Henry David Thoreau - Walden: Chapter 12

Henry David Thoreau - Walden: Chapter 12

1. Summary

   • Analysis
   • Thoreau starts off the chapter with a dramatic dialogue between a Hermit (who takes over at the narrator) and a poet about fishing together. The hermit sits by himself and ponders on a familiar question: "Why will men worry themselves so?" The poet is the one who approaches the hermit, asking him if he will partake in fishing - "the true industry for poets" - with him. After sending the poet off to fetch bait and being left to his own mediation, the hermit considers the proposition, asking himself if he should continue to do so or go with his friend. He finally answers the question "shall I go to heaven or a-fishing" by joining the poet and leaving his thoughts for another time.
     • After this, the original narrator takes over again and begins describing the various animals that live with him at Walden - the "brute neighbors" in this case. He describes a friendly mouse that climbs up his sleeves and eats his crumbs, a phoebe that has built her nest nearby, and partridges that gathered below his window. He observes that even beyond his window, the woods are alive and busy with animal activity. His environment enables him to perceive nature in motion and his ability to observe such phenomena has further developed to allow him to sense a lively fight between red and black ants near his woodpile.
       • He declares their fight an epic battle in which the "red republicans" and "black imperialists" are in a deadlock, trying their hardest to survive. This encounter embeds in him the idea that a war between ants is not any less or more significant that one between men. He also meets a family of feral cats and hears about a peculiar type of cat known as the "winged cat." The chapter ends off, however, with possibly the most important animal mentioned thus far. The narrator speaks of the loon of Walden Pond, which he has taken a special interested in when he saw him swimming in it. He has spent a great deal of time observing him and listening to his wild "laughs," trying his hardest to capture the loon. He is unsuccessful in his attempts in the end, although he still finds there is a certain humanity attributed to that which he seeks to find.
         • The ants reveal to the narrator that spirituality and animality do not need to be in conflict but he is not able to resolve this within himself. The loon especially shows a wildness that is almost human in nature, shown through his laugh and the game he has made of his own survival. The loon is a symbol of his ideal, perfected self and Thoreau himself describes the loon in terms of rebirth. He feels a desire to be purified as the loon is and find a way to integrate his animality and his spirituality. His failure to capture the loon signifies his failure to develop those qualities in himself.
       • The animals that he encounters are significant in establishing a sense of peaceful unity between spirituality and animality and how this can be perfected. He observes many winged animals, expressing the freedom of such animals as a representation of spiritual perfection within nature itself.
     • The dialogue between the hermit and the poet continues to work towards resolving the conflict present in the last chapter. They represent the two sides inside the narrator that are at odd, the hermit representing spirituality and the poet representing animality. In order to join the poet, the hermit must revoke all higher thoughts, showing that the two are incompatible and therefore cannot not exist within the same consciousness. In order to partake in animal activity, he must be removed from any spiritual activity as he cannot follow both instincts.

2. Transcendentalist Philosophy/Traits

   • Mediation - Transcendentalism is big on looking within yourself for the answers that you seek and Thoreau portrays this through the hermit that uses mediation to answer the question of why men worry themselves.
   • Spirituality - This is a big driving force in this chapter and it motivates Thoreau to introspect on what the he believes his spirit is telling him in "opposition" to his natural instincts.
   • Simplicity - Thoreau values his life at Walden Pond because he is free of the normal restraints of society and is driven to put off progress for the sake of simplicity, which causes him both happiness and conflict all at once.