I thought I would get us started on commenting about Walking. As I was reading the essay, I was reminded of the need to not get so bogged down by work and different aspects of life, that we forget to enjoy the little things. As a mom, I thought particularly of how fast our kids grow up and we need to remember to enjoy them and each stage they are in.
As a history teacher I noticed the several allusions to walking west. "We go eastward to realize history....we go westward as into the future." During his life, Thoreau experienced the great movement westward. He was born around the time period when Manifest Destiny started to play a role in the development of the United States. I wonder if his feelings of moving west had anything to do with this idea of Manifest Destiny?
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I agree with you Kaye. I was amazed at the mentioning of moving West. The need to move around. I think that he is talking about Manifest Destiny all the way.
ReplyDeleteYour insight was interesting. When I read this selection I thought more about his focus on nature and the optimism it generates. I loved when he said,"I believe that climate does thus react to man- as there is something in the mountain air that feeds and inspires. Will not man grow to greater perfection intellectually as well as physically under these influences?" It made me long for my summer retreats to the mountains where I am away from the phone, neighbors, responsibilities, and can walk, sketch, and dream. The mountain air truly does feed my spirit and inspire.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading "Walking" I was also interested in the time period when it was written. Thoreau died in 1862 about one year after the Civil War had started. It made me wonder how much all of the conflicts with slavery going on in the United States had to do with his feeling of the great westward movement.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed Theoreau's description of walking as the ability to be "absolutely free from all worldly engagements." Wouldn't it be great to have four hours a day to "saunter through the woods?"
I like Thoreau's idea of man being "part and parcel of Nature , rather than member of society." Kind of reinforces the idea that we are all more than the sum parts of our existence.
ReplyDeleteI was talking with my 7th grade US Studies students about the issue of getting so caught up in the world that sometimes we miss the things that are most important. One student said something that caused me to stop and think.
ReplyDeleteIn essence the question was, if you go away from society doesn't that mean you have given up on it and are running away to hide?
I had not expected this and it made me wonder if Thoreau was running away from society and its problems rather than becoming involved and trying to help fix it. I am only part way through the book but my student has given me a different perspective to consider.