Walden Chapter 1: Economy

Walden Chapter 1: Economy

1. Background

   • Before Thoreau decided to live a life of isolation, he worked many jobs such as a self-appointed inspector of rain/snow, a highway serveyor, a herdsmen, and a reporter.

2. Walden Pond

   • For two years and two months Thoreau lived alone in the woods by Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, where he wrote about his experiences in a book.
     • Thoreau did not chose to live in the woods just for isolation, but he also he chooses to go to the woods and work as he wants, calling it "a good place for business."
     • Thoreau believed that society's habit of building luxurious homes is just a symptom of their spiritual deprivation. So he decided to live a life of simplicity by making his own food and building only necessary furniture.
   • Finances
     • The house cost him a total of $28.12 1/2 to build.
     • Thoreau explains that in farming--after an investment of roughly fifteen dollars--he is able to turn a profit of almost nine dollars. He lives on a diet of beans, corn, peas, and potatoes giving the prices of each as well.
     • He has several trades and earned $13.34.
       • He concluded that he would have to work 6 weeks out of the year to live the way he wants.

3. Necessities

   • Thoreau argues that having an excess of luxuries such as fancy homes, foods, and clothing is useless even though it is prioritized by society.
     • Clothes
       • Thoreau writes that people use clothes as way to determine social power. Clothes are an immaterial thing and should not be used to represent wealth and a person's worth.
     • Shelter
       • There is no need for a large extravagant home as they are a cause of debt. A person could live of a small shelter, it is more practical and inexpensive.

4. Thoreau's Beliefs

   • Thoreau believed that people are more concerned with materialistic objects on Earth that they forget about their spirituality.
   • People only need the essentials to live: Food, Shelter, Clothing, and Fuel for not till we have secured these are we prepared to entertain the true problems of life.
   • Thoreau's beliefs tie in with the Transcendentalism idea of self reliance as he believed people should rely on themselves. He proves this by relying on his own labor and building a home for himself.