Sign in or 
| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 4 2008, 12:32 AM EDT | rrodrigo | 614 words added |
| Jun 4 2008, 12:31 AM EDT | rrodrigo |
Changes
Key: Additions Deletions
Texts by Henry David Thoreau
- Walden
- Civil Disobedience
Resources about Henry David Thoreau
1. Woodlief, Ann. “Henry David Thoreau.” __American Transcendentalism Web__. 6 June 2007. < http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/thoreau/ >.This website is dedicated to providing history about American Transcendentalism. The website offers information about authors, texts, roots and influences, and ideas and thoughts of the period. This page focuses on Henry David Thoreau. “One might say he never stopped looking to nature for ultimate Truth.” Nature was a major component of transcendentalism. Thoreau completely immersed himself into nature for two years, building an isolated cabin to live in by Walden Pond. In addition to studying nature, Thoreau expanded his studies to the Frontier and Indians. Walden relied on intuition and insight. He believed that all had the right to fulfill their human potential, lecturing against slavery. Thoreau helped the Transcendentalists create a new American literature. He asked new questions, rethought life, and looked to nature to find greater meaning. This website did a good job explaining Thoreau’s relationship with nature and the influence it had on the Transcendental period. This is an educational website that provides a list of references as well as other texts, criticisms, links, and books that focus on Thoreau.
2. Woodlief, Ann. “Henry David Thoreau.” American Transcendentalism Web. 6 June 2007. < http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/thoreau/ >
American Transcendentalism Web offers useful information on all of the period’s writers, including Henry David Thoreau. It gives a historical biography of his childhood, claiming that he was a “complex man of many talents who worked hard to shape his craft and his life, seeing little difference between them.” His life, and literary work, seemed to be focused on finding God through nature, or in nature. The article writes that “one might say he never stopped looking into nature for ultimate truth.” It mentions that he was highly influenced by Emerson’s Nature; a book whose ideas he never fully stopped exploring. The website has a bibliography with links to its sources, and is not editable, making its reliability more certain.
3. “Henry David Thoreau.” Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. June 21, 2007. June 23, 2007. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau >
This article details the life of Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts in 1817. He attended Harvard college and graduated in 1837. After graduation Thoreau returned to Concord and met a man named Ralph Waldo Emerson. Thoreau and Emerson wrote together in Emerson’s quarterly called “The Dial”. On July 4, 1845 Thoreau built himself a small house on the edge of the woods near Walden Pond and began an experiment in simple living. He kept notes on his two years at Walden and wrote a book by the same name about his experience. Thoreau ran into legal trouble when the tax collector asked for back taxes and Thoreau refused to pay. Thoreau refused to pay because of his opposition to the current presidential administration and because of his opposition to the Mexican-American War. This action landed Thoreau in jail for one night until his Aunt paid his taxes with his protest. Thoreau died in 1862.
This website is helpful to a reader wanting to learn about Henry David Thoreau. The website outlines the important events in his life. More than outlining Thoreau’s life, the article gives a sense of Thoreau’s purpose in his writings. Thoreau’s writings were inspired by his life, and his life was one lived against the grain. Thoreau was an essential author to the transcendentalist movement. His writings have inspired others in subsequent history. He wrote with Emerson and others who were the leader of the transcendentalist movement. The website is credible because it matches up with other websites and information known about Thoreau.
