Henry_David_Thoreau

HenryDavidThoreauLecturer:HuLingliForeignLanguagesDepartmentHenryDavidThoreau(July12,1817–May6,1862)Americanessayist,poet,naturalist,philosopher,andleadingtranscendentalistThebeautifulWalden(Picture1)ThebeautifulWalden(Picture2)Walden(Picture3)Walden(Picture4)TeachingContentsBiographicalIntroductionHisMajorWorksHisInfluenceintheWorldAppreciating“WhereIlived,andWhatILivedfor”fromWaldenComparativeStudies:a.Thoreau&Emersonb.Thoreau&Taoyuanmingc.Thoreau’sIdea&ChineseTraditionalIdeasBiographicalIntroductionBirthplace:BorninConcord,Massachusettsin1817EducationExperience:studiedatHarvardUniversity(1833and1837).HisrelationshipwithEmerson:Emerson’struestdiscipleandfriends.ResidenceatWaldenPond:in1845,hebegantotakeatwo-year-residenceatWaldenPondThoreauwasaprotesteraswell.Disapprovedofthegovernment’sconductoftheMexicanWarbyrefusingtopayhispolltax（人头税.(wassenttojail1night).In1835,hecontractedTuberculosisandsufferedfromitafterwards.Hediedin1862andwasburiedinSleepyHollowCemetery.Continuing…Thatmanistherichestwhosepleasureisthecheapest.—HenryDavidThoreauThelessonhetaughthimself,andwhichhetriedtoteachothers,wassummedintheoneword“simplify”(simplifytheoutwardcircumstancesofyourlife,simplifyyourneedsandyourambitions,learntodelightinthesimplepleasureswhichtheworldofnatureaffords.Andunlikemostwhoadvocatesuchattitudes,heputthemintopractice.MajorWorksMostfamousessay:Walden(1854)18partsEconomyWhereILived,andWhatILivedfor.ReadingSoundsSolitudeVisitors…SpringConclusionCivilDisobedience(1849)Anotherfamousessay:CivilDisobedience(1849)论公民的不服从thisisfromhisstayinginConcordjailforanightbecausehedisapprovedofslaveryandthegovernment’sconductoftheMexicanWarThroeau’sInfluenceintheWorldThoreau'swritingsinfluencedmanypublicfigures.PoliticalleadersandreformerslikeMahatmaGandhi,PresidentJohnF.Kennedy,civilrightsactivistMartinLutherKing,Jr.RussianauthorLeoTolstoyWilliamButlerYeats,ErnestHemingway,CriticalResponsesAmericanpoetRobertFrostwroteofThoreau,Inonebook...hesurpasseseverythingwehavehadinAmerica.PoetJohnGreenleafWhittiercriticizedwhatheperceivedasthemessageinWaldenthatmanshouldlowerhimselftothelevelofawoodchuck（美洲旱獭）andwalkonfourlegs.Hesaid:Thoreau'sWaldenisacapitalreading,butverywickedandheathenish...Afterall,forme,IpreferwalkingontwolegsFromMrLinYutang林雨堂先生在《论生活的重要性》中写道：“就其整个人生观来说,梭罗在美国作家中最具中国情趣.作为中国人，我感觉与梭罗心心相通。我可以将梭罗的文字译成中文，把它们当作中国诗人的诗作向国人展示。没有人会产生怀疑。”Waldenauthor·HenryDavidThoreautypeofwork·Essaygenre·Autobiography;moralphilosophy;naturalhistory;socialcriticismtimeandplacewritten·1845–1854,WaldenPond,nearConcord,Massachusettsdateoffirstpublication·1854narrator·HenryDavidThoreauWalden:descriptionofhislifenearthepondcalledWaldenbelongingtoEmerson.Theauthorlivedtherefornearlytwoyearswithonlyanaxeatthebeginning.Thisbookwasafailureinhisowntimebutbecameverypopularinthe20thcentury..WaldenpresentedThoreau'sunusualinterestinnatureandshowedhisindividualismwhichinheritedfromAmericanPuritanism.Thebookdescribedtheauthor'sextremelysimplelifeandregenerationheexperiencedwhenhelivedneartheWaldenpondwhereheputEmerson'sTranscendentaldoctrinesintopracticeintheactuallife.IntroductiontoWaldenItcameoutofThoreau’stwo-year-experimentatWaldenPond.Itstressestheimportanceofthoughtovermaterialcircumstance.Hebelievedthattherewasthepossibilityforandimportanceofchangeinone’sspirituallifewhichisinharmonywithnature.Waldenemphasizestheimportanceofsolitude,contemplation,andclosenesstonatureintranscendingthedesperateexistence.StayingatWaldenPond—anexperimentwithathreefoldpurposeFirst,hewasescapingthedehumanizingeffectsoftheIndustrialRevolutionbyreturningtoasimpler,agrarianlifestyle.Second,hewassimplifyinghislifeandreducinghisexpenditures,increasingtheamountofleisuretimeinwhichhecouldworkonhiswritings.Third,hewasputtingintopracticetheTranscendentalistbeliefthatonecanbesttranscendnormalityandexperiencetheIdeal,ortheDivine,throughnature.TopicsforDiscussion1.HadThoreaueverboughtafarm?Whydidheenjoytheactofbuying?2.IsitsignificantthatThoreaumentionedtheFourthofJulyasthedayonwhichhebegantostayinthewoods?3.Howdoyouunderstand“IamMonarchofallsurvey,Myrightthereisnonetodispute.”?4.DoyouthinkthatThoreauisaprophetofenvironmentalcrisis?ATextualStudyof“WhereIlivedandWhatILivedFor”PayattentiontothenarrativepointofviewIdentifythefeaturesofThoreau’slanguage.Analyzethemainideasandthetheme.NarrativePointofViewThebookisnotatraditionalautobiography,butcombinesautobiographywithasocialcritiqueofcontemporaryWesternculture'sconsumeristandmaterialistattitudesanditsdistancefromanddestructionofnature.Thatthebookisnotsimplyacriticismofsociety,butalsoanattempttoengagecreativelywiththebetteraspectsofcontemporaryculture,issuggestedbothbyThoreau'sproximitytoConcordsocietyandbyhisadmirationforclassicalliterature.Thoreau’sideasembodiedinhisWalden1.Hesawnatureasagenuinerestorativehealthyinfluenceonman’sspiritualwell-being,andregardeditasasymbolofspirit.Hefirmlybelievesthat“natureobjectsandphenomenaaretheoriginalsymbolsortypeswhichexpressourthoughtsandfeelings.”Hewasse