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Walden Essay Topics & Writing Assignments

Essay Topic 1

If you tried to carry out Thoreau's experiment today, would it be possible? Why or why not? Write an essay explaining how our modern society can prevent us from living such a simplified lifestyle. Be sure to include any modern inventions that would actually assist a minimalist lifestyle.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay explaining the individual's responsibility for philanthropy and charity. Be sure to address the following:

1 - Is humankind basically selfish or altruistic?

2 - What responsibilities are required of charitable organizations?

3 - Any charitable causes about which you feel strongly.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about a person of historical significance and compare their philosophies and ideals to that of Thoreau. Be sure to address:

1 - Views on materialism and lifestyle.

2 - Whether or not this person "lived" their own philosophy.

3 - The importance of this person in history and impact upon cultures.

Essay Topic 4

(read more Essay Topics)

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Henry David Thoreau

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Self-Reliance

Thoreau’s life at Walden Pond embodies a philosophy set out most famously and directly in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay, "Self-Reliance." In fact, Emerson was Thoreau’s friend and fellow Transcendentalist, and Emerson owned the land by the pond where he allowed Thoreau to live and build his cabin. Self-reliance is a set of ideals according to which one must live one’s life, combining abstract philosophy with practical advice. According to these ideals, one must have unfailing…

Thoreau sees work as the basis of self-reliance, a source of spiritual fulfillment, and a path to a morally good life. His central motivation in going to Walden is to figure out what kind of life he should be living (what he calls his attempt to "live deliberately"), and in large part that attempt comes down to determining what kinds of work he should be pursuing. Unlike most people, whom he believes work too hard…

Simplicity Over "Progress"

Thoreau believes that the best life is the simplest life. He rails against the luxuries that most men find so important, believing that they complicate their lives, and he criticizes the pretensions of his society, which spends so much time and energy pursuing an artificial and overblown notion of "progress." He suggests that material advancements trick people into thinking that their lives are improving or are better than their ancestors, but in reality such value…

Solitude and Society

Thoreau deeply values both solitude and society and brings these two seemingly contradictory impulses together in creative, paradoxical ways. On one hand, his purpose in going to Walden, where he stayed for more than two years, is to be alone, so he can "transact some private business." The book is for the most part a record of a man’s time spent in solitude, and the reflections he has in that state. He stresses the importance…

When Thoreau perceives nature, he sees an inexhaustible source of wisdom, beauty, and spiritual nourishment. He regards it with great respect and awe while also having with it an intimate familiarity and comfort. Many chapters in the book are dedicated to his fond, painstaking observations of the natural world, from the way the ice breaks up on the pond in springtime, to the habits of the rabbits and fish and geese, which he sees as…

Transcendentalism, Spirituality, and the Good Life

As a self-described Transcendentalist, Thoreau believes in the individual’s power to live an everyday life charged with meaning, and he has faith in self-reliance over societal institutions, focusing instead on the goodness of humankind and the profound lessons it can learn from nature. He values individuality, conviction, and focus as cardinal virtues. Eschewing organized religion, he opts to search on his own for what living a good life means, and he tries to live it…

Henry David Thoreau

Literature Notes
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About Walden
Summary and Analysis
Henry David Thoreau Biography
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The Transcendentalist Movement
Extra-Literary Recognition of Thoreau
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Study Help Essay Questions

1. How is Walden an expression of the transcendentalist vision?

2. Is the claim that the narrator of Walden is an anti-social recluse a valid one?

3. Describe how the narrator's financial "economy" is expanded to a philosophy of life.

4. What makes Walden a unified work of art rather than a "collection of eighteen essays"?

5. Discuss the seasonal metaphor that thematically unifies Walden .

6. Consider the significance of Walden Pond as a symbol.

7. What is John Field's debilitating problem?

8. Discuss the narrator's attitude toward the state.

9. Describe the narrator's reaction to the railroad.

10. What is the significance of the spring thaw at the railroad cut?

11. As described in Walden, what is wrong with American culture?

12. Discuss the significance of the narrator's bean-field.

13. Discuss the significance of Thoreau's use of the "I" voice in Walden .

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Summary and Study Guide

Walden opens with Thoreau’s explanation of his two-year independent living project on Walden Pond, which spanned from 1845 to 1847. He illuminates his desire to live a solitary, simple life outside of civilization. Over the course of these two years, Thoreau describes his experiences including his immersion in nature, the process of growing his own food, and the pleasure he derives from contemplating the beauty of the woods. He also reflects on the most basic elements of human subsistence—food, shelter, clothing, and fuel—and takes inventory of the essentials one needs to survive.

Thoreau worries that working men have surrendered their personal autonomy to the demands of a capitalist society. He explains that capitalism hypnotizes men into pursuing empty status symbols and fleeting pleasures that remove them from their most natural state. He believes that most men spend their lives in a state of “quiet desperation” (14), numbly toiling away just to pay for their food and homes.

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Thoreau resists this life by casting aside all unnecessary luxuries. Instead of renting, he builds his own home. Instead of purchasing food, he forages in the woods and grows beans and vegetables. Hoping to demonstrate that it is possible to live well with very little money, he provides a painstaking account of everything he spends.

