Walden

Walden is an eclectic mix of forms, including poetry, philosophical musings, local lore and histories, and quotes from a wide range of sources. Why do you think Thoreau combined so many different forms, and how do they converse and interact with one another?

Prominent Chinese and Indian philosophers make repeated appearances throughout the text. Choose at least three significant mentions of Chinese or Indian philosophy and analyze how these philosophies shape the book.

How would you describe Thoreau’s feelings on regrowth and regeneration over historic ground? Do you think his feelings change over the course of Walden, or does he simply reveal new layers?

Walden presents many instances of behavioral overlap between human and non-human animals. What do you think Thoreau is trying to suggest with these moments? Analyze at least two significant moments wherein he compares the existences of human and animals.

Walden reverberates with poetic descriptions of sound, including the cries of birds, the cracking of ice, and the encroaching screams of the Fitchburg Railroad. Why do you think Thoreau is so invested in describing the sounds of the woods? Highlight three or four significant moments of sonic description, and compare the ways they develop the text overall.

Thoreau describes his experience on Walden Pond as an opportunity to reconnect with nature. However, he does not entirely extricate himself from society. Why do you think Thoreau refrains from removing himself entirely from civilization? How do his interactions with other humans shape the Walden Pond experiment?

Famous behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner wrote his own novel—Walden Two—in conversation with Thoreau’s ideas, interests, and goals. Walden Two is like the original in the sense that it revolves around a rural “utopian” community that hopes to dismantle typical assumptions of human civilization. It is arguably very different from the original, however, by asserting that humans have no free will. How do you think Thoreau would interpret B.F. Skinner’s book? Would he object to this radical revision?

A strong advocate for personal freedom and independence, Thoreau was repulsed by slavery and assisted runaway slaves on the underground railroad. In Walden, however, Thoreau presents several problematic views, from his glib references to Native American displacement to his bigoted lecturing of Irish immigrant John Field. Do Thoreau’s prejudiced views contradict his position as an abolitionist?