Elliot Nielson May 14, 2012 Writing 2010 Analysis of Thoreau Thoreau originally wrote Walking as a two page

speech, and continued to add to it throughout his life. It was officially released in its complete version after his death, around ten times as long as it was before. One of the most memorable and interesting parts of Thoreaus essay was the use of strange and unusual metaphors, which were designed to shock and confuse casual readers. When Thoreau was using complex and ridiculous animal metaphors cows, squirrels, and antelopes he was really trying to show how humans need walking to be better than animals, and walking is much more than just moving. In Walking, it is evident that Thoreau is not referring to physical walking, but is using it as a metaphor for something else more relevant to him. When he says that Menu, Moses, Homer, and Chaucer were all great walkers, and he counts himself among them, he does not mean that they were all especially talented at sauntering and loving the nature they walked through (Thoreau 5). It is possible for us to deduce from this passage what makes these people walkers, by finding what each of them has in common. Menu was a very important figure in Hinduism the ancestor of all humanity and Moses is revered by Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, so the connecting meaning to walking could be religion. However, although Thoreau was somewhat egotistical, he most likely did not consider himself to be an enormously important religious figure. The other two listed, Chaucer and Homer, were both very famous philosophers and authors, although they wrote in different languages. Thoreau fits better into this second

category than the first, so it is more likely to be correct. Menu was also the lawgiver in Hinduism, and Moses brought down the Ten Commandments, which are both ancient forms of writing, albeit in different languages. This suggests that walking is synonymous with writing, writing that is original and momentous, writing that serves as a method of transferring ideas between thinkers, and writing that will be read by many in the future. Thoreau believes that writing is critical to humanity, and he illustrates it in purposefully unusual ways. When describing walking in relation to the entire human race, he says it is something akin to the migratory instinct (Thoreau 9). This quote seems to directly contradict what was proposed as the definition of walking earlier: If walking is writing, then walking must be purposeful and thought out, like writing. But instinct is an action without thought, a reflex, not something requiring a lot of intelligence, and Homer and Chaucer certainly were not driven by pure instinct. This implies that by instinct, Thoreau must mean that walking is as fundamental for humanity as migratory instincts are for animals. The rest of the paragraph supports this, by stressing the importance of the migration to animals. Thoreau gives an anecdote about the migration of squirrels, compelling them to cross the broadest rivers, each on its particular chip, its tail raised for a sail, and bridging narrower streams with their dead (Thoreau 9). This is intended to astonish the reader into considering the importance of migration to these creatures, which become so desperate that they make squirrelbridges. By equating the need of these squirrels to migrate to the need of humanity to walk or write, he is putting all of the emphasis that nature has to offer on walking. He also provides another story, of a Furor which affects the domestic cattle in the spring, which is referred to a worm in their tails (Thoreau 9). This elicits a slightly different connection of walking with nature, or more precisely, the wild.

In Literature, it is only the wild that attracts us (Thoreau 14). This paragraph again speaks of Homer, explicitly mentioning his works of literature, but focuses more on the importance of wildness in walking writing. It should be noted, however, in this paragraph, and in the next several pages, he never actually mentions walking directly, only what he implies it to be. He says that the wild-the mallard-thought, which, 'mid falling dews wings its way above the fens, meaning that the wild thought flies higher than that of an ordinary thought, which stays in the mud of a fen. While stressing the value of wildness, hes simultaneously stressing the importance of new, exciting, and original thought. These new ideas are what keeps humanity above the metaphorical fen, and are a core part of what walking really is. Later in Walking, Thoreau describes pigeons as thoughts, and that few and fewer pigeons visit us each year (Thoreau 22). He also says that as they get fewer, Our winged thoughts turn to poultry, (Thoreau 22). Here Thoreau is discussing how if the act of walking gets less common, then the quality of our walks and the originality of the ideas gets reduced to that of mere chickens, destined for the slaughterhouse. Metaphorical walking, like the physical activity, requires repeated exercise to improve, or else it will wither away from disuse. He continues the theme of wildness directly with, Our ancestors were savages. The story of Romulus and Remus being suckled by a wolf is not a meaningless fable, (Thoreau 11). Thoreau has a subtle meaning to the story of Romulus and Remus, where theyre original ideas and conditions facilitated the creation of Rome and the Roman Empire, a gigantic improvement. Romulus was in a sense, a walker, and through his walking, helped to elevate humans above mere wolves and into civilization. This tale illustrates the significance of Walking to humanity and civilization.

Thoreaus Walking is a masterpiece of intricate metaphors and double meanings, which are used to thoroughly explain why walking is so important to humanity It is what makes humanity superior to unthinking animals. The complexity of the message also serves to elevate its importance.