Themes in Walden

Assignment: The main theme behind Walden, as you have learned, is mostly centered around
aspects of nature. Using the theme chart, I would like you to expand on those ideas. Using any
chapter of your choosing from what we have read so far, I would like you to discuss nature on
the left hand side. Pick, copy, and cite three quotes. On the right, you will explore any another
minor theme (i.e. religion, politics, gender, etc) and connect your main ideas to these aspects of
nature using quotes or facts cited. This is not a simple compare and contrast assignment. You will
write a summary about the relationships of the theme that you found in accordance with nature,
and point out rhetorical devices Henry David Thoreau used to build these connections. I have
provided an example for you.

This will be your greatest asset for your unit paper: feel free to use it as a study guide, make it
colorful and unique so that you understand and easily follow the format to look back on. This is
not a group assignment; however, you are more than welcome to collaborate with your
classmates to develop your ideas as you work on it in class.

*Below is a list of my expectations. To receive full credit, make sure you are following the
directions accurately by examining the checklist below, as it is your main frame for success:
o You must have three quotes under the theme, nature
o All and any quotes must be cited
o Title and number the chapter you choose accurately
o Do not fall into the trap of comparing and contrasting themes! You will lose major points for
doing so (the quote chosen on the right should complement the left in terms of concepts)
o Try not to sound redundant: make sure each idea is unique
o Do not bullet rhetorical devices in the summary section
o Pick at least three literary/rhetorical devices (i.e. mood, tone, allusion)
o Write a full worded summary that CONNECTS the themes
o In the summary, feel free to add in your own thoughts about the ideas you come up
with
o Highlight or underline the devices you chose
o Make sure none of your quotes match with the ones I chose in the example

Themes in Walden
Secondary Theme: The Self-Made Man
Chapter: Higher Laws pg. 197-209
 Nature
We are conscious of an animal in us, which
awakens in proportion as our higher nature
slumbers (205)
Nature goes beyond scenery: it is about
the inside of ourselves
Juxtaposes awakening with slumber
The Self-Made Man
I found in myself, and still find, an instinct
towards a higher, or as it is named, a spiritual
life, as do most men, and another toward a
primitive rank and savage one, and I
reverence them both. (197)
The struggle between a world of man and
a world of some kind of god
Instinct is natural, but beliefs are not

Fishermen, hunters, woodchoppers, and
others, spending their lives in the fields and
woods, in a peculiar sense a part of Nature
themselves, are often in a more favorable
mood for observing her, in the intervals of
their pursuits, than philosophers or poets
even, who approach her with expectation
(197)
Expectation as negative connotation
Every man is the builder of a temple, called
his body, to the god he worships, after a style
purely his ownWe are all sculptors and
painters, and our material is our own flesh
and blood and bones (208)
Conflicting ideas: god is the only creator,
yet Thoreau elevates man as self made
Denial of natural Puritan beliefs that the
one god creates our fate

No humane being, past the thoughtless age He goes thither at first as a hunter and
of boyhood, will wantonly murder any fisher, until at last, if he has the seeds of a
creature, which holds its life by the same better life in him, he distinguishes his proper
tenure that he does (199) objects, as a poet or naturalist it may be, and
Denial of boys will be boys idea leaves the gun and fish-pole behind (200)
As men and women age, so does their Infers that experience is what will soften
appreciation for nature the heart
The murderous aspect is boyish, and the
sympathetic development is made by
man
Summary: Thoreau has no problem exploring the inner aspects of nature and the self.
Although he contradicts himself in many of these aspects, he notices this as he says in the first two
quotes, that he believes he is the creator of his own life, but also is aware of a higher power
beyond his own control. two themes, nature and The Self-Made Man, connect under one major
theme: Man vs. Nature. However, as that theme implies, and as these quotes point out, this
struggle and understanding is on a spiritual level more so than a physical one, hence his broad use
of strong imagery. Throughout the chapter and from these highlighted quotes, Thoreau juxtaposes
man with spirit, natural surroundings with man-made concept, to emphasize that these differences
are still connected by one thing: disposition. If we are aware of the nature within us and around us,
what makes us innately animals will guide us into being humane.