2.
WHERE I LIVED, AND WHAT
ILIVED FOR
- Henry David Thoreau
About the Author
Henry David Thoreau, an American essayist, poet, and
practical philosopher, is recognized for having lived the
transcendentalism principles as recounted in his masterpiece,
Walden which was published in 1854. He emphasized
independence,uniqueness, and anti-materialism while strongly
challenging the fundamental presumptions of how men should
live. Transcendentalism stimulated Thoreau's imagination to pen
down the possibilities of an ideal existence for man. He is
regarded asone ofAmerica's best writers and the brains behind
the environmental movement.
About the Text
Thoreau'sgoal in "Where I Lived, and What ILived For is
to persuade readers of the ideal life. He goes to live in the woods
because he wished to live intentionally. He wants to confront
only the crucial facts of life. He wants to learn what they had to
teach and to discover if he had truly lived. To live life to the
fullest, Thoreau believed that people needed to simplify their
Iives, getting rid of unnecessary material possessions and
Socializing. He believes that in order to enjoy life, it must be
Simple.
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Points to Ponder
Thoreau's intention is to persuade readers of the ideal lite
He believes that in order to enjoy life, it must be kept simple.
He emphasizes that by imitating nature, men can
change
their lives and look into its positive side.
Thoreau never ceases to notice the natural world as his
backdrop, and it takes on a central role in his existence.
One reason is that he relies on it to
sustain him because it
meets all of his physical needs, including those for food,
shelter, and fuel.
He attempts to convince his
readers of the health benefits
of solitude and close
contact with nature.
Thoreau compares his serenity to the calm
lake, and the friendliness he feels surface of a
from nature to a sustaining
atmosphere.
A person who moves
confidently in the direction of the
desired goals encounters success.
People who live close to nature have more
fulfilling lives.
He calls for complete
natural world.
harmony between people and the
He regards humans andother
animals as fellow inhabitants.
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Essay
1. Write an essay on "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For' by
Henry David Thoreau.'
Introduction
"Where Lived, and What I Lived For" by Henry David
Thoreau is an excerpt from Walden which he wrote for those
citizens who had inquiries about the two years he had spent
alone at Walden Pond. He claims to have frequently fantasized
about building a mansion on any spot he has come across and
about buying allthe farms in the area. While much of society is
asleep leading meek lives ignoring the possibility of a much
better life, Thoreau constructed a new existence for himself at
Walden, where he discovered joy and contentrment in nature.
Thoreau's attraction to Hollowell farm
Thoreau once came close to purchasing the Hollowell
property. The remoteness of the farm, proximity to a river and
acres of hollow apple trees all drew him towards it. He wanted
to purchase the farm before the owner was about to fix it up
and ruin. The owner's wife prevented the owner from selling it
at the last minute. He compares being tied down to a farm with
imprisonment. He wanted solitude so he built an affordable farm
on the shore of VWalden. He declared himself free from the
society and mortgages.
Thoreau's life at Walden
Thoreau tries to simplify his description of his time at Walden
by condensing two years into one. In this essay, he clarifies
that he is not writing "an ode to dejection."When he first moved
he thought his home was suitable for hosting a god or
goddess. He has birds as neighbours and the fresh air of the
outdoors in his home. The house is built so low that he only
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sees the opposite shore of the pond from it. He feels rejuvenated
physically and spiritually after having a bath in the pond. He
realizes that he was in fact awakening to not only the day, but to
life itself.
Thoreau says, "I went to the woods to live deliberately, to
front only the essential facts of life, and see ifl could not learn
what it had to teach, and not, when Icame to die, discover that
Ihad not lived." He wishes to know the actual meanness of life
and offer a true account of it. He utters, "Simplicity, simplicity.
simplicity!" by insisting people to simplify their affairs. He
condemns the improvements like railroads, which make life too
fast and superficial.
Thoreau's suggestion
He questions why people must live in such a
believes that if he rang the bell for a fire in the town,rush. He
Would rush in from miles away, not so much to put out people
as to simply observe it. Thoreau also the fire
believes that reading the
newspaper, which consistently repeats the same events
updated facts, is pointless and amounts to gossip. He with
that the post office has never claims
postage. Thoreau exhorts everyonedelivered anything worth the
to go past all outward
manifestations, including poetry, philosophy and religion.
wants every individual to feel life and He
the real sense life or death. determine whether it is in
Conclusion
Thoreau regrets the shortness of life in the course of
eternity. He laments that his intellect has separated him from
reality and hopes that his instinct will guide him. He
urges the
people to muddle through life until they reach the rock bottom
and are able to assess the truth using "Realometer
which is
used to measure the reality of things.
