The series of flower names and grass names in the book are linked together like a short poem. I remember that when I was reading Wilde's biography, there was such a fragment. When Wilde, a British aesthete, published his own poems, he had to process his poems again. He opened the thick flora and selected those exotic and beautiful flower names and grass names to embed in his sonnets, which he thought was a unique ornament to his poems. This just shows the poet's appreciation and sensitivity to plants and nature. Without this poetic sensitivity, it is difficult to produce beautiful and touching sentences. Obviously, Thoreau is as sensitive to poetry as Wilde. It is conceivable that when Thoreau lived alone by the lake in Huwart, he had his own unique time system. There was no clock in his cabin, but there was an old man living in his mind. He wrote in his diary: "People always ask me if this kind of life is idle, but shouldn't it be more blamed for being idle than doing nothing?" Doing nothing is not only meaningless to the present, but also hinders people's acceptance of higher and better things, because they always shout that there is no "time" I feel that I have more meaningful time than before. I can sit on the hillside by the lake from morning to evening. " Thoreau's time gradually slowed down, because there were no other trivial things to disturb his thinking. In his eyes, the layers of ripples in the lake blown by the wind were just a slow motion of the wind: the omen of the wind, the wind coming, the lake began to tremble, the ripples in the lake, the direction and shape of the ripples, what changes in the color of the lake, and these series of changes were like a slow motion, which he quietly ingested into his eyes and then kept on paper forever in the form of words.
In Thoreau's Walden, I was deeply impressed by not only the detailed descriptions of the scenery, but also several interesting characters recorded in the book. Thoreau happens to be such a person. Even ordinary people like fishermen, farmers and loggers observe with strong interest and get unique thinking from it. In his diary, Thoreau recorded in detail a farmer he met when he was sheltering from the rain and a woodcutter when he was walking. This is also a very interesting part of the book. Thoreau accidentally entered the farmer's home on the way to shelter from the rain. Obviously, the farmer's home was very poor. Thoreau, who was kind, tried to instill in the farmer his own idea: to give up some unnecessary consumption and rely on his hands to lead a free and simple life. But Thoreau soon realized the generation gap between himself and the peasants, which was insurmountable in a short period of communication. Thoreau wrote in his book: He was a poor man, and his ancestors were poor, but his descendants were still poor until they put on winged boots at their heels. In fact, this passage contains a popular concept now, that is, "intergenerational transmission of poverty". Thoreau saw the poverty passed down from generation to generation because of the poor accumulation of knowledge and resources from an ordinary farmer. I think this concept is very unique and advanced. In the nineteenth century when Thoreau lived, Another woodcutter that Thoreau focuses on is a loner. Thoreau is interested in him because he lives in solitude, but he is very happy and carefree. The woodcutter's mind is almost equal to that of a newborn baby. He has no education and only listened to the Bible by appointment. His understanding of things stays at the level of faith, but he never thinks about it. This lumberjack reminds Thoreau of the initial state of human beings. He thinks that by observing this lumberjack, we can understand the origin of some early human systems. Thoreau tried to discuss some profound problems with the lumberjack, and wrote down his own thinking results. He and the lumberjack became good friends, and their friendship remained until Thoreau left Walden Lake.
When I read Walden for the third time and the fourth time, I gradually understood Thoreau's philosophy. There are many research materials about his philosophy, so I won't go into details. Many people thought Thoreau was a hermit when he lived in seclusion by Walden Lake. Actually, the title of hermit is not suitable for him anyway. Thoreau never said that he wanted to live in seclusion, nor did he call himself a hermit. He has only lived in Walden Lake for more than two years, but he has not lived here all his life. He can also answer this question. Thoreau went to the Walden Lake to live alone, just because he wanted to experience another way of life. He had doubts about the current social system and certain ethos. He wanted to know whether people could live without relying on what the so-called government imposed, how simple their life could be, and whether this simple life was beneficial to them. When he had the answers to these questions in his heart, he left naturally. Moreover, compared with Thoreau's image as a hermit in people's minds, in real life, Thoreau is not a negative person, even a person with some spirit of struggle and resistance. He once went to prison for refusing to pay taxes. He wrote a short book, Civil Disobedience, which was once rated as one of the most influential bibliographies in the world.
When I was young, I couldn't understand those hermits who lived in solitude, because I didn't understand how they endured an unremarkable life. How can normal people exist without social relations? Walden gave me the answer: I think those people must have a solid core in their hearts, which always supports their survival no matter where their lives drift. A little change in nature can bring them new inspiration. In a sense, their lives are far richer than ours. The hustle and bustle of downtown can't bring real comfort to lonely people unless they can look directly at their loneliness and make peace with it. This is my simple understanding of Walden.