Solitude

Solitude, the fifth chapter of Walden, provides insights into Henry David Thoreau’s thoughts about the opportunities seclusion offers to an individual. Thoreau employs the word “solitude” for the title because it has a more calming and positive connotation than does “isolation” or “seclusion.” This word choice implies that he knows there is more to solitude than most people think (being cut off from society). His purpose is to convey to the readers that solitude in the midst of nature enables us to realize that “that we are never alone.” Thoreau declares, “What sort of space is that which separates a man from his fellows and makes him solitary? I have found that no exertion of the legs can bring two minds much nearer to one another.” He finds that merely being close to other humans does not guarantee that you will learn more about the world and yourself. Although he wrote the chapter privately and intended it for himself, the chapter is most relevant to urban dwellers who cannot understand the true value of nature. For example, he writes that one evening a wealthy townsman “inquired of me how I could bring my mind to give up so many of the comforts of life. I answered that I was very sure I liked it passably well.”

Thoreau employs vivid diction to create a surreal, poignant tone. For example, phrases like “the smooth reflecting surface,” “fluttering alder and poplar leaves,” “the stony shore of the pond,” and “the lingering odor of a cigar or pipe” call forth multiple sensations to create an image the reader can easily visualize. His first person voice addresses the reader directly and clearly describes the interactions he experiences with nature. In addition, Thoreau utilizes many rhetorical questions, such as “Why should I feel lonely,” What do we want most to dwell near to,” and “Shall I not have intelligence with the earth” to lay emphasis on his own convictions. These frequent questions also allow the readers to pause and contemplate about their own ideas on the subject, and they maintain the reader’s interest in the discussion. With his emotional, candid tone, Thoreau shows the reader that he understands the subjects he is discussing and has individually experienced and developed his beliefs. He relies primarily on emotional appeal and strong imagery to sway the reader to his side and demonstrate his views of society.

After a few weeks in his retreat, Thoreau “was suddenly sensible of such sweet and beneficent society in Nature…as made the fancied advantages of human neighborhood insignificant.” He questions why we cannot “do without the society of our gossips a little while under these circumstances — have our own thoughts to cheer us?” Thoreau wholeheartedly embraced individualism and a personal search for knowledge and fulfillment. He marveled the purity of nature and the lessons it could teach us, and he felt that remaining in an overcrowded environment where conformity prevailed could never benefit an individual as much as retreating to Walden could. Thoreau reasoned that one’s personal experiences and beliefs should shape his or her public attitudes and actions, and one must never be afraid to be different.