Thoreau's Essay On Early On In Walden

Throughout history, a person's, or their predecessors', financial well-being determined their social standing. In the Roman Empire, if you were born a slave, you had to crawl your way to the top, and even then, you could never reach the status of a free person. You simply were not worth as much. In India, the Hindu caste system is largely based on your ancestors' income. If your parents were born as untouchables, you could never become anything more, doomed to a life of poverty and cleaning out sewers. Even into the supposed 'modern age', the mid-1800's to today's times, there are definite lines in relation to how high one can rise into society with a certain economical status, and that dictates much of the workings of the world. In Walden, one of Thoreau's essays in the book is
"...some of you who read this book are unable to pay for all the dinners which you have actually eaten, or for the coats and shoes which are fast wearing..." (Walden, pp. 3) Although he scorns the poor here, earlier he pledges that he is most likely making the most sense to poor students. He believes that they are the ones who will best understand what he is writing about, since they live in perpetual poverty. He praises the intelligent student, but scoffs at the things that they must pay for, sapping away the little money they do have. "...while he is reading Adam Smith, Ricardo, and Say, he runs his father into debt irretrievably." (Walden, pp. 33) In the part of "Economy" where Thoreau records all of his costs, he is careful to write down also what he thinks of them, saying that some of it was worthless, that some of it was too expensive. He did not simply want to write these down so that people would be able to see these costs; Thoreau wanted to make a point. You may be poor in money or house, but if you spend the money you do have wisely, you will not be poor in