Walden Summary
Henry David Thoreau

Walden by Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1817. His family moved away several times but always returned to the small New England town. In the 1830s an... Read more

Biography EssayGenerally unrecognized in his own day or, worse, dismissed as a second-rate imitator of his friend and mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, in the twentieth century, has eme... Read more

American philosopher Henry David Thoreau "has for today a special appeal," noted Townsend Scudder in his foreword to the Modern Library edition to Walden and Other Writings of Henry David Thoreau. Scu... Read more

John Aldrich Christie best captures the paradoxes and contradictions in Henry David Thoreau's treatment of travel. He characterizes Thoreau as "a man who on the one hand reiterates his disdain for tra... Read more

Though not a professional philosopher, Henry David Thoreau is recognized as an important contributor to the American literary and philosophical movement known as New England Transcendentalism. His ess... Read more

In this review, originally published in Dwight's Journal of Music, the critic praises Walden for its originality and common-sense approach to life and nature. For indoor reading, in the inte... Read more

In this excerpt, Michaels explores the strategies employed by Walden's readers in order to deal with the text's many contradictions. Walden has traditionally been regarded as both a s... Read more

This review's anonymous author recommends Walden as an entertaining work. One of those rare books that stand a part from the herd of new publications under which the press absolutely groans;... Read more

This anonymous reviewer answers Walden's earlier critics by suggesting that Thoreau's example provides an appealing alternative to the widespread pursuit of material gain. These books... Read more

In this excerpt, Shanley examines the successive versions of the Walden manuscript to determine the development of the work's structure. In some respects the most valuable insight we gain fr... Read more

In this excerpt, Harding reflects on the variety of reasons why readers enjoy Walden and considers five possible ways of reading it; as a nature book, as a practical guide, as satire, as philosophy, a... Read more

Thoreau's masterpiece work of writing, Walden, deeply portrays the notion of transcendentalism. Transcendentalism meaning a whole series of things: preeminence of nature, individualism, anti-materiali... Read more

Henry David Thoreau writes of his experiences in his two-year experiment of "self reliance" on Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts. It is my opinion that Thoreau thought of himself as better than... Read more

In Walden Henry David Thoreau speaks about his experience of walking home at night in the woods in chapter eight, "The Village."   This experience is one which is metaphorical, and represent... Read more

Walden Book Notes is a free study guide on Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Browse the summary below:   Author Biography / Context of the Work   One-Page Plot Summary   Character De... Read more