瓦尔登湖毕业论文.docx

瓦尔登湖毕业论文ContentsAn Analysis of the Value of H. D. Thoreau ' sWalden 1I. lntroduction 1II. The Ecological Value of H. D. Thoreau ' sWalde n 2 3A. Nature as a Living EntityB. Nature as a Mea ns ofSelf-realization 3III. The Social Value of H. D. Thoreau ' sWalde n 9A. Modern People ' s Social Lifetyle ..9B. The Causes of Such Lifestyle 10C. The In flue nee of Thoreau ' W/alde non Curre nt Social Life11IV. Enlighten ment from Thoreau ' s Views ofthe Nature 12A. The Entity of the Nature 13B. The Diversity of the Nature 13C The Self-realization of Humanbeings in the Nature 14V. Conclusion 16Bibliography 18Ackno wledaements 21An Analysis of t he Value of H. D. Thoreau WaldenI. In troducti onHenry David Thoreau (1817-1862), a famous American writer in the nin etee nth Cen tury, author of Walde n, was born in Con cord, Massachusetts, and graduated from Harvard Un iversity in 1837. When he was young, he ofte n went to the woods with his elder brother. Therefore he loved the Nature so deeply. In the 1950s, America n econo mies soared so rapidly that there were a lot of people pursuing the material life but ignoring the spiritual life. However, Thoreau wan ted to live simply. And at that time the Transcenden talist Moveme nt was very popular in Con cord, and Emers on did have a great in flue nee on him. All of these that made Thoreau determ ine to build a cab in on the shore of Walde n Pond, then he could live alone and be close to the Nature. Sooner, he wrote the famous book, Walde n, which mainly talks about his life and experie nces duri ng those days whe n he lived by himself in the wood n ear Walde n Pond.In 1845, Thoreau bega n his two-year reside nee at Walde n Pond, and had put the theory of transcenden talism and Emers on's opinions in to practice. During that period of time, he maintained that man was a part of the n ature and man could and should co-exist with the n ature harm onio usly. Today, he is regarded as one of major interpreters of the Nature as well as American en vir onmen tal saint in America n literary history.In fact, sometimes we should get rid of the hubbub of the society and life, regardless of what that mea ns. The best place we should go to is the Nature. Only when we come back to the Nature can we realize our limitations and then better understand our life. Thoreau is not considered as a professional naturalist and his masterpiece Walde n is not uni versally accepted and appreciated. But with the severity of environmental crises and the rise of environmental movements, Thoreau ' philosophy on the nature and living simply had drawn the public ' s attention. At present, many researchers all over the world are paying much attention to ecology and implications of the modern society, they have emphasized the relati on ship betwee n pla nts and liv ing creatures as well as their en vir onment. Based on the previous researches, this paper continues to an alyze Thoreau ' thoughts on the nature in Walden and states that he cannot merely be viewed as an ecological writer but one of the most represe ntative n aturalists, who focused on the nature itself. On the other hand, it discusses a few related topics like Un der the Dome produced by Chaiji ng.By exerting means of historical criticism, discussing and analyzing his life background and Walden, we can easily find his opinions of the nature in Walden. We can see that his views about the nature had predicted the arrival of en vir onmen tal crises, and had in dicated the directi on that people should move forward in the future. In general, Thoreau has left a great legacy to the world, he pointed out a lot of priceless implications for Man. Therefore, it is human beings ' duties to positively participate in the groups of environmental protection as Thoreau did, for it is really an effective way to protect and save our Earth.II. The Ecological Value of H. D. Thoreau Walde nWith the thriving of industry in America in the 1850s, the environment was devastated severely by people ' excessive pursuits of materials. Facing such a situation, many scholars advocated to return to the nature. Thoreau, a typical represe ntative in that period, formed his unique views of the n ature. In this part,two main aspects of his thoughts of the n ature will be in terpreted: the n ature is a liv ing en tity; and the n ature is a means to make huma n beings know themselves completely, it also focuses on the relati on ship betwee n Man and Nature and the implications for human life.A. Nature as a Livi ng En tityAs a represe ntative of Roma nticism, Thoreau believes that all thi ngs in the nature are alive and he deems human beings can feel the power of the nature merely by being close to the nature and living in the nature. What ' s morthenature is an organism that never dies, for the cycle of it is infinite.Since the nature has always been viewed as a living organis。