瓦尔登湖的生活哲学(英文版).doc

Course essay for English literature-2014Life Philosophy from the Walden In the nineteenth century,with the rapid development of modern social productive forces of capitalism,people began to feel the advanced technology the material civilization brought profoundly.Meanwhile the pursuit of material became obvious.The commercialization of age was inclined to satisfy with peoples increasing material requirement to a maximum extent while any spiritual belief in the tide of the strong development of capitalism appear feeble and so vulnerable.In the face of such phenomenon,many scholars, thinkers and other people with lofty ideas generated the unprecedented doubts:Is the commercial society of capitalism our ideal society?Are the money and the power our human permanent pursuit?With this kind of doubts, in the summer of 1845 , Thoreau built log cabin beside Walden Pond,living in the woods along for two years and two months.He lived modestly,Self-sufficiency and planted sprouts, gathering berries.During the spare time,he often went swimming and went for a walk ,or chatted with some friends living at the nearby town. Meanwhile, he wrote down the Walden ,the representative works of immortality.The authors moving to the cabin was weird action,especially in the age when most people choose to struggle to succeed in society requiring more money and power.The Walden is the sincere description of the nature ,the authoritative guide of simple life and the heartless charges to the gold coin society.”Innumerable little streams overlap and interlace one with another,exhibition a sort of hybrid product,which obeys half way the law of currents,and half way that of vegetation.As it flows it takes the forms of sappy leaves or vines,making heaps of pulpy sprays a foot or more in depth,and resembling,as you look down on them ,the laciniated,lobed, and imbricated thalluses of some lichens;or you are reminded of coral,of leopards paws or birdsfeet,of brains or lungs or bowels,and excrements of all kinds.”(chapter 17) The above example is from the description of the Walden Pond by the author when a lively and fresh picture unfold before our eyes.The description of the beautiful scenery of Walden Pond,in Concord,Massachusetts contrasts deliberately to the destruction to nature by human beings,revealing the ecological crisis and their social roots,publicizing the awareness of unexpected development. As we know,in the 19th century,with the rapid development of modern social productive forces of capitalism,under the tide of commercialization,the material civilization developed with high speed in the American society which satisfied people material requirement in a way but tempting them to put forward further demands which transform into the the driving force of the technical progress and commercial development.In the cycle,people had become a mechanical part.The spiritual civilization, as a kind of conditioned power was gradually blanking.Since the second half of the 18th century,at first in the England,then in the rest of countries in Europe,America and Japan the industrial revolution came true,eventually establishing the system of industrial production on the basis of the coal,metallurgy,chemical industry and so on.This was a revolution of technology and economy with the improvement of the basic power.And the steam engine was applied to use coal as fuel As result showed,in these countries,along with the establishment of the coal,metallurgical,chemical and other heavy industry,the turbid town and smoke poisoning event happened while the river had hurt seriously.However, Thoreau is the pioneer of ecological literature,the description of nature through his life is saturated with the thought of ecological holism.He told his readers only when human get along with the nature harmoniously can people have access to receive a complete life connotation,that is to say,the relationship between human and nature should be gentle very much.Thoreau also criticized the tired people for material desire:”Most of the luxuries,and many of the so-called comforts of life,are not only not indispensable,but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind.With respect to luxuries and comforts,the wisest have ever lived a more simple and meagre life than the poor.”(chapter 1)Simple life itself is not target,and Thoreau was not intended to call people to live the wilds for long time,the most primitive life.His extreme try check and the promotion of the simple life is to call for human simplified material life as much as possible so that decreasing the damage to the environment.Meanwhile,we should spend the time saved by simplifying the material life in obtaining the maximum rich spiritual life.In Thoreaus opinion,the progress of mankind is not the occupation of physical assets more and more but the spiritual life of abundance and the ascension of the personality.Otherwise,even though human possess all the world and receive the maximum wealth in material,human lose their own soul,for what is a man profited? Moreover,the exhaustless material desire intensify when it is satisfied,eventually ruining the material system. For Thoreau, anything more than what is useful is not just an extravagance, but a real impediment and disadvantage.Thoreau said in the book:”When a man is warmed by the several modes which I have described,what does he want next?Surely not more warmth of the same kind,as more and richer food,larger and more splendid house,finer and more abundant clothing,more numerous,incessant,and hotter fires,and the like.”(chapter 1)In the real world,we may think the simple lifestyle like Thoreaus doesnt exist,but I believe it roots inside of us where the key is whether we would like to try it or not.So long as we live as we are, obeying the order of our heart,we are able to get the peace of mind.Thoreau never went to the street market and the art gallery to search for entertainment while he enjoyed the satisfaction from the lonely feeling.However,he did not reject interpersonal communication,instead,he was quite excited when some philosophers or poets payed a visit him in fact.Thoreau hope away from human society,as the same in the economic affairs,he had this thought that he can through their own labor to maintain life,producing more substance than he need,merely creating profits.Thoreau tell his readers his account summary and listed the detailed list of payments in the book.For example,Thoreau recorded some accounts:“So that all the pecuniary outgoes, excepting for washing and mending, which for the most part were done out of the house, and their bills have not yet been received . . . wereHouse, $28 12 1/2Farm one year, 14 72 1/2Food eight months, 8 74Clothing &c., eight months, 8 40 3/4Oil, &c., eight months, 2 00 In all, $61 99 3/4”This kind of list is not necessary seen from the surface but Thoreau didnt think so.He wanted to prove that so long as he did everything well,he could become the creator of the life but not the taker in the economic life.Self-reliance thus refers not just to paying ones own bills, but also more philosophically to the way the natural world and humankind rely on the self to exist.They are both products of self-reliance, since the economizing that allowed Thoreau to live on Walden Pond also allows him to feel one with nature, to feel as though it is part of his own soul. He was satisfied with his cabin only costing a little money .The lifestyle that living happily by his own labor,but not to refuse any aid from other people is not only represent self-reliance,also a pleasure metally happening when he control his life absolutely.Thoreau had a strong faith on life.What Thoreau receive from Walden was not only that he possessed a new house he built herself ,but more enjoyment was from the progress in metal which is also the symbol of conquering the world.In Dependence Day,Thoreau moved into the cabin the first time,he was fulled with the a sense of pride regardless of there was no chimney and parget.He saw everything in positive opinions and thought that the blank wall in the cabin brought the fresh air in summer. “Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in. I drink at it; but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. Its