Thoreau: Man And Life

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorHigh School, 12th grade September 2001

download word file, 15 pages 5.0

Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817 in his grandmother's house in the town of Concord, Maine. He spent much of his childhood exploring the woods and the farmland that surrounded his grandmother's house. After the farmland was sold, his house was put on log rollers and moved a few hundred yards down the road where it remains today, now as the Thoreau Society House, part of the legacy that I will explain in this essay. Little to the knowledge of his family and peers, Thoreau's childhood exploring wasn't just a phase or coincidence, it was the sign of a little boy who had fallen in love with nature. In 1837, Thoreau published his first work, an obituary. This was a small writing, but a start. While he was in college, his first public works were published.

"Thoreau never mentions when he knew that he would be a writer, but he probably decided sometime during college that he wanted writing to be his life's work.

Apart from an early essay about the seasons that may not be authentic, Thoreau's first surviving compositions are those he wrote for college classes in English that included composition, logic, and public speaking."� -Allen, preface page IX While he was in the woods of Concord, he would discover many things and take notes to tell his parents and peers of the wonders of nature. He also sent notes into a newspaper called "The Dial"�, where they were published much to his surprise. These notes would eventually turn into books that were sure classics in American literature and also politcal motivation for future generations. Thoreau was also an abolitionist and gave anti-slavery speeches in many states. Through his great works such as Walden and Civil Disobediece, and his ideals and philosophies Henry David Thoreau...