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Paragraph
1. What does Henry Thoreau say about the value of
simpllcity?
Thoreau feels that he is surrounded by a world that lacks
freedom.According to him, people make things complicated
and mesS up with life. In this process, they fail to recognize the
nature.
health benefits of solitude and close contact with
promote life by
Thoreau urges one to awaken fully and
every
conscious endeavour. He suggests that a man must make
woods to live a
moment of his life meaningful. He went to the path to spiritual
purposeful life. He believes that simplicity is the
clothes instead
awakening. Thoreauwould prefer patching old rice at home
advice would be to eat
of buyingnew ones. His
than going to fine restaurants. He readily rejects economic
rather consumerism.
success, high social rank and
necessities of life for
2. Explain Thoreau's views on the
men.
believed that happiness lies in obtaining the basic
Thoreau man in this environment
necessities of life for
needs of life. The heads, including food,
under numerous
may be assigned Thoreau felt that the changes brought
shelter, clothing, and fuel. had complicated the norms
Revolution
about by the Industrial more obstacles to achieving
erected
of existence and immediate demands shifted away from
happiness. People's shelter in a systemized economy.
acquiring food, clothing, and work in order to have the income
the desire to prepared by someone
Itwas replaced by that had been
necessary to buy food his life by taking care of his
out to simplify
else. Thoreau set own.
his
essential necessities on
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3. What did Thoreau expect to
achieve by living at Walden
Pond?.
Henry David Thoreau, a writer and
resided on the pond's beaches for two years transcendentalist,
from 1845. His
goalwas to find an escape from the outside world
agreater appreciation for nature. He
and develop
in adetailed manner in the book recorded his experiences
Walden: Or, Life in the Woods.
He goes to live in Walden as he wants to
his necessities, and choose the
live purposefully, face
his readers to live asimple life.meaning
of his life. He urges
He represents the spiritual
significance of nature through hËs life at the pond. Every
morning, he takes a bath in the pond and describes it as a holy
experience. This inspires him to aim higher and serves as a
reminder of nature's limitless power to
regenerate life.
4. Explain the life of Thoreau in the woods.
Henry David Thoreau's Walden; Or Life in the
one of the greatest classics of 19th Woods is
On July 4, 1845,he departs from the
century American literature.
and settles into a self-built hut at comforts affluent society
of
Walden Pond, close to his
hometown. In order to experience life more directly and to
confront it in its most basic forms, he temporarily
society. Thoreau desired to "suck out all thewithdrew fromof
existence," which is to say that he wanted to consumemarrow
the vitality
at the very centre of life itself.
Walden explains his two-year
retreat from modern city life in a self-built home beside a lake in
the woods. He shares what he discovered about
isolation. the
natural world, work, thought and fulfilment.
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Choose the correct answers from the given options
1. Walden Pond is located in
a) Concord, New Hampshire
b) Lincoln, Massachusetts
c) Concord, Massachusetts
d) Lincoln, New Hampshire (Ans: c)
2. Thoreau thinks about buying the farm.
a) Hollowell b) Brister
c) Barrett d) Ranch (Ans:a)
3. Which among the following is not included in Thoreau's
understanding of "the necessity of life?"
a) Food b) Shelter
c) Clothing d) Society (Ans: d)
was closest to Thoreau's house at Walden Pond.
a) A
canal b) A
railroad
c) A mill d) A
school (Ans: b)
5. Between what creatures does Thoreau witness a battle?
a) Bats b) Cats
c) Birds d) Ants (Ans: d)
6. What does Thoreau frequently do on warm evenings?
a) Fishes on the pond
b) Goes for a walk
c) Plays the flute in his boat
d) Washes clothes (Ans: a)
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7. How long does Thoreau stay at Walden Pond?
a) One yea b) Four years
c) Three years d) Two years (Ans: d)
8. Thoreau refers to Amos Alcott as
a)the teacher b) the philosopher
c) the reformer d) the actor (Ans: b)
9. Thoreau is proud to dwell far away from the
constricting
social bonds represented by
a) the post office b) the theatre
c) his family d) his friends (Ans: a)
10. Thoreau's
allows an inquiring person to measure
the reality of his perceptions.
a) Nilometer b) Thermometer
c) Realometer d) Speedometer (Ans: c)
