Winter Animals

“Winter Animals” is the fifteenth chapter of Henry David Thoreau’s nonfiction book Walden. Thoreau’s purpose in writing “Winter Animals” is to describe and demonstrate the purity and importance of nature.
Thoreau accomplishes his purpose by using vivid imagery and metaphors to describe the animals that surround Walden in the wintertime. He uses words with positive connotations in conjunction with the wild animals. For example, the uses words like “free” to describe the many animals multiple times throughout the paper. This use of the word “free” shows how the animals have an unconstrained mind and spirit, characteristics that Thoreau values and believes all people should seek to posses. Also, he describes the rhythmic qualities of nature. For example, “[The geese] passed over the pond toward Fair Heaven, seemingly deterred from settling by my light, their commodore honking all the while with a regular beat” (Thoreau). This rhythmic quality of nature is further exemplified through his use of word like “every evening,” and repeated use of the word “regularly.” This shows the reader that nature can be trusted and as Thoreau demonstrates through the geese, if a person follows nature he/she will be led to the “Fair Heaven.”
In addition, he presents his descriptions of the animals as evidence that man should value nature. Throughout the chapter Thoreau describes these animals from his own personal experiences. By using this “I” voice combined with his deep descriptions the reader can almost see through his eyes. By putting the reader in his own shoes he allows the readers to really experience nature themselves. Also, often times throughout the chapter Thoreau personifies the animals he is describing. For example, he says, “for all the motions of a squirrel, even in the most solitary recesses of the forest, imply spectators as much as those of a dancing girl” (Thoreau). By giving these animals human traits he gives the reader something they can relate to and have a better understanding for. This in turn allows Thoreau to transform his personal experiences into public expression.
Thoreau wrote “Winter Animals” for a very general audience. He shows this battle between the hunter and the fox to show on a microcosmic level that man is interfering with the peace and purity that is nature. By describing the general man as the “hunter” and the killer of these animals, he is directing this chapter at people who don’t value nature and as he says, “villagers confined to their street [by the snow]” (Thoreau). Although, his audience is general, it would have been helpful to be someone who lived in the Walden area because he often references locations in and around Walden.
Throughout this piece Thoreau utilizes a very respectful tone when speaking of the animals. He almost seems to describe them as friends when he says, “one alighted on an armful of wood which I was carrying in, and pecked at the sticks without fear…I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance than I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn” (Thoreau). This respectful tone helps give the readers a sense of admiration for the animals as well. This in turn allows the reader to connect with and value nature. On the other hand, in certain parts of the chapter Thoreau seems to have a more melancholy and saddened tone. For example, he describes the owl’s call, “I heard the forlorn but melodious note of a hooting owl” (Thoreau). Also, later he describes the sickly body of a rabbit outside his cabin. These “forlorn” and saddened words associated with nature relate to the winter months. For instance, the title “Winter Animals” describes animals as belonging to the winter months. This then emphasizes the fact that even though some animals may seem melancholy in the cold, hard winter; nature and the animals survive and will continue to live on. This is shown through Thoreau’s description of the sickly rabbit bounding gracefully away from him, because it still had a lively spirit, despite the barren looking outside. This forlorn tone also helps Thoreau accomplish his purpose because he shows the reader how nature is always reliable, alive, and pure despite how it appears. Overall, Thoreau describes only a few of the animals that he encounter in the winter months, but by doing so he shows his audience that nature holds harmony and free spirits that should be valued and reflected in the society of men.