Interview with Henry David Thoreau

Interview:
Henry Thoreau, tell us a little about your upbringing:
Hello, my full name is Henry David Thoreau I was born in Concord, Massachusetts on July 12, 1817. There I grew up and lived with my mother, who rented out parts of our home to boarders, my father who operated a pencil factory near where we lived, and my two older siblings John and Helen. I had a good upbringing and my parents were always very supportive.
Did you go to school? What did you study?
Yes, in 1828 my brother and I attended Harvard University. I did enjoy my experiences there, but I struggled with one thing. I did not like that college filled our brains and handed us a degree with excess and useless facts and information, rather than teaching us about life. We were not taught the value of life, of our personal soul, or nature. We were taught book facts that could not help any of us succeed in finding who we are and our purpose in this life. Even though I did feel this way, I studied my best, trying to get as much out of it as I could absorb. I signed up for many extra classes and read many books. My favorites were those on science and language. That was my main focus.

When did you start thinking in the ways of a transcendentalist?
I was always much of a transcendentalist thinker, even at a very young age. I was always a very serious and deep thought kind of thinker; I even got the nickname “Judge.” I was always curious to find out the meaning of life, nature, the individuality of a human being, but I never really gathered information until my two year stay on the Walden Pond.
What is Walden Pond?
It was a pond owned by my good associate, Ralph Waldo Emerson. He was also a transcendentalist and believed in some of which I do. He allowed me to get away, as you would say from this mad world of technologies, and society conformations to be alone. I decided to leave everything on July 4, 1845 and live on Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts for two years, two months and two days in a small shed with nothing but nature, and myself.
Why did you decide to live here?
I decided to live here to let nature speak to me. I needed a break from the conforming society, and the technological works like I mentioned prior. I wanted to feel nature and what I as a human being meant. I decided to then keep a journal record of everything I witnessed while I was there. Everything I heard, touched, saw, witnessed, and felt. Eventually these journal writings were compiled into a novel work called, “Walden.” The reason I wanted to go on this encounter is also something I wrote in my novel. I once said, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms.” –Henry David Thoreau, Walden Do you have any other famous quotes or sayings?
Indeed I do, I’m glad you asked. I am very proud of my writings and would like to share a little more with you of what I experienced. This is a thought I wrote down from my stay at the Walden Pond that was published in my book. I once said, “We need the tonic of wildness...At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.” By this I mean we need to see the unseen, and think the unthinkable according to the conformed society in which we live in today. Everyone is trained to think the same thoughts every day, see the same things and do the same thing. Nature is something so constant, and yet so unattainable to us. It brings me comfort and peace, nature does.
Was it true that you went to prison for a time?
*Chuckles*, Indeed it was true. Why should man be forced by law to pay a tax on a poll you do not agree with? I was very upset and quite offended that I was being forced to do such a thing I did not believe was right or fair. I did refuse to pay the tax, and spent a night in jail until the tax was paid for me. That night in jail was a memorable night. The frustration was steaming out of my head and onto paper, which is how I wrote one of the most influential essays they say which is called, “Civil Disobedience.”
Did you think you left an impact on American History?
Indeed I do believe that I made an impact on American History and even left a legacy in society now. Millions of people read and were inspired by my book, “Walden” and I’m very proud of that. Even though I was not recognized until my fatal death by tuberculosis, after my death my writings became more popular and expanded people’s mind and views of life, nature, conformity and society. If I had kept all my thoughts and writings to myself, the world would have not been touched by my views on simple living, so I am glad I decided to publish my writings into a novel to share with the world.

Citations: http://www.biography.com/people/henry-david-thoreau-9506784?page=2 : From this website, I gathered the information of where Thoreau lived, when he was born, his early life, his jail experience, when his book was published and when he stayed at Walden Pond. http://www.worldwidewaldens.org/meet-thoreau-5-impact/ : I got how Thoreau impacted or left a mark on U.S. history. http://www.walden.org/Explore/Walden_Woods_Ecosystem/Walden_Pond : I got what he did exactly at Walden Pond, how long he stayed and what he wrote about there. http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2361393-walden: From this site, I gathered famous quotes from his book “Walden” that I felt showed the meaning of his overall message.

Works Cited: http://www.biography.com/people/henry-david-thoreau-9506784?page=2 :