In his 1854 book “Walden; or Life in the Woods,” Henry David Thoreau describes living for two years, two months and two days in a 10-by-15-foot cabin that he built at Walden Pond near Concord, Mass.
In championing what he described as a more simplified life, he wrote: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life.”
What do those words mean to you? Is there a place you go, whether it’s outdoors or anywhere else, where you seem to have more clarity about what matters to you and what doesn’t?
Would you want to live a quiet life in the woods like Thoreau?
In “They Went to the Woods Because They Wished to Live Deliberately,” Dorie Chevlen writes about people who paid homage to Thoreau’s time at Walden by building full-scale replicas of his famous cabin. She writes:
No registry tallies how many people have made replicas of Thoreau’s cabin, but they exist across the country, built for private use, for writers’ retreats, for academic purposes and as Airbnb rentals. Aiding the projects, The Thoreau Society started selling blueprints of the 10-by-15-foot cabin at their gift shop about seven years ago. And at the Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute in Adrian, Mich., you can sign up for a four-week “Walden Cabin series” which teaches all the skills necessary to make your own cabin using only the tools and technologies of the time. (Axe craft gets a week of its own.)
In 1845, Thoreau moved into his one-room cabin in the woods and proceeded to live there for two years, two months and two days in significant (though not total) quietude, seeking, as he wrote, “to front only the essential facts of life.” He published his account of this experience, “Walden; or, Life in the Woods” in 1854.
Today, it seems quaint to imagine a man so overwhelmed by 19th-century society that he’d seek such extended retreat. There was no electricity back then, no cellphones, no nudifying A.I. chatbots. But Thoreau’s prescription for a life lived more simply, one more attuned to nature, is an enticing response to this unmatched moment of political, social and technological chaos. It’s likely why his legacy has survived so long; perhaps why he’s far more popular a writer today than he ever was in his own life. (The first print run of 2,000 copies of “Walden” took more than five years to sell; it has since been translated into nearly every language spoken on Earth.)
Perhaps it is also why people are building his cabin.
For some, like Luke Barnett, living as Thoreau did is about embracing self-reliance:
Even before “Walden,” critics questioned Thoreau’s motivations for building and moving into his isolated cabin. “I think he touches a lot of nerves,” said Laura Walls, a scholar of American Transcendentalism. “What a lazy bum this guy has to be, not pulling his weight in society and isolating himself like that,” she said, paraphrasing his detractors.
But for fans of Thoreau, that individualism is the appeal, “the whole idea of leaving society behind and rebelling against industrialization and being self-reliant with hand tools,” said Luke Barnett, whose Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute offers the Walden cabin series. Mr. Barnett was first introduced to Thoreau in fifth grade, bribed with Snickers bars as part of a reading program. “I loved it,” he said, “It’s kind of dry, let’s not lie and pretend it’s not. But the concepts in it attracted me and I reread it every few years.”
As a child, Mr. Barnett experienced periods of homelessness and came into his woodworking career after dropping out of high school. Though most of his work involves power tools, Mr. Barnett still sees the value in doing things by hand and offers his class to help empower like-minded woodworkers and outdoors people. “With just those tools, they can build anything they could ever imagine. They do not even need electricity,” he said. “Nobody can ever take that away from you. You are completely self reliant.”
For others, like Jeffrey Ryan, it’s about finding peace and quiet:
Self reliance doesn’t mean hermitude. It didn’t for Thoreau — while living at Walden, he regularly went into Concord for supplies, visited with friends and ate meals with his family.
But he also sometimes needed a break. While at Walden, Thoreau read and wrote, swam in the lake, and spent hours in total stillness, raptly observing nature from his doorway. “I grew in those seasons like corn in the night,” Thoreau wrote of the experience.
For Mr. Ryan, his cabin offers a peaceful space just for writing. “The simplicity invites focus,” he said. He has just a kerosene lamp, a desk modeled after Thoreau’s and bookshelves full of research material (to avoid using Google). “It naturally makes me not want to check email impulsively. I’m there to write.”
Students, read the entire article and then tell us:
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What is your reaction to what you read? Do you see parts of yourself in any of the people who have rebuilt Thoreau’s cabin? Would you ever want to take on such a project?
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Do you ever fantasize about escaping the chaos and pressures of modern society? If you could go anywhere, where would it be? Why?
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Where do you go when you need a quick break? Maybe it’s a basketball court, a lake near your house, your bedroom or someplace else where you feel totally clear and at peace. What have you experienced and discovered there?
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Ms. Chevlen writes that Thoreau was an early environmentalist who spent much of his time at Walden observing nature. What role does nature play in your life? What, if anything, do you believe it can teach you about how to live?
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What advice do you have for people who say they want to simplify their lives but don’t know where to begin? Have you ever tried to pare down your everyday life? If so, what strategies have worked for you?
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Had you heard of Thoreau before reading the article? Is there a writer whose life you admire? What habits of theirs might you like to adopt in your own life, and why?
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.
Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.
Natalie Proulx is an editor at The Learning Network, a Times free teaching resource.
The post Where Do You Go to Get Away From It All? appeared first on New York Times.
