walden-tone
In Walden, Henry David Thoreau's tone , his attitude towards the subject, has two aspects. His attitude towards nature was a positive one of respect and amazement. His attitude towards the reader, the general public, or the average citizen changes through the course of the work from pitying to criticizing to reassuring and advising. Thoreau viewed nature as a teacher; he did, after all, journey to Walden pond to "front only the essential facts of life and learn what (nature) had to teach."(66) This attitude that nature is the teacher and we are the students continued throughout Thoreau's tale. Thoreau explained that men go into the world "at first as a hunter, a fisher until at last...he distinguishes his proper objects, as a poet or naturalist... The mass of men are still and always young in this respect" (149). He depicted nature in a positive tone; he had good things to say about both the phases of the day and the seasons of the year. He describe the morning, "the most memorable season of the day"(64) and the "delicious evening" (90). He depicted the "gentle rain" that "watered his plants"(92) and some of his "most enjoyable hours", occurring "during the long rainstorms in spring or fall"(93). In the winter he "weathered
Of our society in general, Thoreau stated that "society is cheap", and that people are polite simply to make their "meetings tolerable"(95). for (possessions ) are more easily acquired than gotten rid of. Finally, he explained to them the possibilities, what could be. He criticized those who simply accepted society's goals and values asking "why should we knock under and go with the stream?"(70) In the next chapter Thoreau criticized the literary preferences of his fellow towns people and education in general, saying that most had no taste for "the best. When the story begins, Thoreau displayed a feeling of pity towards his fellow man who "lead lives of quiet desperation. He also said that he felt sorry for those "whose misfortune it is to have inherited. "(211)Thoreau had the attitude that all of nature- whether it appears to be helpful or harmful- fits into a mater plan, one that is designed for all. "(214) One of Thoreau's intentions when writing this philosophical work was to present his philosophy to others. This would explain why his attitude towards the reader varied more significantly than his attitude towards nature. Unlike his attitude towards nature, Thoreau's attitude towards other people changes through the course of Walden. Thoreau's tone gradually shifts towards criticism and skepticism. He also blamed society's materialism for common crime, saying that if all men lived as simply as he did, "thieving and robbery would be unknown.
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Acceptance Essays
