Walden Chapter 2: Where I Lived, and What I Lived For

Walden Chapter 2: Where I Lived, and What I Lived For

1. Nature

   • He moved into his new home in the woods on July 4, 1865. Independence Day is symbolic as Thoreau is finally self reliant and depending on himself.
   • Thoreau loved the beauty of nature.
     • Thoreau's first impression of the pond is that it is like a "lower heaven," with the vista and mountains spreading out behind it.
     • He compares his home in nature to a far away land he once traveled from his previous life.
     • Morning is Thoreau's opportunity to connect with nature. Every morning he bathes in the pond, calling it a "religious exercise." He states that morning is the time that all important events, including poetry and art, occur.

2. Finding a Home

   • As Thoreau was considering where to live, he wanted a place in the country, far from people.
     • He suggests buying a farm, but the owner's wife changes her mind last minute and didn't want to sell.
   • Thoreau takes the idea of the beauty of the farm to plan where he wants to live.
     • He ends up living in the woods with "nature."

3. Thoreau's Beliefs

   • Thoreau urges everyone to make every moment of their life meaningful.
   • He also states that living a life of simplicity will get you on the path to spiritual wakefulness.