1060 Thoreau, Henry David
Masking a radical argument in a conservative-
looking cloak, the early paragraphs of the essay
can mislead readers. Here, Thoreau argues that
government itself has the responsibility to those
it governs to keep itself limited and unobtrusive:
“That government is best which governs least” or,
by logical extension, “not at all.” Since some form of
government is inevitable, Thoreau seeks “at once a
better government” rather than none.
In paragraph 7 Thoreau introduces his focal
concern by asking, “How does it become a man to
behave toward this American government to-day?”
That is, what is an appropriate response toward
government in the 1840s—and, by extension, in any
era? Thoreau’s question is not rhetorical (because its
answer is not obvious), but it does serve as a rhetori-
cal means of triggering the discussion that ensues.
Thoreau’s argument for radical civic responsibil-
ity gains much of its effect from the autobiographi-
cal narrative included in a climactic section labeled
“My Prisons.” He also summarizes the contem-
porary political context. In the 1840s, the United
States had a history of treating Indians badly, was
waging the Mexican War, and still recognized slav-
ery as legal. To Thoreau, these practices were all
unjust. His recurrent individual protest had been to
refuse to pay his annual Massachusetts poll tax, an
act that landed him in jail overnight in 1846.
Thoreau’s personal revolt against state law had
little impact at the time. In print, however, it has
become an indelible, defiant symbol for what a single
citizen can do to register discontent with, resistance
to, and repudiation of government policy. Since the
1840s, civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther
King, Jr., and Mahatma Gandhi have discovered in
Thoreau a personal model of “civil disobedience”
or “passive resistance.” Always skeptical of group
action, Thoreau says that a person’s first responsibil-
ity is just “to wash his hands” of government so as
“not to give it practically his support.” Nonetheless,
symbolic acts of defiance, when exercised by many
citizens concurrently, have proved to be powerful
agents for changing government policy and law.
Thoreau’s views on civic responsibility reflect his
grounding in transcendentalism, a contemporary
philosophy that urged people to trust their own
ability to find what is true and right within them-
selves rather than in the Bible, the Constitution,
or any other expression of collective opinion. It is
the duty of citizens not to obey blindly or conform
automatically. One’s duty, in short, is to be indepen-
dently rebellious when conscience dictates—and to
be ready to accept the legal penalty and social alien-
ation that will certainly follow.
Roy Neil GravesTHorEau, HENry DaviD Walden
(1854)
Walden was published in August 1854. The first
printing of 2,000 copies sold well, but by 1859 it
was out of print. It reappeared after Henry David
Thoreau’s death in 1862 and has not been out of
print since; indeed, it is now regarded as one of
the most important texts in American literature.
The book is based on Thoreau’s experiences living
alone in a cabin by Walden Pond, near Concord,
Massachusetts, from 1845 to 1847, although it
contains material written before and after this time
frame. Walden is many things: social criticism, a
philosophical meditation, a natural history essay,
a handbook of practical advice for the budding
woodsman, and a kind of spiritual autobiography.
It is also beautifully written, a work of painstak-
ing craftsmanship composed by a man with a deep
love of language and a wry sense of humor. Its
messages are as relevant today as they were more
than 150 years ago. Thoreau’s concern for nature,
his understanding of the delicate relationships
that exist between life forms and their environ-
ments, strikes an urgent chord today, when global
attention has—not before time—turned toward
ecological matters and ways of preventing further
damage to our planet. His critique of consumer-
ism and his denunciation of lives spent in frenetic
pursuit of material gain at the expense of spiritual
rewards is also pertinent. Perhaps Walden’s most
lasting message, however, lies in its appeal for
independence and individuality—its rejection of
received opinions and outworn traditions and
its encouragement to think for oneself. It is here
that the man whom many wrongly regarded as an
antisocial loner speaks to everyone.
P. B. Grant