Solitude

Starting in 1845, Henry David Thoreau removed himself from society in order to live a life of solitude at Walden Pond. During his extended sabbatical from mainstream live, he wrote the crowning work of his literary career: Walden. This book highlighted simple living and self sufficiency, but the most important factor related to these topics that Thoreau discusses is solidarity with nature. As for "Solitude" itself, this is Walden's fifth chapter, and it essentially boils down to three key points.

The first of these is that solitude is a very positive thing in terms of one's development. In order to prove this, Thoreau contrasts his feelings about isolation with the misconceptions held by the select few people he encounters during his 2 year separation. These passersby and visitors question him, asking "I should think you would feel lonesome down there, and want to be nearer to folks, rainy and snowy days and nights especially." Thoreau's feelings are the exact opposite of this. He absolutely relishes this alone time, especially the "rainy and snowy days." To support this notion, Thoreau talks about how much he enjoys the times when the rain is pummeling his cabin and he is cut off from any sort of human interaction. The reasoning behind this is that such isolation and carefree relaxation ensures that "many thoughts had time to take root and unfold themselves." It seems as if Thoreau's success and happiness in solitude results from two things: oneness with nature and removal from human contact. The former provides him with a natural liberty, allowing his body to imbibe "delight through every pore", and the latter facilitates an environment for deep contemplation that would otherwise be impossible.

The second key point is that the isolation which Thoreau chose to endure is small replica of the actual state of the universe, which is in fact very spread out. This idea is perfectly summarized by this quote: "Why should I feel lonely? is not our planet in the Milky Way...what sort of space is that which separates a man from his fellows and makes him solitary?" What he means by this is that in the grand scheme of things, we are essentially solitary figures. This does not mean that we are to ignore relations and interactions with other individuals; on the contrary it means that we are to identify the vast separations that exist in the universe and in turn learn how to function on an individual level. Thoreau himself "found that no exertion of the legs can bring two minds much nearer to one another." Accordingly, it is vital that each one of us come to grips with our internal development.

The final key point that Thoreau brings up in "Solitude" is that the dynamic of our society hinders personal maturation. To support this notion, he highlights several common interactions with other people: eating meals together, conversing at the post office, and reclining by the fireside. All of these, in Thoreau's opinion, are far too common and reoccur too often to actually promote growth. His claim is that, "Certainly less frequency would suffice for all important hearty communications." Extended isolation gives each of us time to have new experiences and construct innovative ideas that we can later share with our peers. However, if our personal encounters are repetitive, mundane, and dominant, we will never come up with new material to discuss. Thoreau adds weight to these claims with a specific example: "consider the girls of a factory - never alone, and hardly in their dreams," and then later proposes that we should all isolate our selves with a mile of separation between us and the next man.

The feelings that this article evoked were strong surprise. It was not good surprise, nor was it bad surprise; it was simply amazement caused by the information Thoreau discusses. I was surprised by the fact that he had such a positive reaction to a solitary lifestyle. Having grown up in an environment where human interaction has dominated every aspect of my life, it is quite surprising to see that an individual found the maximum development to be in solitude. After reading the excerpt from Walden, I have learned new respect for two things: isolation and nature. Prior to now I have taken both of these things for granted. This respect for these two concepts stems from a better understanding of the positive side effects of solitary contemplation and the enrichment achieved by solidarity with nature.

In terms of the big picture, "Solitude" ties in directly with several readings previously assigned in "Constructing a Good Life for Human Flourishing". These related readings include Emerson's Self Reliance and Branden's "What Self-Esteem Is and Is Not". Both of these articles touch on the fact that our happiness, strength, and dependence need to come from within. However, "Solitude," and Walden as a whole, take this concept to the extreme. Not only should we rely on ourselves and be introspective for self-esteem, but Thoreau asserts that we should sequester ourselves from others: "it would be better if there were but one inhabitant to a square mile". The one issue that I must confront when contemplating Walden's ideals is the fact that solitude being beneficial is counter intuitive to contemporary practice. For instance, solitary confinement is one of the most sever punishments utilized by the justice system. Also, films like Castaway depict humans going insane when separated from all human contact. I realize that these examples are extreme, but nowadays isolation has many negative connotations that hinder me from respecting Thoreau's ideas wholeheartedly. Perhaps the problem is that we encounter the same condemnation and questioning, in regards to solitude, that Thoreau experienced in the 1840's.

With that being said, I think that Walden, and more specifically "Solitude", if taken in the correct context, can have a very positive impact on someones life. First off, the idea of unity with nature is an extremely valuable one: Genisis 9:7 tells us to "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it." If we utilize the awesome resource that is our environment (not exploit it) then benefits we will receive are endless. These benefits include, but are not limited to, serenity, responsibility, tranquility, etc. Second off, isolated introspection should prove to be a very positive thing. Although I do not think it is necessary that we all live a mile apart from everyone else, I do think we should all work to spend a healthy portion of our time in solitude. As Thoreau suggests, this aloneness ensures that we have constructive contributions to make when we do interact with others. Accordingly, solitude not only allows us to develop individually, but also fosters positive communal relationships.

Questions -

Is it possible that exploring nature can be a positive group experience?

It is often said that having children is one of the most rewarding experiences a human can go through. How does that fit into the ideas put forth in Walden?

When alone, should one simply let his mind wonder? or should be focus his energies on specific topics?