Thoreau Criticism

I looked on Bloom's Literary Reference Online to find a criticism on Thoreau and the title that stuck out the most to me was "Walden and the American Dream: Challenge or Myth?", which was written by Michaela Keck. Throughout the analysis, Keck most noticeably talks about Thoreau's ideas of "interconnectedness", and how he wanted to break away from society and leave behind most everything that he knew. Thoreau wanted to focus on the things wrong in his life, and Keck places a lot of emphasis on that. Keck also points out that the main reason that Thoreau went off into the wilderness was to "spend time on himself" and see if he could still survive (Keck). Keck continues to talk about the things that Thoreau did while staying at Walden, and emphasis some of the philosophies that he tried to keep up over the two year, two month, and two day stay there.

The analysis itself was pretty well written and easy to read. I do not think it could really be considered college-level reading, but it was still factual and to the point without being overly simplistic. Keck also included different sources in her criticism, making it seem more well rounded and not too opinionated. Keck even used different parts of Walden to emphasis and back up some of the points that she made throughout her criticism. Reading Keck's analysis/criticism also makes it easier to understand some of the slightly obscure points that Thoreau tried to get across in Walden that were totally lost on me- due to language and age and such. A lot of Thoreau's ideas are very different than ideas people now have (and I do not think I know any people willing to live like he did for those two years), and Keck kind of puts his words in more simple and common terms in her analysis.

Thoreau meant for Walden to be an "old fashioned" sort of documentary- not to persuade, but to inform (Keck). When Thoreau went back to society after his stint in the wilderness, he was sort of seen as a hypocrite, and Keck does spend some time talking about this. She also says that if a reader were to look at Walden as a persuasive book or essay, they would see Thoreau as a complete failure for going back to society the way that he did, and also for giving himself little indulgences along the way (although I do not think dinner with a sibling can really be seen as an indulgence, no matter the situation Thoreau was in).

Overall, I would say that this criticism was pretty good. It was well written and although the topic seems a little dull, the essay did not seem to drag on forever. Walden was not meant to be a part of the "American Dream"- it was just Thoreau writing about how he personally got away from the pressures of society. The essay also seems well researched, which I think is a very important quality.

Keck, Michaela. "Thoreau's Walden and the American Dream: Challenge or Myth?" In Bloom, Harold, ed. The American Dream, Bloom's Literary Themes. New York: Chelsea Publishing House, 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=1&iPin=BLTTAD021&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 16, 2010).