梭罗

HenryDavidThoreauHenryDavidThoreauBiographicalIntroductionHisMajorWorksa.Waldenb.IntroductiontoWaldenc.NarrativePointofViewd.Thoreau’sideasembodiedinhisWaldenComparativeStudies:a.Thoreau&Emersonb.Thoreau&TaoYuanmingc.Thoreau’sIdea&ChineseTraditionalIdeasBiographicalIntroduction•Americanessayist,poet,naturalist,philosopher,andleadingtranscendentalist（美国超验主义）•Birthplace:BorninConcord,Massachusettsin1817（美国马萨诸塞州的康科德）•EducationExperience:studiedatHarvardUniversity(1833and1837).•HisrelationshipwithEmerson:Emerson’struestdisciple（弟子）andfriends.•ResidenceatWaldenPond:in1845,hebegantotakeatwo-year-residenceatWaldenPondContinuing…•Thoreauwasaprotesteraswell.Disapprovedofthegovernment’sconductoftheMexicanWar（美墨战争）byrefusingtopayhispolltax.（人头税）(wassenttojailonenight).•In1835,hecontractedTuberculosis(肺结核)andsufferedfromitafterwards.Hediedin1862andwasburiedinSleepyHollowCemetery.（睡谷公墓）HenryDavidThoreauBiographicalIntroductionHisMajorWorksa.Waldenb.IntroductiontoWaldenc.NarrativePointofViewd.Thoreau’sideasembodiedinhisWaldenComparativeStudies:a.Thoreau&Emersonb.Thoreau&TaoYuanmingc.Thoreau’sIdea&ChineseTraditionalIdeasWalden•typeofwork·Essay•genre·Autobiography;moralphilosophy;naturalhistory;socialcriticism•timeandplacewritten·1845–1854,WaldenPond,nearConcord,Massachusetts•dateoffirstpublication·1854•narrator·HenryDavidThoreau•Walden:descriptionofhislifenearthepondcalledWaldenbelongingtoEmerson.Theauthorlivedtherefornearlytwoyearswithonlyanaxeatthebeginning.Thisbookwasafailureinhisowntimebutbecameverypopularinthe20thcentury.WaldenpresentedThoreau'sunusualinterestinnatureandshowedhisindividualismwhichinheritedfromAmericanPuritanism.Thebookdescribedtheauthor'sextremelysimplelifeandregenerationheexperiencedwhenhelivedneartheWaldenpondwhereheputEmerson'sTranscendentaldoctrinesintopracticeintheactuallife.IntroductiontoWalden•ItcameoutofThoreau’stwo-year-experimentatWaldenPond.Itstressestheimportanceofthoughtovermaterialcircumstance.Hebelievedthattherewasthepossibilityforandimportanceofchangeinone’sspirituallifewhichisinharmonywithnature.•Waldenemphasizestheimportanceofsolitude,contemplation,andclosenesstonatureintranscendingthedesperateexistence.StayingatWaldenPond—anexperimentwithathreefoldpurpose•First,hewasescapingthedehumanizingeffectsoftheIndustrialRevolutionbyreturningtoasimpler,agrarianlifestyle.•Second,hewassimplifyinghislifeandreducinghisexpenditures,increasingtheamountofleisuretimeinwhichhecouldworkonhiswritings.•Third,hewasputtingintopracticetheTranscendentalistbeliefthatonecanbesttranscendnormalityandexperiencetheIdeal,ortheDivine,throughnature.NarrativePointofView•Thebookisnotatraditionalautobiography,butcombinesautobiographywithasocialcritiqueofcontemporaryWesternculture'sconsumeristandmaterialistattitudesanditsdistancefromanddestructionofnature.•Thatthebookisnotsimplyacriticismofsociety,butalsoanattempttoengagecreativelywiththebetteraspectsofcontemporaryculture,issuggestedbothbyThoreau'sproximitytoConcordsocietyandbyhisadmirationforclassicalliterature.Thoreau’sideasembodiedinhisWalden•1.Hesawnatureasagenuinerestorativehealthyinfluenceonman’sspiritualwell-being,andregardeditasasymbolofspirit.Hefirmlybelievesthat“natureobjectsandphenomenaaretheoriginalsymbolsortypeswhichexpressourthoughtsandfeelings.”Hewasseenlostincontemplationoftheworldaround.Thoreau’sideasembodiedinhisWalden•SoWaldenisafaithfulrecordofhisreflectionswhenhewasinsolitarycommunionwithnature,aneloquentindicationthathenotonlyembracedEmerson’sTranscendentalistphilosophybutwentevenfurthertoillustratethepantheistical（泛神论的）qualityofnature.Thoreau’sideasembodiedinhisWalden•2.Thoreauhasfaithintheinnervirtueandinward,spiritualgraceofman.Heholdsthatthemostimportantthingformentodowiththeirlivesistobeself-sufficientandstrivetoachievepersonalspiritualperfection.SohehasbeenregardedasaprophetofindividualisminAmericanliterature.Thoreau’sideasembodiedinhisWalden•3.Thoreauwasverycriticalofmoderncivilization.Itwas,inhisopinion,degradingandenslavingman.Ashesawit,moderncivilizedlifehaddehumanizedmanandplacedhiminaspiritualquandary.•4.Inhisopinion,spiritualrichnessisrealwealth.•5.WaldenexhibitsThoreau’scalmtrustinthefutureandhisardentbeliefinanewgenerationofmen.•这本书反映出人与自然的神性。他不仅是爱默生的忠实信徒，他是一个泛神主义——把自然界的万物都具有神性。他坚定地认为自然界中的万物都是具有象征意义的，它能表达出我们的思想和感情。沃尔登的文体特征，在美国文学史上是非常著名的.Thoreau’sideasembodiedinhisWalden•选篇摘自《沃尔登》中的第二篇文章“我生活的地方；我为何生活”。为了实践他的超验主义哲学，梭罗曾在马萨诸塞州康科德附近的沃尔登湖畔自建木屋，靠采集野菜、野果，自种豆类而维持生活长达两年之久。他在沃尔登湖畔的生活和思考使他得以完成两部最重要的著作：《在康科德与梅里马克河上一周》（AweekontheConcordandMerrimackRiver,1849）和《沃尔登》（Walden,1854）。《沃尔登》由18篇文章组成，记录了他所观察到的自然以及他建造木屋、耕种土地、招待朋友等生活情况。•书中讴歌了人类与自然的和谐生活，倡导个人主义、自力更生、物质节俭。他试图将身体的物质需要缩小到最低限度，以便在读书、思考、观察自然与自我当中获得更大的精神财富和自由。他也呼吁人们过最简朴的生活，以便节约时间和精力来“过深层次的生活，吮吸出生活的精髓”。•他努力发掘美国自然环境在人类教养、心灵塑造等方面的潜能，强调所有人都应该有充分的自由来选择独一无二的生活方式，将自己的生活做成诗、当作艺术。他向人们展示出闲暇、沉思、与大自然和谐共处等的种种益处，为美国自然作家的写作开了先河。在《沃尔登》的数篇文章中，梭罗对工作和闲暇的意义进行了颇有独创性的思考，并描述了自己在尽可能简朴地、自给自足地生活方面所做的实验，强调这项简朴生活的试验绝不是无所事事地与世隔绝。在这些文章中，梭罗描述了林中生活的细节：他与各种各样的小动物的接触；不同季节中树木与水的不同声音、气味和颜色；大风吹动电报线以及远方的火车汽笛所奏出的旋律等。梭罗在沃尔登湖畔日复一日的切身经