the bottom can easily be discerned ” ( p . 1063 ), suggesting that his experience of nature and shift towards an authentic inner life has allowed him to judge or measure reality more clearly . Nature offers him a sense of divinity , almost like the waters have cleansed him through the religious sacrament of baptism . Although insightful , this does not transcend the injustices and issues in society , elevating Arendt ’ s view that Thoreau is single-minded and focuses on personal purity rather than reform . His literature does reflect a need for direction and a concern over the future , but on a more introspective level . It is also important to recognise that his version of purity and happiness is not identical for everyone .
Overall , Henry David Thoreau ’ s ‘ Resistance to Civil Government ’ and Walden both reflect a need for direction and a concern over the future to a large extent . However , there are several limitations to the ways in which he presents his principles . Thoreau ’ s ardent militancy and later advocation for violence makes his views on reform seem elusive , whilst the imposition of his ‘ genius ’ toes the line of being a megalomaniac whose vision is clouded by privilege . The radical individualism he seeks to demonstrate is debased because of this , as it is questionable whether he is speaking in the interest of a social conscience , or rather prioritising his own introspective , romantic ideals of purity over genuine reform . Of course , Walden is an experiment , offering just one way of interacting and living in the world . Perhaps the nature of the experiment is what Thoreau wants to resonate with his reader : they must dictate their own direction and future of the state and of the self .
BIBLIOGRAPHY : Arendt , Hannah , ‘ Civil Disobedience ’ in Crises of the Republic ( New York : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich , 1969 ), pp . 51-102
Buranelli , Vincent , ‘ The Case Against Thoreau ’ in
Ethics 67.4 ( The University of Chicago Press , 1957 ) pp . 257-268 , in < https :// www . jstor . org / stable / 2379656 > [ Accessed : 28 November 2021 ]
Emerson , Ralph W , ‘ Self-Reliance ’ in The Norton Anthology of American Literature , ed by Robert S . Levine ( New York ; London : W . W . Norton & Company , 2017 ) pp . 236-253
Geovese , Eugene D ., ‘ Introduction ’ in The Political Economy of Slavery : Studies in the Economy & Society of the Slave South ( Hanover : Wesleyan University Press , 2014 ), pp . 3 – 11
Gougeon , Len , ‘ Thoreau and Reform ’ in The Cambridge Companion to Henry David Thoreau ( Cambridge Companions to Literature ), ed . by Joel Myerson ( Cambridge : Cambridge University Press , 1995 ) pp . 194-214 , in <
https :// doi . org / 10.1017 / CCOL0521440378 > [ Accessed : 28 November 2021 ]
Jenco , Leigh K ., “ Thoreau ’ s Critique of Democracy ” in The Review of Politics 65.3 ( Cambridge University Press , University of Notre Dame , 2003 ) pp . 355-81in
https :// www . jstor . org / stable / 1408930 [ Accessed : 26 November 2021 ]
Plotica , Luke P ., ‘ Thoreau and the Politics of Ordinary Actions ’ in Political Theory , 44 . 4 ( Sage Publications , Inc ., 2016 ) pp . 470-95 in < https :// www . jstor . org / stable / 24768059 > [ Accessed : 30 November 2021 ]
Thoreau , Henry David , ‘ Walden , or Life in the Woods ’ in The Norton Anthology of American
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