Message of the Walden

Walden is the name of a pond where the writer, Henry David Thoreau, spent some time. The book was written to cover a timescale of two years and two months in which he narrates his experiences and tries to bring out the importance of focusing on himself. He employs a number of styles in this book, such as symbols and poetry, to try and bring out his ideas.

Message of the Book

The main message brought out in the book is that of personal decision in advancements of one’s life with independence from convention and common practice, i.e., we are too affixed in the common practice to consider other gateways to our problems. The author believes that success will be obtained through one’s decision to follow their dreams. He brings out self-reliance in both social and economic aspects as the key factor in the development of oneself. Simplicity, which he brings out as an ideal, is also seen as a core factor in one’s personal development, taking how he built his own house to other people, taking mortgages and their houses being owned by banks as an example. He also brings out the fact that change in the common mindset of people may not really bring improvement but rather just a different way to confirm the preexisting ideas. The use of poetry, symbolism, and fantasy in this book aims to bring out the ideas in a more laid-back manner that serves to awaken the ideas in the readers through critical thinking. His experiences serve as a foundation to the message implying the possibility of one to be able to achieve a lot while following different methods. The use of Walden Pond to try and symbolize the spiritual, philosophical, and personal aspects is important based on its depth and pure reflective nature, which are just beliefs. He is enlightening and, through this book, serves to challenge our ideas.