Henry Thoreau is a prominent American writer and philosopher of the 19th century, a supporter of abolitionism. He is also considered by some to be one of the founders of ecological anarchism. At the age of 28, Thoreau retired from society for more than two years and settled in a house built by his own hands on the banks of Walden Pond. Subsequently, he wrote a book about this wonderful experience, Walden, or Life in the Woods.
Family, education and acquaintance with Emerson
Henry David Thoreau was born in July 1817 in Concord (Massachusetts, USA). The father of the future writer, John Thoreau, made a living by handicraft production of pencils and slates. And about John's wife and Henry's mother Cynthia, it is known that she was the daughter of a clergyman. In addition to Henry, the family had three other children.
At the age of fifteen, the future writer entered Harvard University. And it should be noted that in general, young Henry David was very skeptical about the higher education system. The defense of his thesis (it was called "The Commercial Spirit") took place in 1837. But Thoreau refused the diploma itself, because for its registration it was necessary to pay a fee of $ 5.
After graduation, Toro returned to Concorde and became a teacher at the city school. Coincidentally, the famous transcendental poet Ralph Waldo Emerson lived in Concord at this time. In the fall of 1937, two talented people became friends. Of course, Emerson, who was 17 years older, had a significant impact on Thoreau's worldview. And thanks to Emerson, the writer met such progressive thinkers of that era as publicist William Ellery Channing, journalist and feminist Margaret Fuller, novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Life from 1838 to 1845
In 1838, Henry David lost his job - he was kicked out of school for opposing the practice of corporal punishment. The man could not help finding another suitable place of work, therefore, together with his brother (his name was John, like his father), he founded his own school with in-depth study of natural sciences. Corporal punishment was completely banned here, which had a positive effect on attendance.
Around the same time, Thoreau met a girl named Helen Sewall. In 1839 he invited her to become his wife. However, her parents did not like such a groom, and Thoreau was refused. As a result, until the end of his days, Henry David remained a bachelor.
In the late thirties, there was another incident that showed how principled Thoreau was. He received a Unitarian Church tax receipt but refused to pay the bills. In addition, in protest, he left the Unitarian community. At the same time, Toro did not want to join any other community either.
In July 1840, the Transcendental Society, led by Emerson, published the first issue of Dial. This issue featured Henry Thoreau's poem Sympathy, as well as his essay on the Drenver poet Aulus Persia Flacca. Later in this magazine (it existed until April 1844) his other articles appeared - "The Chinese Four Books", "Sayings of Confucius", "Laws of Manu", "Buddha's Prayers", "Winter Walk".
In 1841, Thoreau, finding himself in a difficult financial situation, settled in the house of Ralph Emerson. Here he performed the duties of a carpenter, gardener and janitor, in exchange he was provided with food and a separate room.
In 1842, Thoreau went to New York, where he became a private teacher with one of Emerson's relatives. In parallel, he constantly wrote texts for New York publications. However, Thoreau's journalistic and literary work was not appreciated at that time - the attempt to conquer the big city failed. As a result, at the end of 1843, the writer returned to his parents' house and began to help the family in the pencil production business.
Hermitage experience
In the spring of 1845, Thoreau built a hut on his own on the banks of Walden Pond, and a little later, on July 4, settled in it. Walden Pond was located in a deserted but very beautiful place (today it is a conservation area) a couple of miles from Concorde. And Thoreau decided to settle here for a reason - he wanted to test how a person would feel in isolation from society.
In total, Toro spent about 800 days in the bosom of nature. And during this period, he himself provided himself with almost everything necessary. His activities included fishing, gardening, hiking, swimming, reading and meditation. However, he did not avoid contact with people and regularly communicated with the townspeople of Concorde.
Moreover, in 1846, Thoreau had problems with law enforcement. One day he went into town to collect his shoes from a repair shop and was detained by the police. The local financial inspector has charged the writer with not paying the so-called poll tax over the past six years. Thoreau was offered to pay off the debt, but he refused, and he was sent to prison. However, less than a day later, Toro was released (the debt was paid by relatives), and he returned to his hut.
Further biography and major works of Thoreau
On September 6, 1847, Thoreau left the shores of Walden Pond and settled again for a time at Emerson. In 1849 his first serious book was published, A Week on Concord and Merrimack. Then an article was published "On the duty of civil disobedience", the idea of which came to Thoreau on the very night he was imprisoned. In this article, he contrasted the individual conscience with the opinion and values of the majority. The text was not well received by contemporaries, but later it became very popular among representatives of the black civil rights movement. In addition, this article was highly revered by such great personalities as Leo Tolstoy and Mahatma Gandhi.
In the fifties of the nineteenth century, the writer traveled extensively throughout the United States and Canada, often accompanied by real Indians. And in 1854 he published his main work - "Walden, or Life in the Woods." In this work, Thoreau described his two-year hermitage and clearly demonstrated the advantages of living in harmony with the surrounding nature. In fact, Thoreau, by personal example, showed his contemporaries, with their exorbitant desire for material success, that one can be content with little and be quite happy at the same time. The book consists of eighteen parts. And on its pages, among other things, you can find colorful observations about the forest and lake in different months of the year, interesting remarks about various representatives of the local flora and fauna.
Henry Thoreau is also known as an ardent opponent of slavery, he consistently defended the rights of blacks in his country. In 1859 he wrote another famous essay, In Defense of Captain John Brown. John Brown was one of the earliest white abolitionists in American history. He tried to organize an armed slave uprising in West Virginia. In the end, this uprising failed, and Brown was arrested and sentenced to be hanged. In his brilliant essay, Thoreau compared Brown's execution to the crucifixion of Christ.
In recent years, the publicist was already seriously ill with tuberculosis, which at that time was considered incurable. Close friends and his own sister Sophia selflessly looked after Henry, and at that time he himself was preparing for the publication of some of his works.
Henry David Thoreau died at Concord in May 1862.
