Walden Theme
I believe that the overall message or theme of the novel Walden was to be simplistic. In his section “Economy” he stated that the feeling of dissatisfaction with one’s possessions can be fixed in two ways; one might require more to fulfill the emptiness, or one might reduce their desires to achieve satisfaction. I think that this is a true statement because you don’t need everything in life to be happy. You could have the bare necessities and live your life with the same joy as someone that is successful and needs everything expensive to make them happy. It is all about your perspective on how you want to live your life.
Another example that went along with the theme of simplicity was when he talked about other residents that were going through life just trying to make mortgages and payment to all the new things that they own and still wanting the newest fashion trend. On the other hand Thoreau decided that he wanted to live his life differently he took another path that was indeed the simple life. He left society and lived in the woods to live this certain lifestyle. If he ever came along a time that he needed new clothes, he just patched them instead of getting the latest fashion and he only wanted the necessary accessories. He thought if you bought something that wasn't needed to survive everyday life was just a disadvantage of living life to its fullest. Think of the last time you went shopping for groceries. Did you just buy what you needed or did you buy other things that you could live without? Do you really need that pack of gum to survive? Most likely you didn't need that pack of gum, cigarettes or zebra cakes. You could just buy what you absolutely need and still live. This is what Walden wanted most people to see is that you can live a simple life with only the necessities and be happy with how you have fulfilled your life. To live this simple life Thoreau built his own shack and actually owned it instead of having a house that was owned by
Another example that went along with the theme of simplicity was when he talked about other residents that were going through life just trying to make mortgages and payment to all the new things that they own and still wanting the newest fashion trend. On the other hand Thoreau decided that he wanted to live his life differently he took another path that was indeed the simple life. He left society and lived in the woods to live this certain lifestyle. If he ever came along a time that he needed new clothes, he just patched them instead of getting the latest fashion and he only wanted the necessary accessories. He thought if you bought something that wasn't needed to survive everyday life was just a disadvantage of living life to its fullest. Think of the last time you went shopping for groceries. Did you just buy what you needed or did you buy other things that you could live without? Do you really need that pack of gum to survive? Most likely you didn't need that pack of gum, cigarettes or zebra cakes. You could just buy what you absolutely need and still live. This is what Walden wanted most people to see is that you can live a simple life with only the necessities and be happy with how you have fulfilled your life. To live this simple life Thoreau built his own shack and actually owned it instead of having a house that was owned by