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A review by toodrew
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
slow-paced
1.75
His prose are beautiful. I enjoyed the descriptions of nature. But this book as a general rule filled me with rage. I love simple living and all it's concepts. I love William Blake and all the anti-industrial poets. The Luddites make my heart go thump thump. Yay worker's rights. I read homesteading magazines like a good millennial. But man, I hated this book.
I get this was written in 1854, but people of a certain time were not a monolith. A good example is Mark Twain. He was progressive for the time but of course regressive for this time. Thoreau is special. He just manages to have the worst of almost every opinion, as well as holding a few unique terrible ones of his own.
Let's get the good opinion out of the way. He was anti-slavery. Wonderful. Truly wonderful. His entire family were abolitionists. That's wonderful. Although let's not get this confused with holding African Americans as equals. So let's start with racism.
He's extremely racist, mostly against American Indians and Irish, but not excluding African Americans. He mostly targets the poor Irish. Pretty standard for the time, unfortunately. Of course, not everyone held these opinions but they were standard. Let's talk about everyone else he believes is beneath him.
He doesn't like women, comparing them to various screeching animals.
He doesn't like old people.
He doesn't like the government.
Those who aren't poor are living their lives wrong. Those who are poor are doing poverty wrong. Those who help the poor are wrong for doing it.
Everyone he knows is dumber than him. No one has his massive brain like him. No one in his city, no one in his country.
He basically doesn't like anyone who isn't Henry David Thoreau.
Dude, your mommy was doing your laundry, shut up. Your state of chosen poverty and forced poverty are different things. Enjoying a cabin in nature and a poor house are separate things. He does not comprehend this.
I can't believe I made it through the whole thing.
I get this was written in 1854, but people of a certain time were not a monolith. A good example is Mark Twain. He was progressive for the time but of course regressive for this time. Thoreau is special. He just manages to have the worst of almost every opinion, as well as holding a few unique terrible ones of his own.
Let's get the good opinion out of the way. He was anti-slavery. Wonderful. Truly wonderful. His entire family were abolitionists. That's wonderful. Although let's not get this confused with holding African Americans as equals. So let's start with racism.
He's extremely racist, mostly against American Indians and Irish, but not excluding African Americans. He mostly targets the poor Irish. Pretty standard for the time, unfortunately. Of course, not everyone held these opinions but they were standard. Let's talk about everyone else he believes is beneath him.
He doesn't like women, comparing them to various screeching animals.
He doesn't like old people.
He doesn't like the government.
Those who aren't poor are living their lives wrong. Those who are poor are doing poverty wrong. Those who help the poor are wrong for doing it.
Everyone he knows is dumber than him. No one has his massive brain like him. No one in his city, no one in his country.
He basically doesn't like anyone who isn't Henry David Thoreau.
Dude, your mommy was doing your laundry, shut up. Your state of chosen poverty and forced poverty are different things. Enjoying a cabin in nature and a poor house are separate things. He does not comprehend this.
I can't believe I made it through the whole thing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Sexism