Henry David Thoreau, author of Walden, was born in the early nineteenth century. In 1845, he made the decision to go into the woods by Walden Pond and build a small cabin for himself to live simply in for two years, two months, and two days. His time in the woods was intended to help him find himself and his purpose in life. Thoreau, “... wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if [he] could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when [he] came to die, discover that [he] had not lived” (Thoreau 51). Essentially, Thoreau moved to Walden Pond to live life in the most simple way possible, he executed his simplicity in his diet especially.
After preparing a lecture on Thomas Carlyle at the Concord Lyceum, …show more content…
Therefore a day of hunting or fishing would not only include the recreation of finding and killing the animal, but also gutting, cleaning, and cooking. Often the meat produced from a good day of fishing was not a substantial amount for Thoreau to eat and get full off of. He also found that those who hunted and fished did so for false reasoning, “Commonly they did not think that they were lucky, or well paid for their time, unless they got a long string of fish, though they had the opportunity of seeing the pond all the while,” (Thoreau 116). Thoreau felt that the true achievement of spending the day fishing or hunting was not the food or money that was brought home rather the time of relaxation by the pond itself. “The value of hunting and fishing seems to rest primarily in the experiencing of nature instead of the actual food procured” (“Uncivil Disobedience”). Thoreau felt that he should not waste his days glorifying his kills and the food he brings home instead absorb the surrounding nature while growing his own substantial …show more content…
He wanted to portray sustainability, the ability to live simply, in his everyday life. He lived with the bare minimum on Emerson’s property in the small house he built for himself. Walden is a combination of lectures given to Thoreau’s audience in Concord by request, he became a well known nature writer of the 19th century. Thoreau, for the most part, chose not to fish and hunt for the sake of time and effort. He felt he shouldn't work seven days a week and to hunt and fish one must be willing to put forth the extra effort. Thoreau’s choice to keep a simple diet came with the decision to also eat less. He didn’t eat out much and always preferred his own cooking under his own roof. On his fourteen acres, Thoreau grew several crops to both eat as well as sell for profit. Because he was Transcendentalist he believed he must eat pure in order to keep a pure
After preparing a lecture on Thomas Carlyle at the Concord Lyceum, …show more content…
Therefore a day of hunting or fishing would not only include the recreation of finding and killing the animal, but also gutting, cleaning, and cooking. Often the meat produced from a good day of fishing was not a substantial amount for Thoreau to eat and get full off of. He also found that those who hunted and fished did so for false reasoning, “Commonly they did not think that they were lucky, or well paid for their time, unless they got a long string of fish, though they had the opportunity of seeing the pond all the while,” (Thoreau 116). Thoreau felt that the true achievement of spending the day fishing or hunting was not the food or money that was brought home rather the time of relaxation by the pond itself. “The value of hunting and fishing seems to rest primarily in the experiencing of nature instead of the actual food procured” (“Uncivil Disobedience”). Thoreau felt that he should not waste his days glorifying his kills and the food he brings home instead absorb the surrounding nature while growing his own substantial …show more content…
He wanted to portray sustainability, the ability to live simply, in his everyday life. He lived with the bare minimum on Emerson’s property in the small house he built for himself. Walden is a combination of lectures given to Thoreau’s audience in Concord by request, he became a well known nature writer of the 19th century. Thoreau, for the most part, chose not to fish and hunt for the sake of time and effort. He felt he shouldn't work seven days a week and to hunt and fish one must be willing to put forth the extra effort. Thoreau’s choice to keep a simple diet came with the decision to also eat less. He didn’t eat out much and always preferred his own cooking under his own roof. On his fourteen acres, Thoreau grew several crops to both eat as well as sell for profit. Because he was Transcendentalist he believed he must eat pure in order to keep a pure