Student Essay on Walden: Economy

Walden: Economy

Summary:   Overview of the first chapter of Thoreau's "Walden." It includes purpose, summary, and a bit of rhetoric analysis.

'Economy', which sets forth Thoreau's philosophy that entices him to Walden Pond, begins to answer the questions that he outlines in the beginning of the chapter.

Through out the first essay of Walden, Thoreau states his justifications for going out to the Pond. He shows specifically the things that he is trying to get away from, and reasons why. In order to better convey this, rhetorical devices are used in order to 'brag as lustily as chanticleer in the morning, standing on his roost, if only to wake my [Thoreau] neighbors up'.

The first thing that is mentioned that seems to have Thoreau uptight about are inheritances; those specifically pertaining to farms, houses, barns, cattle and farming tools. Thoreau sees these acquisitions as burden rather than blessing. He deems them 'more easier acquired than got rid of'. According to this whole philosophy, the owning of a farm damns the owner to be a surf of his own land; This in turn sentences the owner to a life of labor, turmoil, and eventually the grave.

Thoreau closely relates these inheritances to labor, because indeed, if you obtain a farm, or maybe in more modern times, a company, some labor is going to have to be involved, or the business or farm will undoubtedly fail. Thoreau is also turned off by this whole concept as much as he was with inheritances. It not so much the necessary labor that bothers him; he himself had to survive by making a house from the ground up with nothing, which obviously included work. It's the act of laboring under mistake which bothers him. People who think that they need everything devote all their labor in order to get the false necessities of life. This takes away their freedom. In modern times, the mistaken laborers can be considered the workaholics, the people that work fourteen hour shifts, or the parents that are never home to see each other or their kids.

Apposed to the unnecessaries of life which are obtained by endless and mistaken labor, Thoreau speaks of the true necessities of life that a person truly only needs to survive. A maximum of four, as Nature can provide, so some you can get by without, include Food, Shelter, Clothing, and Fuel. These needs are what were to be exercised along Walden Pond. Thoreau states that not unless you secure these items, are you able to face the true problems of life with freedom and prospect of success. He goes into more depth saying that the ultimate necessity is to be kept warm since Food, Fuel, Clothing and Shelter all have to do with some form of heat. However, in civilized life it is hard to maintain the true form of this necessity; man can warm themselves to be unnaturally hot, ultimately cooking them in the end.

A contributing factor to why Thoreau leaves civilized life to Walden Pond, is to get away from the "luxuries" of life, as they are not only indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind. Thoreau theorizes that in order to live a life of wisdom, you need to first get rid of these hindrances, and live an uncomplicated and simple life. Voluntary poverty is needed in order to be a true Philosopher, hence the Walden Pond project. Thoreau gives paradigms in this way of living; He speaks of ancient philosophers being poor on the outside, yet rich on the inside. He states his reason for staying at Walden as follows; "My purpose in going to Walden Pond was not to live cheaply nor to live dearly there, but to transact some private business with the fewest obstacles; to be hindered from accomplishing which for want of a little common sense, a little enterprise and business talent, appeared not so sad as foolish." All in all, a simple life minus the man made necessities and over excessive labor is the key to living a sincere and productive life.

In order to convey this philosophy without being flat out condemned for it, Thoreau must use strong rhetorical devices to effectively persuade the reader. In order to do this however, Thoreau has to identify his audience, which he often does throughout the essay as the poor or low middle class, laborer type. With Thoreau condemning inheritance, labor, and false necessities, he would have to use drastic means in order from angering the reader enough to dismiss him as nothing more than a mere anti-social radical.

When Thoreau addresses unneeded labor, He asks thought provoking questions like, 'Why should they begin digging their graves as soon as they are born"' A lot of the diction that is used in this area pertains to death and suffering. The question stated above, along with words like smothered and crushed. So many complex sentences will go five or more layers deep so that Thoreau can precisely explain and convince. Many Illusions are used, and paradigms given as examples to what he is trying to portray to show that his philosophies are practical because they have been used by others in the past. All of these tools put into the readers mind, "Hey, he might be on to something here"

The whole chapter of Economy is justification for why Thoreau isolates himself in outsides of Concord Massachusetts at Walden Pond for two years. In order to live a life worth living, he theorizes that one must get away from the complicated lives of civilization, and live a simpler lifestyle.