Walden-A Pilgrimage Of Ecological Thoughts And Practices

We are now living in a new millennium ruled by technology, human power and human being's growing desire. Steps of living grow faster and faster. Our will of controlling the world is expanding with each technological achievement that will help in this regard. "Will Thoreau's way of living still matter?However, IT IS this Anthropocentric concept that makes all the pollutions and environmental crisis we are facing now. Now IT IS time to re-consider the relationship that we human beings should hold with nature, with this earth, our home.This thesis intends to unfold an ecological way of life that Thoreau chose to experience, and reveal the soul of his strongly recommended "A Harmonious Relationship with Nature." Thoreau's moving into Walden originated from his dissatisfaction with the changes in Concord wrought by the newly accessible railroad and the expansion of the market economy. In Walden, with deep affection, Thoreau depicted the dribs and drabs in nature: along the pond side, in the forest, in the cabin...Walden embeds much of the history of his thinking about the natural environment, casting wide and deep influence into the attitude hold by human beings toward nature, and thus leads to a re-consideration toward the relationship between Human Being and Nature.This thesis will concentrate on Walden's pastoral—environmental—eco-critical projects respectively, in the order of its developing sequence, and on the practical enlightenment that Walden contains. Therefore, Chapter One is an introduction of the main theme of this thesis. Chapter Two will be a brief account of the main acknowledged theoretical sources of Eco-criticism—the "Land Ethic" and the "Deep Ecology", meanwhile, previous ecological interpretations of Walden and Thoreau's thinking will also be stated here. Chapter Three, the most focused chapter, concentrates on pastoral, environmental and eco-critical projects respectively. Chapter Four will be an exploration of the practical enlightenment that Walden wrought to all of us. Then, comes the conclusion.