Walden. H.D. Thoreau

Walden. H.D. Thoreau. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. 2009. 389pp         Walden, written by H.D. Thoreau, is a great collection of essays which records the writer’s daily life in details. when living by the Walden for two years and two months. Thoreau meant to break the wall of the materialistic life, give us a window to look out for a kind of spiritual life by writing this book. However, he had no intention to act as our life coach, in fact, just as he wrote in the book, “I never want anyone to take my way of life, I just hope that everyone can seriously and prudently find and practice their own way, not to go the way of their parents or neighbors.” And this book is intended to write for people in young America, especially for poor students in Thoreau’s personal opinion. The process of reading is not only a feast of vision, but also a wonderful journey of the heart. During the reading I was completely absorbed in the world Thoreau described and felt a kind of long-lose sense of harmony and peace. It undoubtedly deserves the example of American probes. With the rapid scientific inventions and large-scale natural exploitation in the US at the beginning of the 19th century, on the one hand, Americans started to live an unprecedentedly rich and comfortable materialistic life, on the other hand, the ecological environment was seriously damaged due to the endless natural exploitation. Thoreau seemed like a total rebel against his times, and very few people could have the resolution to give up so many life experiences like him. He escaped from the noisy city and settled down by the Lake Walden, living on a self-sufficiency life. Then his stunning masterpiece came out and became famous immediately throughout the whole western world. In his book Walden, there is a consistent proposition that goes back to nature. His works constantly point out that most of us are trapped by family, work and various materialistic needs, have lost spiritual pursuit and live a materialistic life. And he called us to live with nature in harmony, just as he wrote in his book Walden “Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.” The process of pursuit for truth is also a journey of the spirit. Walden, the model of American probes, had successfully achieved its goal in its times without doubt. Furthermore, today, we can also learn a lot from this masterpiece due to Thoreau’s forward thinking. First, as the ecocrisis worsens today, the contemporary value of his ecothoughts is becoming more and more important. Second, it provided the wisdom of life generously and the idea that we should pay more attention to our spiritual life. Last, it left us a world full of clean, purity, and harmony, where we can get relaxed freely in a peaceful atmosphere. Although many other books on the same subject came out in succession, Walden still kept its unique charm to people all over the world.