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

Nature
1. 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.
2. Thoreau loved the beauty of nature.
  1. Thoreau's first impression of the pond is that it is like a "lower heaven," with the vista and mountains spreading out behind it.
  2. He compares his home in nature to a far away land he once traveled from his previous life.
  3. 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.
Finding a Home
1. As Thoreau was considering where to live, he wanted a place in the country, far from people.
  1. He suggests buying a farm, but the owner's wife changes her mind last minute and didn't want to sell.
2. Thoreau takes the idea of the beauty of the farm to plan where he wants to live.
  1. He ends up living in the woods with "nature."
Thoreau's Beliefs
1. Thoreau urges everyone to make every moment of their life meaningful.
2. He also states that living a life of simplicity will get you on the path to spiritual wakefulness.

Resource summary

	Created by Aziz Hanna about 5 years ago