I’m going to be completely honest. There were several times when reading Walden that I was completely lost. I did not understand what was happening, then I would come to class and everyone would have gotten so much out of the reading. So when it came time to write this post I really struggled. I decided to look through my notes once more and find a time that I switched from reading to theorizing and how that affected my reading for the rest of the time. As I read through my notes there was one common trend that I kept jotting down. That trend was Thoreau’s pride in his freedom.
The passage that I felt pushed me to theorizing the most was in “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For” paragraphs eight through twelve. Paragraph eight it describes Thoreau building his own cabin. He feels it is his creation. He is very proud of it and feels it is worthy of a god to spend the night in. When I read this passage, I thought about the Christian God and his creation of the world. God took pride in his creation. I know not everyone agrees with this, but the view that Thoreau is expressing is one of pride just like God shows in the creation story. It is something of his own that Thoreau feels is perfect, just like God said the world was perfect.
In paragraph nine Thoreau discusses his previous home. He explains that his previous home was “suggestive somewhat as a picture in outlines”. This gives the imagery of an artist still working on his masterpiece. Comparing this to his house in the woods where he says how it was fit for a god shows that he feels his new home is perfect and complete. Finally, in paragraph twelve Thoreau talks about the pasture being enough for his imagination. He enjoys his freedom in the woods immensely. Due to this sense of freedom he feels that “There are none happy in the world but beings who enjoy freely a vast horizon”.
Thoreau’s pride in his home made me theorize about how we should take pride in the things we do. If we do not feel pride then we will easily become discouraged and question the worth of anything we do. If we simply show some pride in things we accomplished then we will be happier and feel our life have more purpose. When we do things on our own we feel free. We are not a trapped bird, but a free bird flying even if we never leave our little home.
Although my blog post may not be like others I take pride in it. I learned that we should be proud of the things we do on our own and the freedom it brings. Living at college is a transition, and to be honest some days I feel homesick and wonder why I am here. Then I think about where I was before college in my life and where I am now . Looking at this I realize how proud I am of the choices that I have made in my new found freedom.