers himself the neighbor of those animals.
To Thoreau, the Walden pond is a living web that includes all organisms, human or non-human. The book is abundant with the beautiful description of the nature. As he went to the wood, he found a completely different world. The sight og vaste range of trees and flowers, the sounds of different kinds of birds and animals and the beautiful landscape of ponds constitute a marvelous picture of harmony. But Thoreau witnesses man's ruthless damages on nature. People cut down trees for money, catch fishes for food, kill different kinds of animals for their meay or fur. As a result he thinks that biocentric or ecocentric is the foundation for the harmony between man and nature.
Thoreau's life at Walden pond is an experiment with simple life. With the development of society, people could not fully enjoy their life; instead, they have to work even harder to make more money. He encourages people to abunden the redundant material possessions and pursue the true spiritual life. Hence he builds his own cabin and furnishes his house on his own, eats the foods he grows and seldom his any material possessions. In this way, he has a clear observation towards the society. He suggests that people should adopt a correct attitude towards mankind and nature.
In Walden, Thoreau complains that humans beings have lost their true identity. They are too preoccupied with endless work and useless worries but they ignore the true cultivation of the self. In Wilden, he writes " The oldest Egyptian or Bondoo philosopher raised a corner of the veil from the statue of divinity and I gaze upon as crash a glory as he did, since it was I in him that was then so bold, and it is he in me that now reviews the vision". He believes that nature is friendly and receptive to human beings and it would help people to cultivate themselves if man and nature can live in harmony.
From the passages that I have presented above, I would suggest that Thoreau is a man with strong opinions on both nature, culture and the relationship between the two. Even he does not wish to be completely and eternally secluded and detached from the society, he does claim that there are qualities in nature that could not be found in the society of his time, partly because society has lost his connection with its natural origins. He seems to recognize some kind of primordial interconnection between nature and culture, an interconnection that Thoreau urges people to awaken and see," The morning wind forever blows, few are the ears that hear it". Here Thoreau wants to infer that nature is always present and it is the root of all life. Based on the above analysis, we can conclude that Thoreau's ideas and explorations in Walden point out the way to a harmonious society. Thus Thoreau's Walden can be reread from the perspective of the Eco-human cohesion.
In Walden , Thoreau often describes the similarities between animals and people he comes across.In Thoreau's eyes, human is just a "plain citizen" in nature, not a master over the creatures. Animals are equal with human beings as well as other non-human organisms. Human should not make interruptions and destructions to animals , plants and other organisms. As an equal member of the ecosystem, human should have respect for other organisms and live in harmony with them as their neighbor. Thoreau views the birds and animals as equivalents to human beings. Man is "part and parcel of nature". Fishes, frogs and water birds like ducks and geese, are equal inhabitants of Walden just as he is. He regards these non-human lives as his neighbors and endows them with human characteristics. In his writings, these animals are referred to with human pronouns, "he" or "she" rather than "it".
Thoreau's realistic ideas of harmonious coexistence of mankind and animals are of great importance to the modern readers. As an indispensable part of nature, animals have their intrinsic values which should not be judged from their economic interests to human beings.Thoreau gives a vivid description of beauty and loveliness of animals. The existence of animals adds color and vigor to the earth. Thoreau enjoys being with animals, and animals provide him with happiness and sweet remedy for a soul. The animals come and go give him "much entertainment by their manoeuvres ". He " was amused by watching the motions of the various animals which were baited by " the ears of sweet corn he threw out of his house.
In Walden , Thoreau pleads for the rights of animals. He suggests that it is a savage thing for humans to eat their own species. He equals man's eating animals with man's eating each other . In his opinoio, people should stop eating animals to develop from brutes to civilized mankind. However, they are not made for mankind, and their values cannot be measured by their usefulness to human purposes. They should be respected as parts of the whole ecosystem.
Thoreau regards himself as a neighbor to the animals rather than cage animals to be his neighbors. He realizes through his own experiences that animals have feelings, souls and minds. They are conscious and able to suffer or even to feel pain. Once he said that a rabbit would make a cry as woeful as a child. He shares his house and bean field with forests animals, like mice, squirrels, robins etcetera. He enjoys observing their activities and living with them. However, he considers himself the neighbor of those animals.
To Thoreau, the Walden pond is a living web that includes all organisms, human or non-human. The book is abundant with the beautiful description of the nature. As he went to the wood, he found a completely different world. The sight og vaste range of trees and flowers, the sounds of different kinds of birds and animals and the beautiful landscape of ponds constitute a marvelous picture of harmony. But Thoreau witnesses man's ruthless damages on nature. People cut down trees for money, catch fishes for food, kill different kinds of animals for their meay or fur. As a result he thinks that biocentric or ecocentric is the foundation for the harmony between man and nature.
Thoreau's life at Walden pond is an experiment with simple life. With the development of society, people could not fully enjoy their life; instead, they have to work even harder to make more money. He encourages people to abunden the redundant material possessions and pursue the true spiritual life. Hence he builds his own cabin and furnishes his house on his own, eats the foods he grows and seldom his any material possessions. In this way, he has a clear observation towards the society. He suggests that people should adopt a correct attitude towards mankind and nature.
In Walden, Thoreau complains that humans beings have lost their true identity. They are too preoccupied with endless work and useless worries but they ignore the true cultivation of the self. In Wilden, he writes " The oldest Egyptian or Bondoo philosopher raised a corner of the veil from the statue of divinity and I gaze upon as crash a glory as he did, since it was I in him that was then so bold, and it is he in me that now reviews the vision". He believes that nature is friendly and receptive to human beings and it would help people to cultivate themselves if man and nature can live in harmony.
From the passages that I have presented above, I would suggest that Thoreau is a man with strong opinions on both nature, culture and the relationship between the two. Even he does not wish to be completely and eternally secluded and detached from the society, he does claim that there are qualities in nature that could not be found in the society of his time, partly because society has lost his connection with its natural origins. He seems to recognize some kind of primordial interconnection between nature and culture, an interconnection that Thoreau urges people to awaken and see," The morning wind forever blows, few are the ears that hear it". Here Thoreau wants to infer that nature is always present and it is the root of all life. Based on the above analysis, we can conclude that Thoreau's ideas and explorations in Walden point out the way to a harmonious society. Thus Thoreau's Walden can be reread from the perspective of the Eco-human cohesion.
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