Thoreau And Solnit: An Analysis

Given all the topics brought up in the texts, the idea of the city really stuck out to me. I found the rural and urban contrasts; especially the aspects that make a walker feel free, intriguing. Through closer reading, I realized that although multiple writers hint towards an authoritative entity that prevents walking, few give it a name. After reading de Certeau and Solnit it became clear to me that the hints were towards the city. When I did more research, many writers mention architecture and how it predisposes humans to take a certain path. The way in which a city is structured has a say in the paths people take. Nobody would walk through a building, they would go around. Construction sites are blocked off and cause people to take detours. All of these things that may not necessarily seem like a big deal are, because the path one takes changes what they experience. Their experiences then come to shape their thoughts and opinions. …show more content…
In this essay Thoreau states that he believes not everybody is made for walking. The walker can not be the cookie cutter person who is just like everybody else. They need to hear the calling from nature, the call to remove themselves from the distractions of a city. They have to know that the future can not be in manicured lawns but rather outside of the constraints. Rousseau strengthens my point through his hands on approach of walking in the city. Where Thoreau is telling what needs to happen, Rousseau is giving his