Walden gets less engaging

[krishna_lit]

I started reading 'Walden' by Henry David Thoreau after realizing that Christopher McCandless(from Into The Wild) was deeply inspired by his writings. It's unarguably a great book, the kind of view points it presents on the living of Mankind all along the centuries are very knowledgable. It has been that way some time along the read but as I'm getting into the last 100 pages or so, it's seeming less engaging chapter by chapter..

Is it only me who's feeling this way or are there others that would agree with me. Please share your thoughts...

[The Comedian]

I love Walden cover to cover. But I think that you have to appreciate it on more levels than the overtly philosophical or socially critical. Much of the book after the first two chapters is Thoreau's attempt to live the life he's proposed in the first two chapters of the book. And, because the latter portion of the book is set up as an experiment, it's laced with humor, failure, and moments of insight (only the latter of these gets popularized).

Also, to appreciate the book, you also have remember that it's highly literary. For example, my favorite chapter is "The Bean Field". Why? Thoreau develops a central and extended metaphor that articulates his experiment in trying to live the best human life. He has a 'garden', in the forest. He tries to keep out "weeds" which are corrupting his crop . He has lots of trouble doing so (lots of toil); it's more work than he'd like; but he values it because the entire project is of his own making and design. (He later sells crop for profit).

I also think that far too much is made of his "living alone" -- he's very social there and he makes no attempt to hide that. In fact it's part of his experiment (which is not that it's best to live away from society; it IS "how much society is enough?") -- he says that "wears a trail to town"; he frequents the lecture halls, he goes on fishing trips with his friends; he walks along the railroad; he sells his beans in the market. . . . .

Of course, you can also see Walden's later chapters as a riff on the popular travel literature of the day -- Thoreau travels the nearby woods of town. And Walden is a "travel/adventure" story about all the things that we fail to see and the experiences that we fail to grasp that are right outside our door. The latter portions of the book detail just this -- think of the sounding of the pond (and contrast that will the popular 'travels at sea' literature of the day): people walk right past the profound mysteries of their own environment to learn about some other place. . .

I could go on. . ..and on :-)

[JBI]

I admit to not finishing it. I found it boring, I must confess.

[mal4mac]

It's some time since I read it, but it's definitely on my re-read list. I certainly don't remember it waning. I think the Comedian expresses my opinion of the book. Were you looking simply for another version of "alone in the wilderness"? If so I can see why you are disappointed! But just let Thoreau tell *his* story and I think it holds up well.