Discussion Led by Don Skiles
Walden
Henry D Thoreau
"
The heroic books, even if printed in the character of our mother tongue, will always be in a language dead to degenerate times, and we must laboriously seek the meaning in each word and line, conjecturing a larger sense than common use permits out of what wisdom and valor and generosity we have.""
How many a man has dated a new era in his life to the reading of a book?"". . .the part of the human personality which wants to develop and become whole." – Jung
TEXT: Walden and Resistance To Civil Government, Henry D. Thoreau, 2nd Ed., Ed. William Rossi (Norton Critical Edition, 1992)
Walden is an extraordinary book in many ways, perhaps one of the most influential books ever written. Please NOTE the very generous selection from Thoreau’s Journal (which some scholars consider his major work). Those selections in our edition cover from July 1845, when he moved to Walden Pond, to May 1854, when he sent the last of his Walden manuscript to the printer’s (pps. 249-54 for further details on this). Try to read some of the Journal as you read Walden. It is very interesting to compare the Journal entries with what Thoreau included in his final version of Walden. The Journal entries also give the reader a rare opportunity to see the germination of a great work of literature.
Someone asked "Who’s teaching Walden? " But it is more like the book is teaching you – this is a book that teaches you; you do not teach it.
The experiment began on July 4, 1845 and ended on September 6, 1847. Thoreau lived at Walden for two years, two months, and two days.
CLASS READINGS/DISCUSSIONS
Thursday, February 9: Why did he "go to the woods"? Chapters 1&2, pps. 1-67
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, February 13-15: What did he find there? "R eading", pps. 67-87, "Baker Farm", 135-140, and "Higher Laws", 140-49
Tuesday & Wednesday, February 21 & 22: What does he recommend? "House Warming" , 159-70, "Spring", 199-213 "Those moments. . .that define the imaginative and spiritual life." Thursday, February 23: Conclusion, 213-223.
NOTE: There will be an in-class writing assignment in connection with Walden on Thursday, February 23rd, in Small Group.
Some links of interest, including the text online:
Schneider, Richard J. (1998) Walden - A READING GROUP/DISCUSSION GUIDE. Wartburg College. Available online: http://www.beacon.org/readguide/rgwalden.html
The Thoreau Society (2005) Available online at: http://209.200.116.65/
Lenat, Richard. (2004) The Thoreau Reader. Available Online: http://www.eserver.org/thoreau/
Witherell, Elizabeth & Xie, Lihong (2003) The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau. Northern Illinois University. Available online: http://www.thoreau.niu.edu/