《瓦尔登湖》赏析(1)

AfterreadingthesectionofsolitudewhenIfinishedreadingthissection,therearetwosentencesimpressedmemost.Oneis“Amanisrichinproportiontothenumberofthingswhichhecanaffordtoletalone.”Theotheris“Aslongaspossible,livefreeanduncommitted.Itmakesbutlittledifferencewhetheryouarecommittedtoafarmorthecountryjail.”Whatthetwosentencesreflectalsocanbeseenfromthesection.TheauthorHenryDavidThoreaushowedusapeacefulscene,inwhichhumanbeingsandthenatureareperfectlystumbled.Theauthorexpectstofindaforevernewandunprofanedpartoftheuniversetolive.What’smore,healsopursuesafreeanduncommittedlifebothataphysicallevelandataspirituallevel.Justastheauthormentionedinthepassage“TheIndependenceDay,theFourthofJuly,1845isthedayonwhichhebegantostayinword.”Byshowingthebeginningofhisuncommittedlife,theauthoralsoimpliesthatpeopleintheworldshouldleavetheirregularlocalregiontoanothernewoneinordertoexperiencetheotherstyleoflife.Alifewhichwillnotberestrictedwithsecular,utilityandambition,butonlyarelaxingenjoyable,freeheartgoingnearerandnearertothenature.Thisisjustwhatthesecondsentencewantstotellus.Thesentence:“amanisrichinproportiontothenumberofthingswhichhecanaffordtoletalone”tellsthatamanshouldnotthinkalotofwhathegainsandwhathelosses.Ifhegains,behappy.Ifhelosses,letitgone.ThenhemayfindeverythinghegainsturnouttobeGod’sgiftsandmuchmorepreciousthanbefore.Amanwhoisalwaysworryingaboutlosingsomethingownednothingatlast,becauseheregardseverythingashisown,thenit’snotenoughforhimevenheownsthewholeworld.Aboveall.It’snotnecessarytodoeverythingfollowingsomesocalledavant-gardes,orjustinordertoobjecttothemainstream.Whatweshoulddo,alsothemostdifficultthingisbeingandpersistsinbeingourselves.Behonesttoourselvesandbeuncommitted!Waldenwaspublishedaround1854,duringthereignofthetranscendentalists;infact,HenryDavidThoreau,thebook'sauthor,wasamemberofthemovement.Iftranscendentalismwerearoundtoday,wewouldprobablycallitsfollowers:new-agefolk,hippies,ornonconformists.Infact,muchofwhattranscendentalismstoodforbackthenisstillaliveandwelltoday.ManypeopleknowThoreaufromhis1849essayResistancetoCivilGovernment,betterknownasCivilDisobedience.Duringthe1840s,Thoreauwasimprisonedforrefusingtopaytaxesforacausehedidn’tagreewith.(Inthosedays,taxeswerecollectedseparatelybytaxcollectorswhocametoyourdoor,asopposedtothemodernincometax.)Althoughafriendofhispaidthetaxforhim,enablinghimtobereleasedfromjail,Thoreaumaintainedinhisessaythathehadnoobligationtosupportanactionofgovernmentthathedidnotagreewith.Waldeniswritteninmuchthesamespirit.Thoreaucaredaslittleforsociety'sillsashedidforthegovernment.Hefirmlybelievedthatmostoflife'sexpenseswereunnecessary,andthereforesotoowasthelaboramanputintoearningenoughmoneytobuythem.Inordertoprovehisclaims,hewentintothewoodsandlivedassimplyandasinexpensivelyasheencouragedotherstodo.Waldenisthewrittenrecordofhisexperiment.ThefirstseveralchaptersofWaldenarethemostinteresting,asitisinthesethatThoreaulaysouthiscase.Hissarcasmandwitamusesthereaderasherailsagainstthefrivolityofnewclothes,expensivehouses,politecompany,andmeatydiets.OneofThoreau'schiefargumentsinWaldenisthatmenwouldn'thavetoworkforaliving(andThoreauclearlydetestswork)iftheylivedmoresimply.Tothatend,Thoreaubuiltahouseforunderthirtydollarsduringatimewhentheaveragehouse(accordingtothefirstchapterofWalden)costaround$800,boughtonecheapsuitofclothes,andplantedacropofbeans.FortwoyearsThoreaulivedinthathouse.Hespendtimecultivatinghisbeansandothercrops,makingbread,andfishing.Withhishousepaidforandhisfoodingoodsupply,heswaminWaldenPond,walkedintheadjoiningwoods,wrote,daydreamed,reflected,and–rarely–visitedthetown.TheRealStory:WaldenOfcourse,Thoreaufailstopointoutanimportantelementofhissituation.HemovedtoWaldenPondbecauseRalphWaldoEmerson(oneofhisgoodfriendsandfellowtranscendentalistwriters)ownedWaldenPondandthesurroundingland.Inadifferentsituation,Thoreau'sexperimentmighthavebeencutshort.Evenso,Waldenisavaluablelessonforreaders.Ifyouareanythinglikeme,you'llreadthebookwhilesittinginacomfortablechair,andwearingfashionableclothes.Youprobablyhaveajobtopayforallthesethings,andyoumayevencomplainaboutsaidjobfromtimetotime.Ifthatsoundslikeyou,you'llprobablydrinkupThoreau'swords.Youmaywishthatyoucouldfreeyourselffromsociety'sconstraints.瓦尔登湖片段欣赏：Ah,thepickerelofWalden!whenIseethemlyingontheice,orinthewellwhichthefishermancutsintheice,makingalittleholetoadmitthewater,Iamalwayssurprisedbytheirrarebeauty,asiftheywerefabulousfishes,theyaresoforeigntothestreets,eventothewoods,foreignasArabiatoourConcordlife.Theypossessaquitedazzlingandtranscendentbeautywhichseparatesthembyawideintervalfromthecadaverouscodandhaddockwhosefameistrumpetedinourstreets.Theyarenotgreenlikethepines,norgraylikethestones,norbluelikethesky;buttheyhave,tomyeyes,ifpossible,yetrarercolors,likeflowersandpreciousstones,asiftheywerethepearls,theanimalizednucleiorcrystalsoftheWaldenwater.•字里行间透着欣喜之情，赞美之情，我们能深切的感受到作者进入了大自然的灵魂。•写鱼的美，未用任何华丽的词藻，朴实的文风再次显露了作者的真诚。Whenthisbarisgraduallyincreasedbystorms,tides,orcurrents,orthereisasubsidenceofthewaters,sothatitreachestothes