Thoreau Journal 1

Thoreau begins “Walking” by saying he wants to “regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature,” and illustrates this concept through various methods in his writing. In “Walking,” Thoreau makes several distinct comparisons between humans and the natural world. The relationship between nature, humans and animals is portrayed as a symbiotic puzzle in which none of the three entities would exist without the others. Toward the beginning of the essay, Thoreau speaks about living outdoors and how it can produce “a thicker cuticle to grow over some of the finer qualities of our nature, as on the face and hands” (183). Here, Thoreau is comparing humanity to a weathered entity of the forest, eroded and shaped by the elements, like trees or streams. On page 184, Thoreau compares humanity’s mental systems to a narrow field and “road leading to it,” melding human thought and natural imagery into a critique on humanity’s reliance on their political leaders. Thoreau is stressing that humans are a part of nature, and that as natural beings we should wander, not be lead. “I believe there is a subtle magnetism in nature,” Thoreau writes, “which if we unconsciously yield to it will direct us alright” (187). The idea in this sentence is that all humans are instinctively in tune with nature. Such a concept suggests that humans had these instincts planted at the beginning of time, and that the human and natural worlds are distinct and irreplaceable pieces of one another. On page 188, Thoreau compares the westward settlement of the United States with the migratory instinct evident in birds, squirrels and other four legged creatures. This metaphor is used to draw the human and animal worlds closer together using a similarity in behavior. Such a comparison motivates the reader to question why humans and animals move in such close patterns. Does each species truly understand the motives of the other? Maybe our races are moving in harmony for the same reasons, as Thoreau suggests. “Hope” is found in a “quaking swamp,” and not in modern cities or homes on page 193. This view on a human future calls forth the image of a mucky swamp, something most readers would never dream about when thinking of a hope- filled future. Thoreau further describes nature’s perceived “impurities” as “jewels,” metaphorically giving humanity’s precious natural resources an equally precious stone to illustrate their true values. In “Ktaadn,” Thoreau describes himself climbing a mountain, losing his friends, and then becoming a cloud in a “cloud factory” at the foggy peak. The author is protected from the elements such as harsh winds in his place amongst the clouds. Thoreau can hardly see anything through their fog, so he is protected from the outside world as well. With the disappearance of human feeling and sight in this passage, Thoreau is suggesting he has become a drifting could without senses, tying nature and humans together through imagery and imagination. Thoreau describes the mountaintops as “unfinished parts of the globe” on page 207, illustrating through metaphorical comparison, that while humanity values and obsesses over “progress,” nature has a similar, albeit more gradual way of getting important things done. Thoreau is also stating here that some things are best left undone, or given their due course to develop, like human lives. “November Twilight's” are compared to “a piece of art” on page 212. This comparison is followed with the idea that “You cannot see anything until you are clear of it” (213). This calls to mind that humans must take time to appreciate what is before them, for they are a part of it. Such an idea is equally applicable to nature’s harsher elements like tornadoes or storms. There is always calm after a dark period, be it daybreak or the sun reaching out from behind the clouds. Tragedies in human life can be seen in much the same terms. The animal biographies that Thoreau conjures on page 217 make a clear connection between that which human’s value, and natural phenomena that humans cannot explain. The author writes that “in describing brutes, as in describing men, we shall naturally dwell on those particulars in which they are most like ourselves” (217). This concept plays on the fact that humans never really know exactly what makes an animal distinct, and/or different from the human race. The differences between species is examined, and removed, drawing the worlds of men and beasts closer together. Descriptions of ancient animals are used alongside examples of human progress, contrasting old thoughts and ideas with new ones. Thoreau comes to the conclusion that sometimes antiquated thinking is more lively and imaginative, and that perhaps our ancestors were right about humans being similar to animal beings. It might be today’s science and fact driven generation that is wrong.