excerpt from “Solitude” by Henry David Thoreau

Question

Henry David Thoreau was a writer and philosopher. He was a major figure in the transcendentalist movement. Transcendentalists feel a deep connection to nature. They believe people connect directly with God and are born with innate goodness. For two years, Thoreau lived in a small cabin he built in the woods. He felt people should live closer to nature instead of relying on material wealth. “Solitude” is an essay from his book Walden; of, Life in the Woods.

This is a delicious evening, when the whole body is one sense, and imbibes delight through every pore. I go and come with a strange liberty in Nature, a part of herself. As I walk along the stony shore of the pond in my shirt sleeves, though it is cool as well as cloudy and windy, and I see nothing special to attract me, all the elements are unusually congenial to me. The bullfrogs trump to usher in the night, and the note of the whippoorwill is borne on the rippling wind from over the water. Sympathy with the fluttering alder and poplar leaves almost takes away my breath; yet, like the lake, my serenity is rippled but not ruffled. These small waves raised by the evening wind are as remote from storm as the smooth reflecting surface. Though it is now dark, the wind still blows and roars in the wood, the waves still dash, and some creatures lull the rest with their notes. The repose is never complete. The wildest animals do not repose, but seek their prey now; the fox, and skunk, and rabbit, now roam the fields and woods without fear. They are Nature’s watchmen, —links which connect the days of animated life. . . .

Some of my pleasantest hours were during the long rain storms in the spring or fall, which confined me to the house for the afternoon as well as the forenoon, soothed by their ceaseless roar and pelting; when an early twilight ushered in a long evening in which many thoughts had time to take root and unfold themselves. . . . Men frequently say to me, “I should think you would feel lonesome down there, and want to be nearer to folks, rainy and snowy days and nights especially.” I am tempted to reply to such,—This whole earth which we inhabit is but a point in space. How far apart, think you, dwell the two most distant inhabitants of yonder star, the breadth of whose disk cannot be appreciated by our instruments? Why should I feel lonely? Is not our planet in the Milky Way? This which you put seems to me not to be the most important question. What sort of space is that which separates a man from his fellows and makes him solitary? I have found that no exertion of the legs can bring two minds much nearer to one another.
Question
Read this excerpt from “Solitude” by Henry David Thoreau.

I go and come with a strange liberty in Nature, a part of herself. As I walk along the stony shore of the pond in my shirt sleeves, though it is cool as well as cloudy and windy, and I see nothing special to attract me, all the elements are unusually congenial to me.

How does Thoreau distinguish the natural world, perhaps in contrast to the human world?

Responses

Nature is predictable and ordered.
Nature is predictable and ordered.

Nature is always dangerous and wild.
Nature is always dangerous and wild.

Nature is where he feels like he belongs.
Nature is where he feels like he belongs.

Nature provides him with shelter.
Nature provides him with shelter.

Answer 1

Thoreau distinguishes the natural world in contrast to the human world by emphasizing a sense of belonging and connection he feels with nature. He describes his experiences in nature with phrases like "strange liberty" and "a part of herself," indicating a deep bond and comfort he finds in the natural environment. While humans are often portrayed as seeking social connections, Thoreau suggests that true fulfillment comes from nature itself, where he finds solace and congeniality, regardless of external conditions like coolness or windiness. Therefore, the response that best captures Thoreau's perspective is:

Nature is where he feels like he belongs.