Henry-David-Thoreau1

HenryDavidThoreau（1817-1862)TranscendentalistPoetPhilosopherContentsLifeandcareerMajorWorksThoreau’sPointsofViewStyleInfluenceTranscendentalismLifeandCareerHewasborninConcord,Massachusetts,July12,1817.GraduatedfromHarvard,butonlystayedathomeandhelpedfamilybusiness.From1841to1843ThoreaulivedinthehomeofAmericanessayistandtranscendentalphilosopherRalphWaldoEmerson.In1845ThoreaumovedtoacrudehutontheshoresofWaldenPond,wherehedevotedhistimetostudyingnature,meditatingonphilosophicalproblems,readingclassicliterature,andholdinglongconversationswithhisneighbors.Death:1862.WenttoWaldenin18451.roomcabin2.Livedalone3.Grewvegetablesin1/2acrefarm,livedmostlyasvegetarian4.Rowedboatonpond5.Recordedlife,particularlydetailsofpond,woods,changesofseason,histhoughtsStatueofHenryDavidThoreauatWaldenPondAWeekontheConcordandMerrimackRivers,1849OntheDutyofCivilDisobedience,1849Walden,1854SlaveryinMassachusetts,1854WaldenTheme:Waldenemphasizestheimportanceofself-reliance,solitude,contemplation,andclosenesstonatureintranscendingthedesperateexistenceThoreau’sPointsofViewDidnotlikethewayamaterialisticAmericawasdevelopingandwasstronglyoutspokenonthepoint.Moderncivilizationdegradedman.Hatedthehumaninjusticeasrepresentedbytheslaverysystem.Thoreau’sstyleismoreprimitivethananyAmerican,hisstyleofthinkingwasrobust,racy.ToldbyacredibleandforthrightfirstpersonnarratorwhoseekstogivethetruthofhisexperienceatWaldenPond.AsubtlepunsterandironistUsingpoeticdeviceinacasualandeasygoingtoneConversationalintoneHumorBrieftales,fablesMetaphorsInfluenceOneofthemostinfluentialfiguresinAmericanthoughtandliteraturebothforthemodernclarityofhisprosestyleandtheprescienceofhisviewsonnatureandpoliticsAmerican’sgreatestprosestylist,naturalist,pioneerecologist,conservationist,andhumanist.TranscendentalismAliteraryandphilosophicalmovement,associatedwithRalphWaldoEmerson,assertingtheexistenceofanidealspiritualrealitythattranscendstheempiricalandscientificandisknowablethroughintuition.ThankYou!