Walden Group

Question:

jdsmooooth
jdsmooooth

What advice does Thoreau offer to his fellows about ownership of the property and those who live in poverty?

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Posted by jdsmooooth on Thursday March 26, 2009 at 7:01 AM and tagged with advice, poverty, property, thoreau, walden.

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  1. troutmiller Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Thoreau suggests that those who own land should sell it.  Having the responsibility of ownership actually takes time, money and energy.  Those without land/property can do pretty much as he pleases.  He has a certain freedom that all men long for.

    Those who live in poverty are really the richest of all.  We don't need to own a farm to truly enjoy the nature around us.  That much is free.  Thoreau finds freedom in simplicity. 

    His famous quote from Walden is

    "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."

    He did not need possessions to enjoy nature and learn from it.  So money and property are not necessary to sustain life. 

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/walden/summary
    http://www.enotes.com/walden/themes

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    Posted by troutmiller on Thursday March 26, 2009 at 3:55 PM