Animals in Walden

Henry David Thoreau is a great American writer of transcendentalism and the pioneer of modern environmentalism. Being an ardent lover of nature, he devoted his entire life to studying the relationship between man and nature, and bequeathed a legacy of works in this field. He believed that nature was the symbol of spirit, and had a far-reaching influence on man and his character, and human beings should live harmoniously with nature for the long sustainable development. In Walden which is his masterpiece He endows the animals with human characteristics. Thereupon, Thoreau often describes the similarities between animals and people he comes across. People can be just as greedy and shallow as the marmot of the prairie, or as naughty and clumsy as red squirrels, or as lazy and cunning as chickadees, or as loyal as gundogs in Thoreau’s writings. Thoreau spent two years living a simple life at Walden on his own. He recounted in details the living habits of these animals, from woodchucks, loons to mice and hawks.