The importance of understanding Thoreau
Responding to Thoreauby Neville Barry
Henry David Thoreau: For the past 150 years, this man’s writings and lifestyle choices have evoked spirited debates, stirred emotions, and driven the American psyche. He has also been the inspiration for conservation and preservation, encouraged the concept of simplicity, and stated that civil disobedience is needed to ensure true democracy.
As a high school English teacher, I had the glorious opportunity to spend two weeks at Walden Pond. While I was there, I was able to study his writings and journals, walk the same paths he took, and enjoy the company of others. I was also provided the opportunity to live quietly, ponder my surroundings, and reflect on why this man’s ideas have become so critical to today’s issues.
When I decided to take this journey to Concord, I assumed that I would read a few essays, have a couple of quick discussions, and then enjoy the beautiful scenery of Walden Pond. However, as we all know, life is not that simple; instead, I inadvertently began a spiritual transformation. This elusive and transparent evolution occurs even now, but was ignited by one word: “wildness.” The term wildness is abstractly defined by Thoreau as “life consists of wildness. The most alive is the wildest. Not yet subdued to man, its presence refreshes him.”
As I read the essay “Walking,” this word crept into my soul and continues to haunt my dreams. Through Thoreau’s description of wildness, I realized that today’s society has lost some of its ferity, and we have become more complacent. Our complacency cannot be blamed on technological advances and/or the concept of the American Dream. Instead, we have separated ourselves from the raw and dangerous beauty of nature, because we consider her an outcast and obstacle to our greed and desires. We have also become disconnected with our inner voice that allows our creativity to flourish.
The lack of nature’s role in our lives, and our inability to speak with passion, I believe is what Thoreau fears will eventually be the demise of an individual’s identity. With the nexus between nature and the inner voice broken, the individual also loses his/her innate wildness. Without “wildness, individuals are more susceptible to conformity and are less likely to pursue an issue that requires integrity and determination.
Thoreau realized the urgency to depict the power of wildness, because he witnessed how every day complacency compromised and endangered individuality. He also understood that unless wildness was nurtured then an individual could not achieve his/her greatest potential. However, his urgency has not been fully comprehended, and as a school teacher, I am now a witness to a warning that has gone unheeded.
As I continue with my pilgrimage, I maintain the delicate, yet complicated idea of wildness in my conscience. For it is this word that has liberated me from the clutches of society’s restraints and permitted me to speak freely.
Thus I conclude with “all good things are wild and free.”
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/11-06/11-23-06/02opinion.htm
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