Thoreau advocates for a simple, primarily plant-based diet. He stresses that humans do not need the rich foods and luxury items they have been taught to crave. Offering examples from his own minimalistic “entertaining” habits with visitors, Thoreau illustrates that people can be reconditioned to set aside material comforts. When people renounce these comforts, Thoreau believes they will find much deeper, spiritual nourishment.

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Thoreau occasionally encounters others in the woods, including the woodsman Alex Therien—who fascinates Thoreau with his “animalistic” perspective—and Irish immigrant John Field—whom Thoreau harshly criticizes for living an impoverished existence, slavishly pursuing luxuries. From time to time, Thoreau ventures into Concord to converse with the locals. Generally speaking, he is more satisfied by his communion with nature on Walden Pond and sometimes dismayed by his human encounters.

Thoreau finds great peace observing animals in the woods. He often compares them to humans, hoping to gain some insight into their natural behavior. He also notes signs of human encroachment upon the environment, from the wailing of the Fitchburg Railroad to the gunshots from a local military training post.

Over the course of Walden , Thoreau poetically contemplates the beauty and mystery of the pond, framing it as a metaphor for the depth and resilience of the human spirit and observing the ways it changes and adapts through the seasons. Departing from Walden Pond, Thoreau considers all he has learned. Amidst the vibrant renewal of spring, he reflects on the importance of forging one’s own independent path in life. He posits that when humans embrace their natural selves, they free themselves from the unsatisfying strictures of civilization. He emphasizes the possibilities for spiritual change, regeneration, and new growth.

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Essay Samples on Walden

Biography and famous works of henry david thoreau, a man devoted to nature.

Henry D. Thoreau was a well-known American poet, essayist, and philosopher. He was one of the most famous transcendental writers in American history. He was born on July 12, 1817 and was raised all over Massachusetts but lived most of his life in the small...

Transcendentalism

The Simple Life of Henry Thoreau in Walden

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived”(Thoreau 208)....

Where I Lived and What I Lived

Unearthing the Truth Behind Thoreau's "Walden" Journey

In today's Facebook age, the idea of a hermit living in the woods seems selfish and out of touch with our interconnected world. Yet, before we dismiss Henry David Thoreau as a misanthropic recluse, let's delve deeper into his life and the purpose behind his...

Walden by Henry Thoreau: Breaking Through Obstacles no Matter What

In this story, it focuses on the idea of poverty. By taking his own personal examples, the author shows how unnecessary luxury items can be and how different it is from what is needed. As well as the anxiety that comes with coming from a...

Homelessness

Comparing Two Classic Works of the Age of Romanticism: The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe and Walden by Thoreau

American Literature has changed much throughout the ages, creating a vast amount of poets and writers over the years, many of which have been in the Romantic Era of literature. These stories include works in many different forms and viewpoints, including the transcendentalist and the...

Edgar Allan Poe

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Utopian Society in Walden Two by B.F. Skinner

Walden Two is a book by B.F. Skinner, originally published by Hackett Publishing Company, INC. in 1948. This book is about two men who return from World War Two and go to visit a new society being built by a man named Frazier. The men...

Best topics on Walden

1. Biography and Famous Works of Henry David Thoreau, A Man Devoted to Nature

2. The Simple Life of Henry Thoreau in Walden

3. Unearthing the Truth Behind Thoreau’s “Walden” Journey

4. Walden by Henry Thoreau: Breaking Through Obstacles no Matter What

5. Comparing Two Classic Works of the Age of Romanticism: The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe and Walden by Thoreau

6. Utopian Society in Walden Two by B.F. Skinner

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Essays on Walden

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Thoreau’s "Walden": Simple Things Are Priceless

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Walden: a Perfect Example of Nonfiction Genre

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Tarzan as a Modern-day Transcendentalist

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Walden Essay Examples

Author’s message in walden by henry david thoreau.

In Walden, Henry David Thoreau gave a radical and debatable perspective on society that was so much on the far side of his time. In a very amount wherever growth each economically and territorially was seen as necessary for the event of a premature country,...

Implementing Emerson’s Ideas in Walden by Henry Thoreau

Just four years before Henry David Thoreau started his Walden project, his very good friend Ralph Waldo Emerson had written an essay called Self-Reliance. It is no coincidence that Thoreau’s Walden takes Emerson’s idea of self-reliance and implements it into his own writing. The essay...

Ideas of Living in Walden by Henry David Thoreau

“Walden” by Henry David Thoreau, a transcendentalist, is about the events of his time living at Walden Pond in the1800’s. Thoreau, who lives a life of simplicity, tries to make a connection between people, God, and Nature. He relates nature and his experiences within it...

The Aspects of Transcendentalism in Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Implementing Emerson’s Ideas in Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Analysis of transcendentalism in thoreau’s walden.

Transcendentalism is the movement that emphasizes on transcendence from the ordinary limits of thoughts and experiences and acknowledges the new outlook in self reliance. The movement originated in America in the 19th century after the independence of America from the British gave people a different...

Reflection of the Ideas of Transcendentalism in Thoreau’s Walden

“Our life is frittered away by detail.” As individuals, we center much of our consciousness on the materialistic aspects of life which renders us blind to its more salient features. We need to live in a simplified manner in order to perceive all that living...

Literary Review of Walden by Henry David Thoreau

In Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, there are four main themes he wanted readers to take away including knowing the value of simplicity, mans need for solitude, the importance of self-reliance, and definitely nature being complete with God. Walden is an example of a transcendentalist work...

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