Analyzing Thoreau’s View Of Nature From Walden

Henry David Thoreau is an outstanding natural philosopher and litterateur in19th century, who is one of the leading scholars of American Romanticism and also one of the founders of American Spirit. Walden, as Thoreau’s masterpiece, notes down his view of nature during the two and a half years living beside Walden. This thesis discusses the specific manifestation of Thoreau’s view of nature systematically by intensive reading the text, which aims to reveal the spiritual connotation of natural view advocated in his works, as well as to call people’s attention to nature in modern times.This paper studies Thoreau’s view of nature in three sections. The first section explores the core ideas of Thoreau’s natural view stated in Walden:natural and pure; human beings should live in harmony with nature on the basis of reverence for the power of nature, and only by resisting industrial civilization people can perceive a poetical life in the society fraught with clamor and impetuosity; only by both spiritual penance and living in poverty voluntarily, people can hold the truth in life. The second section finds out that Thoreau’s view of nature takes shape due to the benefit of the influence of living situation, the spirit construct of Enlightenment and Romanticism, and the subtle effect on Indian culture and the classics of Eastern culture. In the third section, Thoreau’s spiritual contributions and the impact on later generations are discussed, and his natural view is figured out that it has not only ecological value, but also realistic directive significance.Thoreau’s profound and advanced view of nature rejects the western traditional idea that human and nature are opposite, and confirms nature and human on an equal footing. It is a precious spiritual wealth given to people in today’s ecological crisis, and it also reminds human of keeping a watchful eye on the harmony of man and nature in the process of self-development, and arouse people’s awareness of protecting nature.