Henry David Thoreau was an American writer, poet, thinker, historian, civic activist and fighter for the abolition of slavery. He was a vivid representative of the philosophical and literary movement, called transcendentalism. This movement originated in the mid-19th century in the United States among the progressive intelligentsia.
The most famous work of Henry David Thoreau - "Walden", which is a reflection on the topic of the rejection of the benefits of modern civilization and a simple lifestyle in a natural environment. Another notable book of the writer is called "Civil Disobedience" (in the original version - "Resistance to the authorities"). In it, the author defends the right of an individual to disobey an unjust state.
In total, books, articles, essays and poetic works of Henry David Thoreau comprise more than 20 volumes. In his literary style, observations of nature, personal experience, sharp rhetoric, symbolism and typically American attention to practical details are intertwined. Sometimes Henry David Thoreau is called an anarchist, although the writer did not call for the abolition, but for the improvement of state power.
Early years and education
A writer and philosopher was born in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1817. The house in which Henry David Thoreau was born has been preserved and is now turned into a museum. The father of the writer owned a small pencil factory. Thoreau was educated at Harvard College from 1833 to 1837. He studied rhetoric, classical literature, philosophy and mathematics. According to legend, after graduating from college, the writer refused to pay five dollars for a diploma. The explanation of this act became one of the famous phrases of Henry David Thoreau: "Let each sheep keep its own skin." The writer hinted at the tradition of using parchment for making diplomas that existed in those days.
Return to Concord
Toro was not interested in the professions available to college graduates in law, church, business, and medicine. After returning from Harvard to his hometown, he tried to work as a school teacher, but quit after a few weeks due to his unwillingness to apply corporal punishment generally accepted in that era to children.
A fateful meeting took place in Concord, which opened a new page in the biography of Henry David Thoreau. The writer, through a mutual friend, met Ralph Emerson, a famous Protestant priest, poet and adherent of the philosophy of transcendentalism. This outstanding spiritual leader delivered lectures and sermons throughout the United States. He became a mentor to Thoreau.
First publications
Thanks to Emerson, the writer met such progressive thinkers of the time as poet Ellery Channing, journalist Margaret Fuller, enlightener Bronson Olkot, and novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne. In America at that time, the main print publication on the philosophy of transcendentalism was the quarterly magazine The Dial. The duties of the editor in it were performed by Margaret Fuller. Emerson inspired Thoreau to write essays and poems for this magazine. The main idea of the philosophy of transcendentalism was that a person achieves spiritual perfection not through religious doctrine, but through unity with nature and inner intuitive insight.
For three years, Thoreau worked as a home teacher for Emerson's children, and also served as his secretary and gardener. At the same time, the writer made acquaintances with journalists and publishers who could help with the publication of his writings. It was at that time that Toro met Horace Greeley, who later became his literary agent. Then the writer returned to his native Concord in order to combine creative activity with work in the family factory for the production of pencils. Being a multi-talented person, he managed to make improvements in the technology of manufacturing graphite rods and increase the profitability of the enterprise.
Privacy
Henry David Thoreau created the book “Life in the Forest” during a two-year voluntary hermitage in a small hut located on the banks of Walden Pond. Imbued with the ideas of transcendentalism, he decided to put an experiment on the independent existence of man in complete isolation from society.
The writer built the hut with his own hands. He provided himself with everything necessary without outside help, engaged in fishing and gardening. Thoreau did not just seek solitude in order to be able to concentrate on literary work. With his experiment, he sought to demonstrate the benefits of living in harmony with nature.
Fighting State Power
During the period of seclusion in the forest, the writer committed the first act of civil disobedience. Having met with the local financial inspector, he refused to pay the taxes accumulated over the past six years. Thoreau argued this decision with his disagreement with the policies of the United States government, in particular with legal slavery. The writer stated that a citizen is not required to pay taxes to an immoral state. As a result of this protest, Toro spent the night in prison. He was released after the tax debt was paid by the writer's relatives. Three years after this incident, one of Henry David Thoreau's most significant books, Civil Disobedience, was released, in which he explained in detail his idea of resistance to state power.
Edition of the book "Life in the Forest"
Leaving the hut on the shore of the pond, the author for several years revised and modified the manuscript containing a story about this unusual experiment. The work is a mixture of memoirs and spiritual thoughts. Henry David Thoreau's book Life in the Forest was first published in 1854. The work did not cause much admiration among contemporaries, but literary critics of subsequent generations ranked it as a classic.
Political activity
The writer was a fierce opponent of slavery. He took part in the work of the so-called Underground Railroad. This code designation hid a secret organization that assisted runaway slaves. Its activists transported blacks from the United States to Canada, despite the law prohibiting the promotion of the release of slaves. In accordance with this rule, blacks were caught and returned to the owners, even if they managed to get to the territory of the northern states that abolished slavery. For failure to comply with this requirement, government officials and private individuals could be punished by imprisonment and a fine. Thoreau repeatedly criticized this law.
The writer openly defended John Brown, who tried to organize an armed uprising of slaves in West Virginia, and was sentenced for hanging. In his public speeches, he compared the execution of the leader of a failed riot with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
The admiration for the heroism of John Brown testified to the fact that the writer was a supporter of not only passive resistance to unjust state power, but also an active fight against the use of violence, if circumstances required. Proof that Toro did not adhere to pacifist views are his words: "May the world not be proclaimed rust on our swords or our inability to pull them out of their sheath."
Late period
Throughout life, the writer’s interest in natural science has steadily increased. He eagerly read books on botany, as well as stories about travels and expeditions. Thoreau studied the nature of Concord and carefully recorded the results of his observations of the ripening of plant fruits, bird migration, and changes in water level in Walden Pond. His diaries devoted to natural science are striking in their volume. They contain several million words written by the author in the process of many years of observation of the nature surrounding his hometown. Thoreau never left the American continent, but read almost all the descriptions of travel to different parts of the world that existed at that time. He sought to satisfy his endless curiosity associated with the peoples, cultures, religions and natural conditions of other countries. One of Henry David Thoreau's famous quotes is: "Live at home as a traveler."
Death
Over the years, the writer suffered from tuberculosis. Once, during a night walk, he fell under heavy rain and fell ill with bronchitis. From that moment on, his state of health began to gradually deteriorate. Toro ended up bedridden. Recognizing the hopelessness of his situation, the writer has devoted recent years to revising and editing unpublished works. When asked whether he was able to reconcile with God at the end of his life, Toro replied: "I don’t remember that we ever quarreled." The writer died in May 1862 at the age of 44 years. He was buried in the cemetery of his hometown.