Solitude

In Thoreau’s fifth chapter, “Solitude,” he expresses his feelings about nature and reflects on how he feels when he is alone. The purpose of this chapter is to prove that one does not need to live with other people to be happy and that solitude can be just as friendly as any human. He writes about his encounters with nature and how they constantly amaze him. Being away from all of the distractions of society allows Thoreau to be completely consumed by the nature around him and helps him to write.

The title of the chapter, “Solitude,” is the part of Walden that Thoreau describes and defends. To better concentrate on his writing, Thoreau chooses to live all alone in a forest that is right next to Walden Pond. The title explains exactly what Thoreau discuses in his piece, “I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers. A man thinking or working is always alone, let him be where he will” (Thoreau 12). He defends the idea of solitude and embraces the feeling of being alone that comforts him.

In this chapter, his audience is, above all others, himself. Through this chapter, he proves to himself that he is truly happy when he is alone. He wants for anyone who reads "Solitude" to understand how he feels and see that society is too "cheap" to spend all your time with others. Because of this, his audience is also perhaps those who unnecessarily cling to other people instead of exploring their own inner thoughts.

Thoreau's tone portrays his welcoming attitude toward nature's company and he is always awe-stricken by the mystery and beauty of nature when no one else is around. In solitude, Thoreau is able to dive into nature's secrets, and he can savor the beauty of a single tree with no other opinions. "I passed [the tree] again the other day, and was struck with awe on looking up and beholding that mark, now more distinct than ever, where a terrific and resistless bolt came down out of the harmless sky eight years ago" (Thoreau 5). He looks up at this tree and takes in the power that one tree has over him.

With his choice of diction, Thoreau creates an image of an isolated pond where all is still and untouched. He also uses the words "spacious" and he says "For what reason have I this vast range and circuit, some square miles of unfrequented forest, for my privacy, abandoned to me by men? My nearest neighbor is a mile distant, and no house is visible from any place but the hill-tops within half a mile of my own. I have my horizon bounded by woods all to myself..." (Thoreau 3). The connotation of such words is fresh and spacious. Thoreau fits his description of so much empty space around him into hits chapter to show how open and calm solitude can be when one is surrounded by something as superior as nature.

Thoreau's private observations in "Solitude" begin to speak to the reader because he chose to write down his beliefs and feelings. When his expiriences of being in solitude are on paper, the world can see his point of view on nature. He is constantly repeating that he loves to be alone. This chapter is his own means of communicating what solitude in nature is really like so that others can appreciate the ways of Transcendentalism.