Walden is one of those works which, like Moby-Dick, everyone knows the story, but few have actually read the book. A young man abandons society, builds himself a small cabin in the woods, and lives there like a hermit, his purpose to better understand existence — or something like that. Yet it stands with Moby-Dick and The Scarlet Letter as perhaps the three seminal works in American literature, all published within five years of each other in the early 1850s, and each telling us something about the American character: who we are, where we came from, and what we aspire to. Its author, Henry David Thoreau, is a true American original — or nut — depending on your point of view. He can be funny, ironic, lyrical, moving, and occasionally exasperating, but always thought-provoking. In this year, the 250^th anniversary of the Revolution, when so much of our history is being celebrated, let’s take a look at an alternative view by a man who questioned some of our most basic assumptions about life, values, and America itself. 

Suggested Readings: 

Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, any edition.

Richard Matturro, a native of Rye, New York, holds a doctorate in English with a specialization in Shakespeare and Greek Mythology. After sixteen years at the Albany Times Union, he taught literature at UAlbany for fourteen years. He is the author of numerous newspaper articles and eight novels.

Previous | Next