Thoreau's 'How Happy Is The Little Stone'

The main theme in Walden is self-reliance and individuality are the most important things a human being could possess. Thoreau compares the actions of humans to one another and stresses individuality when he says, “The head monkey at Paris puts on a traveler’s cap, and all the monkeys in America do the same.” Without a doubt, Thoreau wants humans to be themselves and to fulfill actions the way they want to fulfill them instead of following in other’s paths. Undeniably, Walden shows many ways that men can be true to themselves. Thoreau introduces one of those ways when he explains “the cost of a thing.” The ‘thing’ that Thoreau is talking about is life. He puts life up to a value; and when that value is wasted, it can never be regained. The
However, the main theme of the poem is you are better off by yourself and your opinion of yourself is all that matters.“How happy is the stone that rambles in the road alone and doesn’t care about careers and exigencies never fears”, this quote alone showcases the theme of the poem. Without reservation, the message to be received is the person that walks in life by himself and for himself, is the happiest; the person that doesn’t care about what society deems as success or necessities is very fearless. It is believed that you don’t achieve true success until you have a meaningful career. However, the person who is willing to go against society’s beliefs is brave and courageous. “Whose coat of elemental brown a passing universe put on”, this quote is the most powerful quote in the poem. Certainly, it expresses that we label ourselves based on what the universe has already labeled us as. The “coat of elemental brown” can be interpreted as what the stone would describe itself as. “A passing universe put on” can be interpreted that the universe made the stone believe that it was brown. “And independent as the sun, associates or glows alone, fulfilling absolute decree in casual simplicity”, this quote ties the whole poem together and makes the theme very clear. When a person is independent and consumed of their own thoughts, they achieve personal order. They have control of themselves and their destinies, and that’s what success is. If you do you and be you, you can never fail. To conclude, Dickinson is stressing that true success is is living by yourself for yourself. When you let go of all the things society has to say, you are fearless; when you make decisions by yourself, become in charge of your own